Nicola Thost won the first Olympic gold medal in women's snowboard halfpipe at the 1998 Nagano Winter Olympics.
The German snowboarder took first place in the inaugural women's Olympic halfpipe competition. Norway's Stine Brun Kjeldaas won silver, and Australia's Shannon Dunn won bronze. Thost's victory made her the first female Olympic champion in the event.
Snowboarding made its Olympic debut at Nagano in 1998, with men's and women's competitions in giant slalom and halfpipe. The halfpipe event tested riders on a large U-shaped course, rewarding height, control, rotation and landing quality. It was judged rather than decided by race time.
The 1998 contests helped establish snowboarding as a permanent part of the Winter Olympic programme. Later Olympic editions expanded the sport with events such as snowboard cross, slopestyle and big air, but Thost remained the inaugural women's halfpipe champion.