1988 Seoul

Seoul 1988

Artistic Gymnastics

Athletics

Basketball

Boxing

Cycling Track 

Diving

Equestrian

Hockey

Rowing

Shooting

Speed Skating

Swimming

Table Tennis

Tennis

Weightlifting

Wrestling

Australia

Brazil

Bulgaria

Canada

France

Georgia

Germany

Great Britain

Italy

Jamaica

Japan

Korea

Lithuania

Maldives

New Zealand

P. R. China

Poland

Romania

Senegal

Sweden

Türkiye

Ukraine

United States

USSR

Russia earned their place in the final after one of the most eagerly awaited rematches in Summer Games history, which culminated in an 82\-76 victory over the United States\.

Lithuanian trio inspire Soviet basketball team to gold

At the 100m backstroke final in 1988, a new underwater technique revolutionized the swimming world.

Originals

OTLSWIMS02E002_1537185696200.jpg

The Rise of the “Dolphin Kick” | Seoul 1988

Table tennis was first included in the Olympic program at Seoul 1988.

Seoul 1988 | Olympic Games

GCDG-CHNSPECS01E002-_E17020801.jpeg

Seoul 1988 - Jing Chen wins the first Olympic gold in table tennis

The Brazil legend moved to PSV Eindhoven shortly after the Games.

Romario DE SOUZA FARIA

romario_1642810735342.jpg

Romario scores seven goals in six matches | Seoul 1988

German Ulf Timmermann and American Randy Barnes engage in a shot put duel which sees the world record fall at the Olympic Games Seoul 1988.

ONTHERECS02E034C_1591865226410.jpg

Ulf Shatters Shot Put World Record in Seoul 1988

There, showing perseverance and determination, Louganis delivered an outstanding performance to complete his incredible comeback and win the gold medal\.

Relive one of the greatest comebacks in Olympic history

I was only 17 years old when I qualified for the 1988 Olympic Games\. I&rsquo;d won the national championships, but the Irish Olympic Committee initially didn&rsquo;t want to send me to the Games in Seoul because they said I was too young\. I&rsquo;d had 12 international fights in a row

Wayne McCullough: “I still don’t think the experience has fully sunk in even now, almost 30 years later”

Hussain Haleem of the Maldives made a little piece of national history at the Opening Ceremony of the 1988 Seoul Olympic Games, when, at the age of just 19, he became his country’s very first flag bearer\.

Hussein Haleem: The Games changed my life

It was the moment doping reared its ugly on the world stage&nbsp;and marked a watershed in the fight against drug cheats\.

Johnson falls from hero to zero in 100m disgrace

His tally of seven medals at a single Games has been bettered only by the great Michael Phelps and he was unquestionably one of the standout male athletes of the 1988 Games in Seoul\.

21 SEP 1988:  MATT BIONDI (IN WATER) AND TROY DALBEY OF THE UNITED STATES PERFORM A HIGH FIVE AFTER CLAIMING VICTORY IN THE FINAL OF THE 4x200 METRE FREESTYLE RELAY AT THE 1988 SEOUL OLYMPICS. THE OTHER MEMBERS OF THE WORLD RECORD BREAKING TEAM WERE MATTHEW CETLINSKI AND DOUGLAS GJERTSEN.

Blistering Biondi proves his worth in freestyle relay

Evans looked the very antithesis of an Olympic swimmer\. Slight, wiry and possessing a unique high action often compared to a windmill, she was to prove the unrivalled distance swimming queen of her generation\.

1988:  Janet Evans competes in the first 400m IND Medley during the Seoul Olympics in Seoul, Korea.  Mandatory credit:  Tony Duffy/Allsport

Evans makes light of size fears to dominate in the pool

In the final he was pitted against European champion Andrews Tews from East Germany, who four years later would win featherweight gold at the Barcelona Games in 1992\.

17 SEP 1988:  DANCERS PERFORM IN THE CENTRE OF THE STADIUM DURING THE OPENING CEREMONY OF THE 1988 SUMMER OLYMPICS HELD IN SEOUL IN SOUTH KOREA.

Seoul1988

Commanding Kim storms through flyweight tournament

But all that stopped in 1988, when the Flo\-Jo phenomenon took root amid a string of incredible performances culminating in double sprint gold at the Olympic Games in Seoul\.

Flo-Jo has the wind in her sails for remarkable sprint treble

With the sport making its first appearance in Asia the scene was set for the continent to grasp control of the competition\.

Home pair crown exhilarating debut for table tennis

She did not return to her native Germany with a clutch of gold medals and world records to her name, she did not even win the event for which she was entered\.

SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA - SEPTEMBER 1988:  [from left to right] Silver medallist Christa Luding of East Germany, Gold medallist Erika Salumae of the Soviet Union and right Bronze medallist Connie Paraskevin of the USA acknowledge the cheers of the crowd on the podium duing the medal ceremony for the Womens Sprint Cycling event in the Veldrome at the Olympic Games in Seoul, South Korea on 24 September 1988. Luding won the Silver medal to become the first female competitor to win medals in both Winter and Summer Olympic Games, having already won a Gold medal in the 1000 metres Speedskating event at the Winter Games in Caglary, Canada earlier in the year. ( Photo by Mike Powell / Getty Images)

Luding-Rothenberger cycles to unique Olympic double

That they were present to repeat the gold of Los Angeles four years previous was something of a minor miracle in itself\.

Mark Todd

Lewis, who was awarded the gold after Johnson’s performance was found to have been aided by the illegal use of steroids, had worn a look of utter bemusement as the Canadian romped to victory in a record time of 9\.79secs days earlier\.

Carl LEWIS

Lewis raises the roof with golden leap

The sport had only joined the Olympic family four years previously yet had already become hugely popular with colourful, patriotic spectators cramming into the Jamsil swimming arena in Seoul\.

From a fear of water to double Olympic gold for Carolyn Waldo

He won the first of three gold medals in the featherweight division at Seoul in 1988 by an extraordinary margin\. Such was his dominance that he broke the world record in both the snatch and the clean and jerk categories, and produced a combined weight that would have won gold

Suleymanoglu lifts weights and hearts with extraordinary hat-trick

Yet on one balmy, sultry afternoon in Seoul 23 years ago, even the great Bubka almost fell victim to the kind of heart\-racing tension only sport of the highest calibre can generate\.

Bubka leaves it late to prove pole vault supremacy

As the men’s all\-round competition neared, the talk was of the wayward Russian prodigy Dmitri Bilozerchev and whether he could fulfil his destiny and claim the crown of the world’s greatest gymnast\.
Bilozerchev, a world champion at 16, had a tendency to attract all the wrong kinds of the headlines\.

Quiet man Artemov makes a noise in the all-around gymnastics

Suriname had little Olympic pedigree going in to the 1988 Games in Seoul, in fact it had none\. Not a single athlete from the tiny tropical nation off the South American coast had won a medal at any Games\.
But a 21\-year\-old swimmer called Anthony Nesty put an end to

21 SEP 1988:  ANTHONY NESTY OF SURINAM COLLECTS HIS GOLD MEDAL AFTER CLAIMING VICTORY IN THE MENS 100 METRES BUTTERFLY IN SEOUL. NESTY WON THE GOLD WITH AN OLYMPIC RECORD SETTING TIME OF 53.00 SECONDS.

Butterfly star Nesty sparks joy in tiny Suriname 

When the athletics programme came to its conclusion with the traditional relays at the 1988 Olympics in Seoul, the United States boasted a formidable record in the event\.
They had failed to capture gold just twice since 1952; once in the 1980 Moscow boycott, the other in 1972 when two

Americans ease to victory again in 4x400m relay

It was one of the least expected but crucially it was the host nation’s first, and set off a mass sigh of relief from a country eager to showcase itself to the rest of the world\.

Kim Young-nam's gold gets Korea's party started

Seoul 1988 - Stories Mosaic

Welcome to This Week in Olympic Sports History, where Olympics.com remembers the most significant sports events of the past. This week, we'll cover 16 -22 September.
On this day – 20 September 1988: Louganis goes from injury to glory at Seoul
Greg Louganis won five Olympic medals in diving, but

Gregory LOUGANIS

Greg Louganis (centre) of the USA on top of the podium at Seoul 1988.

This week in Olympic history: Greg Louganis wins gold after head injury

WATCH: The women’s uneven bars final from the 1988 Olympic Games in Seoul, South Korea. Romania’s Daniela Silivas won the first of her three apparatus gold medals in the final with East Germany’s Dagmar Kersten and the Soviet Union’s Elena Shushunova taking silver and bronze, respectively.

Daniela SILIVAS

Daniela Silivas

Daniela Silivas wins uneven bars Olympic gold at Seoul 1988

WATCH: Brazil’s Luisa Parente Ribeiro perform during the optional round at the 1988 Olympic Games in Seoul. The innovative Brazilian’s performance was highlighted by a balance beam routine that include a difficult round off, back full series – a element still rated an F in the current code of points.

Luisa PARENTE RIBEIRO

2762210140136901307.png

Brazil's Luisa Parente Ribeiro competes at Seoul 1988

When Anthony Nesty won 100 butterfly Olympic gold at Seoul 1988, he had no idea how positive an impact it would have back home.
The swimming prodigy had become Suriname’s first (and to this day, only) Olympic gold medallist, and a nation that was struggling politically and economically came together

27 JUL 1992:  ANTHONY NESTY OF SURINAM IN ACTION DURING THE MENS 100M BUTTERFLY FINAL AT THE 1992 BARCELONA OLYMPICS. NESTY WON THE BRONZE MEDAL WITH A TIME OF 53.41 SECONDS.

Anthony Nesty

USA Swimming Men's Head Coach Anthony Nesty Q&A: “My philosophy is about mind, body, and soul”

The legendary Soviet women's team during their compulsory floor exercise rotation at the 1988 Olympics in Seoul. Three athletes, Svetlana Boginskaya, Natalia Laschenova, and Elena Shushunova, led the way, earning 9.900 scores. The Soviet women went on to claim team gold.

2762108270072945807.png

Soviet Union on floor during 1988 compulsory routine

1896-Athens_given_dimensions

Athens 1896

1900

Paris 1900

1904

St. Louis 1904

1908

London 1908

1912

Stockholm 1912

1920

Antwerp 1920

1924w

Chamonix 1924

1924 Paris

Paris 1924

1928w

St. Moritz 1928

1928

Amsterdam 1928

1932 Lake Placid

Lake Placid 1932

1932 Los Angeles

Los Angeles 1932

1936 Garamisch-Partenkirchen

Garmisch-Partenkirchen 1936

1936

Berlin 1936

1948-St_width1474

St. Moritz 1948

1948-London_coloured-rings

London 1948

emblenoslo

Oslo 1952

1952 Helsinki

Helsinki 1952

1956 Cortina

Cortina d'Ampezzo 1956

1956

Melbourne 1956

1960 Squaw Valley

Squaw Valley 1960

1960 Rome

Rome 1960

1964 Innsbruck

Innsbruck 1964

1964 Tokyo

Tokyo 1964

1968w

Grenoble 1968

1968 Mexico

Mexico City 1968

1972 Sapporo

Sapporo 1972

1972 Munich

Munich 1972

1976 Innsbruck

Innsbruck 1976

1976 Montréal

Montreal 1976

1980 Lake Placid

Lake Placid 1980

1980E

Moscow 1980

1984 Sarajevo

Sarajevo 1984

1984 Los Angeles

Los Angeles 1984

1988 Calgary

Calgary 1988

1992 Albertville

Albertville 1992

1992 Barcelona

Barcelona 1992

1994 Lillehammer

Lillehammer 1994

Olympic Games Seoul 1988

Seoul 1988Stories

All Stories

This week in Olympic history: Greg Louganis wins gold after head injury

Daniela Silivas wins uneven bars Olympic gold at Seoul 1988

Brazil's Luisa Parente Ribeiro competes at Seoul 1988

USA Swimming Men's Head Coach Anthony Nesty Q&A: “My philosophy is about mind, body, and soul”

Soviet Union on floor during 1988 compulsory routine