In which year did the Olympics first include snowboarding? The answer is 1998.
Snowboarding made its Olympic debut at the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano, Japan. It entered the program as a discipline of skiing, with four medal events: men's and women's giant slalom and halfpipe. The competitions were held at Mount Yakebitai and Kanbayashi Snowboard Park.
The inclusion followed snowboarding's rapid growth in North America, Europe and Japan. The Nagano organizing committee agreed to add it in 1995, and the International Olympic Committee approved the decision later that year. A total of 125 athletes from 22 countries competed.
A common mix-up is 1994, when snowboarding was already popular and had appeared in some non-Olympic competitions, but it was not yet part of the Olympic medal program. Canada's Ross Rebagliati won the first Olympic snowboarding gold, in men's giant slalom. The event later expanded to include disciplines such as snowboard cross, slopestyle and big air.