PYEONGCHANG, South Korea -- The 2018 PyeongChang Winter Games will be the largest Winter Olympics in history, organizers said Monday.
PyeongChang's organizing committee said 2,925 athletes from 92 countries had confirmed their participation in the Feb. 9-25 competition by the 6 a.m. deadline on Monday. The 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics had been the largest with 2,858 athletes from 88 nations.
(Yonhap)
Host South Korea will have its Winter Olympics record 144 athletes competing in all 15 sports.
The United States has the largest Winter Games team ever, with 242 athletes, followed by Canada with 226.
North Korea, which has been granted exceptional quotas by the International Olympic Committee, will have 22 athletes in five sports, including 12 in women's ice hockey, where the two Koreas will have a joint team.
PyeongChang officials said six nations will make their first Winter Games appearances: Malaysia, Singapore, Ecuador, Eritrea, Kosovo and Nigeria.
PyeongChang 2018 will also offer the most gold medals in Winter Olympics history with 102, thanks to the addition of snowboard big air, mass start in speed skating, mixed doubles in curling and alpine skiing team event. (Yonhap)
