The XVII Olympic Winter Games were held from 12 to 27 February 1994 in and around Lillehammer, Norway. The Games were spread out over ten venues in five municipalities in two counties, Oppland and Hedmark. Sixty-seven National Olympic Committees and 1,737 athletes participated in six sports and sixty-one events.
When Lillehammer was awarded the right to host the 1994 Olympic Winter Games, its Organising Committee aimed to make the Games a showcase for sustainability and environmental policies. These Games were called the "White-Green Games" by President Samaranch. The main goal for The Lillehammer Olympic Organizing Committee (LOOC) was to give the Olympic Movement a third dimension, Environment – in addition to Sport and Culture.
The Games were the first to be held in a different year from the Summer Olympics, the first and only one to be held two years after the previous Winter Games, and the most recent to be held in a small town. The Games were the second Winter Games hosted in Norway, after the 1952 Winter Olympics in Oslo.
Men's and Women's Downhill, Super-G, and Combined events were held in Kvitfjell. The Downhill racecourse, the challenging Olympiabakken, was designed by Bernhard Russi for the 1994 Lillehammer Winter Games.
Hafjell hosted the Alpine Skiing technical events, Giant Slalom and Slalom, at the 1994 Winter Olympics in Lillehammer.
In the Men's events, Germany's Markus Wasmeier led the individual medal table with two gold medals in Giant Slalom and Super-G.
In the Alpine combined, Norway took a medal sweep, with Lasse Kjus winning the gold medal and finishing ahead of teammates Kjetil André Aamodt and Harald Christian Strand Nilsen.
Austria's Thomas Stangassinger won the Slalom ahead of Italy's big favorite Alberto Tomba.
Katja Seizinger of Germany won the Women's Downhill.
Diann Roffe Steinrotter of the U.S. took gold in the Super-G. It was her second Olympic medal. Roffe won the silver medal, tying with Anita Wachter, in the Giant Slalom at the 1992 Winter Olympics in Albertville.
Italy's Deborah Compagnoni won the gold medal in the Giant Slalom. It was her second gold medal after winning the Super-G event in Albertville in 1992.
Sweden's Pernilla Wiberg, who won the Giant Slalom event in Albertville in 1992, won gold in the Alpine Combined.
In the Women's events, Switzerland's Verena "Vreni" Schneider was the most successful skier in Lillehammer, winning the Slalom, taking silver in the Alpine Combined, and taking bronze in the Giant Slalom. The only other athlete to take multiple medals was Italy's Isolde Kostner, who took third place in both Downhill and Super-G.
Fifth after the first run of the slalom, Schneider went full attack in the second run and won the gold medal beating the first-run leader Katja Koren who finished third. The silver medal went to Austrian Elfriede "Elfi" Eder who was the only skier within half a second of Schneider on the second run. Schneider who had won at the Calgary Games the Giant Slalom and the Slalom was the first female Alpine skier to win three gold medals and the first to earn five total medals.
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