1988 Seoul Olympic Games
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1988 Seoul Olympic Games
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For the first time since Munich in 1972, there was no organized boycott of the Summer Olympics. Cuba and Ethiopia stayed away in support of North Korea (the IOC turned down the North Koreans' demand to co-host the Games, so they refused to participate), but that was about it.
Medal Count Gold Silver Bronze Total USSR
East Germany
USA
West Germany
Bulgaria
South Korea
Hungary
China
Romania
Great Britain55
37
36
11
10
12
11
5
7
531
35
31
14
12
10
6
11
11
1046
30
27
15
13
11
6
12
6
9132
102
94
40
35
33
23
28
24
24More countries (160) sent more athletes (9,627) to South Korea than to any previous Olympics. There were also more security personnel (100,000) than ever before given Seoul's proximity (30 miles) to the North and the possibility of student demonstrations for reunification.
Ten days into the Games, Canadian Ben Johnson beat defending champion Carl Lewis in the 100-meter dash with a world record time of 9.79. The next day, however, Johnson was stripped of his gold medal and sent packing by the IOC when his post-race drug test indicated steriod use.
Lewis, who finished second in the 100, was named the winner. He also repeated in the long jump, but was second in the 200 and did not run the 400 relay. Teammate Florence Griffith Joyner claimed four medals - gold in the 100, 200 and 400-meter relay, and silver in the 1,600 relay. Her sister-in-law Jackie Joyner-Kersee won the long jump and heptathlon.
The most gold medals were won by swimmers - Kristin otto of East Germany (6) and American Matt Biondi (5). Otherwise, Steffi Graf added an Olympic gold medal to her Grand Slam sweep (Golden Slam) in tennis, Greg Louganis won both men's diving events for the second straight time, and the U.S. men's basketball team had to settle for third place after losing to the gold medal-winning Soviets, 82-76, in the semifinals.
Source: 1996 Information Please Sports Almanac
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