The , officially known as the '''Games of the XXIV Olympiad''', were held in
1988 in
Seoul ,
South Korea . The host was chosen in the
September 1981 vote, ahead of the
Japan ese city of
Nagoya . It was the second Asian nation to ever host an Olympic Games.
North Korea , still officially at war with South Korea, boycotted the event (along with
Cuba and
Ethiopia ) after their demand to co-host the games was refused by the
IOC .
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- Canadian Ben Johnson wins the 100 m in a new world record, but is disqualified after tests positive for Stanozolol .
- American Boxer Roy Jones Jr. loses the gold medal to South Korean fighter Park Si-Hun in a controversial 3-2 judge's decision. Allegations swirled that Korean officials had fixed the judging.
- Swimmer Kristin Otto of East Germany wins six gold medals. Other multi-medalists in the pool are Matt Biondi (five) and Janet Evans (three).
- Anthony Nesty of Suriname wins his country's first Olympic medal by winning the 100 m butterfly, scoring an upset victory; he is also the first black person to win a swimming title.
- In swimming Mel Stewart of the USA is favorite to win the men's 200 metre butterfly final but comes in 5th.
- Soviet Vladimir Artemov wins four gold medals in Gymnastics , Daniela Silivaş of Romania wins three.
- US Sprinter Florence Griffith Joyner wins three gold medals and a silver on the track.
- Christa Rothenburger becomes the first (and last) athlete to win Olympic medals at the Winter Olympics and Summer Olympics in the same year. She adds a cycling silver to the Speed Skating gold she won earlier in the year in Calgary .
- US diver Greg Louganis wins back-to-back titles on both diving events, but only after hitting the springboard with his head in the 3-m event final. This became a minor controversy years later when Louganis revealed he knew he was HIV -positive at the time, and did not tell anybody. Since it is now known that HIV cannot survive in open water, no other divers were ever in danger.
- Mark Todd of New Zealand wins his second consecutive individual gold medal in the three-day event in equestrian on Charisma , only the second time in eventing history that a gold medal has been won consecutively.
- Tennis returns to the Olympics after a 64-year absence, and Steffi Graf adds to her four Grand Slam victories in the year by also winning the Olympic title, beating Gabriela Sabatini in the final.
- Table Tennis is introduced at the Olympics, with China and the host nation both winning two titles.
- In the table tennis tournament none of the men's top seeded players advanced to the semi-finals.
- Two Bulgaria n weightlifters are stripped of their gold medals after failing doping tests, and the team withdraws after this event.
- Lawrence Lemieux , a Canadian sailor in the Finn Class was in second place and poised to win a silver medal when he abandoned the race to save an injured competitor. Lemieux finished in 22nd place, but received the Pierre De Coubertin Medal for Sportsmanship.
- Baseball and Taekwondo are demonstration sports.
- Women's Judo was held for the first time.
- The last amateur US men's basketball team fails to win the gold for only the third time in Olympic history.
- For the first time in history all the dressage events are won by women.
Hosting the 1988 Olympics presented an opportunity to bring international attention to South Korea. The idea for South Korea to place a bid for 1988 games emerged during the last days of the
Park Chung Hee administration in the late 1970s. After President Park’s assassination in 1979,
Chun Doo Hwan , his successor, submitted Korea’s bid to the IOC in September 1981, in hopes that the increased international exposure brought by the Olympics would legitimize his authoritarian regime amidst increasing political pressure for democratization, provide protection from increasing threats from
North Korea , and showcase the Korean economic miracle to the world community. South Korea was awarded the bid on September 30, 1981, becoming the 16th nation, the second Asian nation (following Japan in 1964) and the second newly industrialized economy (after Mexico in 1968) to host the games.
In an attempt to follow the model of 1964 Tokyo Olympics as a rite of passage for the Japanese economy and re-integration of Japan in the family of nations in the post-war era, the Korean government hoped to use the Olympics as a “coming out party” for the newly industrialized Korean economy. The Korean government hoped the Olympics would symbolize a new legitimacy of Korea in world affairs.
However, this attempt to provide legitimacy to the Korean government, particularly the Chun administration, backfired. The anticipation of the Olympic Games intensified world scrutiny of Korea during a time of political crisis. As political demonstrations emerged in June 1987, the possibility of jeopardizing hosting the Olympic Games contributed to the June 29 declaration which issued President Chun out of power and led to direct elections in December 1987. The desire not to taint the Olympic Games with military dictatorship and riots served as an impetus for Korea’s transition to democracy.
Roh Tae Woo served as the transitional president, directly elected by South Koreans in December 1987, during the 1988 Seoul Olympic Games. The 1988 Olympic Games provided a catalyst for controlled political change to maintain stability in South Korea.
- Seoul Sports Park venues
- --- Olympic Stadium &2 - opening/closing ceremonies, athletics, equestrian events, football/soccer finals
- --- Jamsil Indoor Swimming Pool &2 - swimming, diving
- --- Jamsil Gymnasium &2 - basketball
- --- Jamsil Students' Gymnasium &2 - boxing
- --- Jamsil Baseball Stadium &2 - baseball
- Olympic Park venues
- --- Olympic Velodrome ¹ - cycling
- --- Olympic Weightlifting Gymnasium ¹ - weightlifting
- --- Olympic Fencing Gymnasium ¹ - fencing
- --- Olympic Gymnastics Hall ¹ - gymnastics
- --- Olympic Tennis Courts ¹ - tennis
- --- Mongchon Tosong ¹ - modern pentathlon
- Other venues in metropolitan Seoul
- ---Seoul Equestrian Park - equestrian events
- ---Han River Regatta Course¹ - rowing, canoeing
- ---Saemaul Sports Hall¹ - volleyball preliminaries
- --- Hanyang University Gymnasium ¹ - volleyball
- --- Changchung Gymnasium &2 - judo, taekwondo
- --- Seoul National University Gymnasium - table tennis, badminton
- ---Royal Bowling Center&2 - bowling
- --- Dongdaemun Stadium &2 - football/soccer preliminaries
- ---Hwarang Archery Field&2, Nowon-gu - archery
- ---Taenung International Shooting Range&2, Taenung - shooting
- Venues outside metropolitan Seoul
- --- Sangmu Gymnasium ¹, Seongnam - wrestling
- ---Daejeon Stadium&2, Daejeon - football/soccer preliminaries
- ---Daegu Stadium&2, Daegu - football/soccer preliminaries
- ---Busan Stadium&2, Busan - football/soccer preliminaries
- ---Gwangju Stadium&2, Gwangju - football/soccer preliminaries
- --- Suwon Gymnasium ¹, Suwon - handball
- ---Seongnam Stadium&2, Seongnam - hockey
- ---Busan Yachting Center¹, Busan - yachting
¹ New facilities constructed in preparation for the Olympic Games. &
2 Existing facilities modified or refurbished in preparation for the Olympic Games.
See the medal winners, ordered by sport:
Athletes from 159 nations competed at the Seoul Games.
Brunei also participated in the Opening Ceremonies, marking the first appearance by the nation at the Olympic Games, but their delegation only consisted of one non-competing official.
Aruba ,
American Samoa ,
Cook Islands ,
Guam ,
Maldives ,
Vanuatu ,
Saint Vincent And The Grenadines , and
South Yemen also made their first Olympic appearance at these Games.
In the following list, the number in parentheses indicates the number of athletes from each nation that competed in Seoul.
See Also: 1988 Summer Olympics medal count
These are the top ten nations that won medals at these Games:
the Friendly Tiger
mascot for the 1988 Seoul Olympics]]
