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Famous Fans in Nagano for the Games (February 20)
On February 19, U.S. Second Lady Tipper Gore showed up at the Olympic Village. She spent some time with the U.S. women's hockey team, celebrating their gold-medal performance in the Nagano Games. Ms. Gore asked after the health of the hockey players and had a friendly chat with them. The U.S. Olympic Committee presented the vice president's wife with an actual Olympic hockey uniform!But she wasn't the only overseas VIP visiting that day. King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden was in Shiga Kogen, cheering the Swedish skiers on in the men's giant slalom Alpine event. The monarch has been to every Olympic Games since Grenoble, 1968. Sports-loving Gustaf was even in the Games himself as a youth, when he sailed on his country's yacht-racing squad.
According to King Gustaf, "I am always with the athletes of the Swedish Olympic team. Today's trip from Nagano Station to Shiga Kogen was a bit long. . . . I had hoped Sweden would do a little better at the Nagano Games, but there's always next time!" (Shinano Mainichi Shimbun)