Venezuela at the 1998 Winter Olympics but never won a medal at the Winter Olympics. These Winter Olympics were held from 7–22 February 1998; a total of 2,176 athletes represented 72 National Olympic Committees. The only athlete Venezuela sent to Nagano was a luger, Iginia Boccalandro. She was the flag bearer for the opening ceremony. Iginia Boccalandro was 36 years old at the time of the Nagano Olympics, and was making her Olympic debut. Before the Games, the Salt Lake City, Utah resident claimed that "I'm too old and fat"; she said her real goal was the 2002 Winter Olympics, by which time she would have
Venues of the 2002 Winter Olympics Park, and the majority of expansion work was completed by that fall. The Main Media Center (MMC) was located in the Salt Palace Convention Center in downtown Salt Lake City. The Main Media Center hosted both the International Broadcast Center (IBC) and the Main Press Center (MPC) during the games. The Salt Palace Convention Center was the second building in Salt Lake City to carry that name, the first having been destroyed by fire in 1910. The Salt Palace used during the Olympics had originally been constructed in 1969, pushed by Salt Lake's failed bid for the 1972 Winter Olympics.