Asian Winter Games

The Asian Winter Games (AWG) is an international multi-sport event held every four years for members of the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) which features winter events. The Japanese Olympic Committee first suggested the idea of holding a winter version of the Asian Games in 1982. Their efforts were rewarded when they were finally given hosting rights for the first edition that was held in Sapporo in 1986, as the city had the infrastructure and expertise gained from hosting of the 1972 Winter Olympics.

Asian Winter Games
Official logo of the Games
AbbreviationAWG
First event1986 Asian Winter Games in Sapporo, Japan
Occur everyFour years
Last event2017 Asian Winter Games in Sapporo-Obihiro, Japan
Next event2025 Asian Winter Games in Harbin, China
PurposeMulti-sport event for nations on the Asian continent
Games

From having only seven member nations of the Olympic Council of Asia taking part in the first edition, the number of nations competing in the Winter Asiad has consistently grown. In the 2007 Asian Winter Games in Changchun, 27 out of the 45 members fielded a record number of competitors, while all 45 NOCs sent delegations for the first time ever in Winter Asian history.

Although games in Lebanon in 2009 were considered, they ultimately did not take place.[1] After the 2017 Asian Winter Games in Sapporo, the next edition is scheduled to be held in Harbin in 2025.

List of Asian Winter Games
Host cities of the Asian Winter Games
Edition Year Host city Host nation Opened by Start date End date Nations Competitors Sports Events Top-placed team Ref.
1 1986 Sapporo  Japan Fahad Al-Ahmed Al-Jaber Al-Sabah 1 March 8 March 7 293 4 (7) 35  Japan (JPN) [2]
2 1990 Sapporo  Japan Emperor Akihito 9 March 14 March 9 310 4 (6) 33  Japan (JPN) [3]
3 1996 Harbin  China President Jiang Zemin 4 February 11 February 17 453 4 (8) 43  China (CHN) [4]
4 1999 Gangwon  South Korea President Kim Dae-jung 30 January 6 February 14 798 4 (7) 43  China (CHN) [5]
5 2003 Aomori  Japan Crown Prince Naruhito 1 February 8 February 17 641 5 (11) 51  Japan (JPN) [6]
6 2007 Changchun  China President Hu Jintao 28 January 4 February 25 796 5 (10) 47  China (CHN) [7]
7 2011 Astana and Almaty  Kazakhstan President Nursultan Nazarbayev 30 January 6 February 26 843 5 (11) 69  Kazakhstan (KAZ) [8]
8 2017 Sapporo and Obihiro  Japan Crown Prince Naruhito 19 February 26 February 32 1,147 5 (11) 64  Japan (JPN) [9]
9 2025 Harbin  China TBD 28 February 9 March 6 (11) 64
10 2029 Trojena  Saudi Arabia

Sports
Main article: Asian Winter Games sports
SportYears
Alpine skiingAll
Bandy2011 only
BiathlonAll
Cross-country skiingAll
Curling2003–2007, 2017
Figure skating1986, since 1996
Freestyle skiing1996, since 2003
SportYears
Ice hockeyAll
Ski orienteering2011 only
Short-track speed skatingAll
Ski jumping2003, since 2011
Snowboarding2003–2007, 2017
Speed skatingAll

Medal count
Main article: All-time Asian Winter Games medal table
RankNationGoldSilverBronzeTotal
1 Japan (JPN)138144115397
2 China (CHN)9485105284
3 Kazakhstan (KAZ)786256196
4 South Korea (KOR)748392249
5 North Korea (PRK)141217
6 Uzbekistan (UZB)1247
7 Lebanon (LBN)1102
8 Mongolia (MGL)0167
9 Iran (IRI)0123
10 Kyrgyzstan (KGZ)0011
Totals (10 entries)3873833931163

See also

References
  1. "The skiers of Lebanon". The Sydney Morning Herald. 2005-06-04. Archived from the original on 2023-07-09.
  2. "1st AWG Sapporo 1986". Olympic Council of Asia. Retrieved 22 July 2010.
  3. "2nd AWG Sapporo 1990". Olympic Council of Asia. Retrieved 22 July 2010.
  4. "3rd AWG Harbin 1996". Olympic Council of Asia. Retrieved 22 July 2010.
  5. "4th AWG Gangwon 1999". Olympic Council of Asia. Archived from the original on 2010-06-13. Retrieved 22 July 2010.
  6. "5th AWG Aomori 2003". Olympic Council of Asia. Archived from the original on 2011-12-08. Retrieved 1 February 2003.
  7. "6th AWG Changchun 2007". Olympic Council of Asia. Archived from the original on 2011-05-22. Retrieved 28 January 2007.
  8. "7th AWG Astana-Almaty 2011". Olympic Council of Asia. Archived from the original on 2010-11-08. Retrieved 30 January 2011.
  9. "8th AWG Sapporo 2017". Olympic Council of Asia. Archived from the original on 2010-11-07. Retrieved 19 February 2017.
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