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The 1988 Olympic Games were held in Seoul, South Korea. 159 nations sent 9,465 athletes to Seoul, including 2,186 women.

After failing to be recognized as co-host of the Games, North Korea (which was still technically at war with the South) boycotted the Games, with Cuba and Ethiopia joining them in solidarity. However there were no widespread boycotts for the first time since 1972.

In the overall medal count, the rankings were U.S.S.R. first (132), East Germany (102), then U.S.A. (94). See the 1988 Medal Table.

Athlete Trivia

• Canadian Ben Johnson beat Carl Lewis in the 100-meters with a world-record time of 9.79 seconds. Shortly afterwards he tested positive for steroid use and was stripped of his medal.
• Florence Griffith Joyner of America won four medals, three of them gold, in running events, while sister-in-law Jackie Joyner-Kersee won the long jump and heptathlon.
• American Greg Louganis hit his head on the diving board, though was able to recover and successfully defended his Olympic springboard title a few days later.
• In the basketball competition, the last American team to play without NBA players came third.
• East German athlete Christa Rothenburger won a silver medal in track cycling in Seoul in 1988. Seven months earlier she had won the women's 1000 meter speed skating event at the Winter Olympics in Calgary. She became the first and only athlete to win medals in both a Summer and Winter Olympics in the same year.
• Tennis returned to the Olympics after a 64-year absence, and female tennis star Steffi Graf won the gold.
• At the first Olympic table tennis tournament in Seoul 1988, none of the top five seeded players made it to the semi-finals in the men's competition.

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Related Pages

• Llist of sports at the 1988 Olympic Games
• Complete list of Olympic host cities
• Seoul 1988 Paralympic Games
• North Korea at the Olympics
• South Korea at the Olympics
• Videos from the 1988 Olympics
• 1988: The Year in Sport