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While not one of the 1,100 young athletes who competed in this yearÕs Winter Youth Olympic Games (YOG) in Lillehammer had even been born when the Norwegian town hosted the Olympic Winter Games in 1994, each and every one of them was able to directly benefit from that event thanks to the legacies that still remain in Lillehammer, 22 years after the Olympic flame was extinguished.The 1994 Olympic Winter Games were widely regarded as the first Ògreen GamesÓ, with the Organising Committee choosing to make the Games a showcase for sustainability and environmental policies. As well as initiating more than 20 sustainability projects during Games preparations Ð including the construction of an underground ice hockey venue in order to preserve energy Ð organisers also placed a greater emphasis on the post-Games use of the Olympic venues, AS ONE OF THE LARGEST AND MOST IMPORTANT SPORTING EVENTS IN THE WORLD, THE OLYMPIC GAMES CAN HAVE A PROFOUND IMPACT ON THE CITIES THAT HOST THEM, PROVIDING BENEFITS THAT LIVE ON LONG AFTER THE OLYMPIC FLAME HAS BEEN EXTINGUISHED, WRITES MICHAEL STONEMANPicturedA view of Whistler Mountain above the Olympic rings during the Olympic Winter Games Vancouver 2010which had been constructed using predominantly local materials and with strict energy-conserving measures.Each of LillehammerÕs venues was therefore built with its post-Games usage in mind, while also being maintained to the highest level for international competition, meaning they have staged many other elite sporting events since 1994, including world championships for speed skating, track cycling, skeleton, luge, handball and ice hockey, and World Cup events for biathlon and Nordic combined.The ongoing legacy created by these venues subsequently played a crucial role in bringing the 2016 Winter YOG to Lillehammer.ÒWe would never have been able to host the YOG were it not for the 1994 Olympic Winter Games being held in Lillehammer,Ó explains Lillehammer 2016 Organising Committee (LYOGOC) CEO Tomas Holmestad. ÒThere are many legacies from 1994 and the existing OLYMPIC REVIEW 47LEGACIES