<Tr> <Td_colspan="2"> <Ul> <Li> Medalists </Li> </Ul> </Td> </Tr> <Ul> <Li> Medalists </Li> </Ul> <P> Snowboarding is a sport at the Winter Olympic Games . It was first included in the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano, Japan . Snowboarding was one of five new sports or disciplines added to the Winter Olympic program between 1992 and 2002, and was the only one not to have been a previous medal or demonstration event . In 1998, four events, two for men and two for women, were held in two specialities: the giant slalom, a downhill event similar to giant slalom skiing; and the half - pipe, in which competitors perform tricks while going from one side of a semi-circular ditch to the other . Canadian Ross Rebagliati won the men's giant slalom and became the first athlete to win a gold medal in snowboarding . Rebagliati was briefly stripped of his medal by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) after testing positive for marijuana . However, the IOC's decision was reverted following an appeal from the Canadian Olympic Association . For the 2002 Winter Olympics, giant slalom was expanded to add head - to - head racing and was renamed parallel giant slalom . In 2006, a third event, the snowboard cross, was held for the first time . In this event, competitors race against each other down a course with jumps, beams and other obstacles . On July 11, 2011, the International Olympic Committee's Executive Board approved the addition of Ski and Snowboard Slopestyle to the Winter Olympics roster of events, effective in 2014 . The decision was announced via press conference from the IOC's meeting in Durban, South Africa . A fifth event, parallel slalom, was added only for 2014 . Big air was added for 2018 . </P> <P> Six athletes have won at least two medals . Shaun White of the United States is the only triple gold medalist . Philipp Schoch of Switzerland and Seth Wescott of the United States are the only double gold medalists . Karine Ruby of France and Americans Ross Powers and Danny Kass also won two medals . In the men's half - pipe event, American snowboarders have collected six of nine possible medals, achieving a unique medal sweep in 2002 . The United States won a total of 24 medals, more than any other nation . The Americans and the Swiss collected ten and seven gold medals respectively . As of the 2014 Winter Olympics, 90 medals (30 of each color) have been awarded since 1998, and have been won by snowboarders from 21 National Olympic Committees . </P>

When did big air snowboarding become an olympic sport