Wikipedia:

1988 Summer Olympics

Games of the XXIV Olympiad
Games of the XXIV Olympiad
Host city Seoul, South Korea
Nations participating 160
Athletes participating 8,465 (6,279 men, 2,186 women)
Events 263 in 27 sports
Opening ceremony September 17
Closing ceremony October 2
Officially opened by Roh Taewoo
Athlete's Oath Hur Jae
Judge's Oath Lee Hakrae
Olympic Torch Sohn Kee-chung, Chung Sunman,
Kim Wontak and Sohn Mi-Chung
Stadium Olympic Stadium
Johnson winning the 100 m final
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Johnson winning the 100 m final

The 1988 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXIV Olympiad were the Summer Olympic Games held in 1988 in Seoul, South Korea. The host was chosen in the September 1981 vote, ahead of the Japanese city of Nagoya.[1] It was the second Asian nation to ever host an Olympic Games.

North Korea, still officially at war with South Korea, boycotted the event[2] after their demand to co-host the games was refused by the IOC[citation needed]. Cuba, Ethiopia and Nicaragua joined the boycott.[2]

159 nations were represented by a total of 8391 athletes (2194 women and 6197 men) in the games. 237 events were held. 27221 volunteers helped to prepare the Olympics. 11331 media (4978 written press and 6353 broadcasters) showed the Olympiad all over the world.[1]

Highlights

"#wp-_note-Honored_Inductees_-_Vladimir_Artemov">[3]. Daniela Silivaş of Romania wins three.[4]

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  • Canadian Ben Johnson wins the 100 m in a new world record, but is disqualified after tests positive for stanozolol. In 2004, Johnson accused the American sports authorities of protecting always American sportsmen while trying to put against the wall foreign ones. He still claims that somebody put the forbidden substance on a dish or drink he had without his permission.

"#wp-_note-Ben_Johnson_acusa_a_EEUU_de_proteger_a_sus_atletas_dopados">[6]

  • 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. Jones Jr. receives an award for most impressing boxer of the contest.

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  • 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. He arrived in 21st place, but was recognized by the IOC with a special award honouring his bravery and sacrifice.[8]
  • 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.

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"#wp-_note-Christa_Luding-Rothenburger_Encyclop.C3.A6dia_Britannica_article">[10]

"#wp-_note-Biography_for_Kristin_Otto">[12]. Other multi-medalists in the pool are Matt Biondi (five)[13] and Janet Evans (three).[14]

"#wp-_note-SEOUL_1988_Games_of_the_XXIV_Olympiad">[1]

  • In swimming Mel Stewart of the USA is favorite to win the men's 200 m butterfly final[citation needed] but comes in 5th.

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  • 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.

"#wp-_note-History_of_Awards_:_1980-1989">[16]

"#wp-_note-Demonstration_Sports_at_the_Olympic_Games">[17] and Taekwondo[18] are demonstration sports.

  • This is the last time the US are represented by a basketball team which doesn't feature NBA stars[19]; the team only obtains bronze medal after being defeated by the Soviet Union.

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  • For the first time in history all the dressage events are won by women.

"#wp-_note-Canada_at_the_1988_Summer_Olympics">[21]

  • Women's judo was held for the first time, as a demonstration sport.[22]
  • Table tennis is introduced at the Olympics, with China and the host nation both winning two titles.

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  • Tennis returns to the Olympics after a 64-year absence

"#wp-_note-THE_SEOUL_OLYMPICS:_Tennis.3B_Tennis_Returns_to_Good_Reviews">[24], and Steffi Graf adds to her four Grand Slam victories in the year by also winning the Olympic title[25], beating Gabriela Sabatini in the final.[26]

  • Two Bulgarian weightlifters are stripped of their gold medals after failing doping tests, and the team withdraws after this event.

"#wp-_note-THE_SEOUL_OLYMPICS:_Weight_Lifting.3B_Team_Lifted_After_2d_Drug_Test_Is_Failed">[27]

Significance of the 1988 Olympics in South Korea

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.

Venues

View toward Seoul Olympic Stadium
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View toward Seoul Olympic Stadium

¹ New facilities constructed in preparation for the Olympic Games. ² Existing facilities modified or refurbished in preparation for the Olympic Games.

Medals awarded

See the medal winners, ordered by sport:

[1]

Demonstration sports

[1]

Participating nations

Participants
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Participants

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.

[28]

Medal count

Main article: 1988 Summer Olympics medal count

These are the top ten nations that won medals at these Games:

 Rank  Nation Gold Silver Bronze Total
1 Soviet Union Soviet Union 55 31 46 132
2 East Germany East Germany 37 35 30 102
3 United States United States 36 31 27 94
4