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.

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.
• Soviet Vladimir Artemov wins four gold medals in gymnastics, Daniela Silivas of Romania wins three.
• 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.
• 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
• Women'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
• WikiProject Sports Olympics
• IOC country codes

External links

• IOC Site on 1988 Summer Olympics