Summer Olympics

The Games of the XXIV Olympiad were held in 1988 in Seoul, South Korea. The host was chosen in a 1981 vote, ahead of the Japanese city of Nagoya.

Games of the XXIV Olympiad
Nations participating	159
Athletes participating	8,465 (6,279 men, 2,186 women)
Events	263 in 27 sports
Opening ceremonies	September 17, 1988
Closing ceremonies	October 2, 1988
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

Highlights

• South Korea's government became a democracy under the pressure of organising the Olympics.
• After boycotts of the Olympics in 1976, 1980 and 1984, the Games were again boycotted, but only by four nations: North Korea, Cuba, Ethiopia and Nicaragua.
• Canadian Ben Johnson wins the 100 m in a new World Record, but is then disqualified after he has been found guilty of doping.
• Swimmer Kristin Otto of East Germany wins six gold medals. Other multi-medalists in the pool are Matt Biondi (five) and Janet Evans (3).
• Anthony Nesty of Suriname wins his country's first Olympic medal by winning the 100 m butterfly, scoring an upset victory.
• 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.
• Tennis returns to the Olympics after a 64-year absence. Steffi Graf adds to her four Grand Slam victories in the year by also winning the Olympic title.
• Table tennis is introduced at the Olympics, with China and the host nation both winning two titles.
• Daniela Silivas of Romania wins three gold medals in gymnastics, Soviet Vladimir Artemov wins four.
• Two Bulgarian weightlifters are stripped of their gold medals after testing positive for doping. The Bulgarian weightlifting team withdraws after this event.
• Baseball and Taekwondo are demo sports
• Woman´s Judo
• The last amateur US men's basketball team fails to win the gold, for only the third time in Olympic history.

Medals awarded

See the medal winners, ordered by sport:

Medal count

Top medal-collecting nations:
(for the full table, see 1988 Summer Olympics medal count)

1988 Summer Olympics medal count
Pos	Country	Gold	Silver	Bronze	Total
1	USSR	55	31	46	132
2	East Germany (GDR)	37	35	30	102
3	United States	36	31	27	94
4	South Korea	12	10	11	33
5	West Germany (FRG)	11	14	15	40
6	Hungary	11	6	6	23
7	Bulgaria	10	12	13	35
8	Romania	7	11	6	24
9	France	6	4	6	16
10	Italy	6	4	4	14

See also

• 1988 Summer Paralympics
• International Olympic Committee
• AskFactMaster.ComProject Sports Olympics
• IOC country codes

External links

• IOC Site on 1988 Summer Olympics (http://www.olympic.org/uk/games/past/index_uk.asp?OLGT=1&OLGY=1988)

ja:ソウルオリンピック fr:Jeux Olympiques d'été de 1988

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