1988 Summer Olympics
historyThe 1988 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXIV Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event celebrated in 1988 in Seoul, South Korea. They were the second summer Olympic Games to be held in Asia and the first since the 1964 Summer Olympics held in Tokyo, Japan. They were also the fourth Olympic Games to be held in Autumn.
In the Seoul Games, 160 nations were represented by a total of 8391 athletes: 6197 men and 2194 women. 237 events were held. 27221 volunteers helped to prepare the Olympics. 11331 media (4978 written press and 6353 broadcasters) showed the Games all over the world.
These were the last Olympic Games for two of the world's "dominating" sport powers, the Soviet Union and East Germany, as both ceased to exist before the next Olympic Games.
North Korea, still officially at war with South Korea, and its allies, Albania, Cuba, Ethiopia, Madagascar, Nicaragua, and Seychelles boycotted the games. However, the much larger boycotts seen in the previous three Summer Olympics were avoided, resulting in the largest ever number of participating nations to that date.
Seoul was chosen to host the Summer Games in a vote held on September 30, 1981, finishing ahead of the Japanese city of Nagoya.
Below was the vote count that occurred at the 84th IOC Session and 11th Olympic Congress in Baden-Baden, West Germany. The information comes from »the International Olympic Committee Vote History web page.
{| class="wikitable" border="1" cellpadding="3" style="border-collapse: collapse;" |- ! colspan="7" | 1988 Summer Olympics Bidding Results |- | City | bgcolor=""|Round 1 |-
| Seoul |
| 52 |
| 27 |
- Soviet Vladimir Artemov won four gold medals in gymnastics. Daniela SilivaĹź of Romania won three.
- After having demolished the world record in the 100m dash at the Olympic Trials in Indianapolis, US sprinter Florence Griffith Joyner sets a still-standing Olympic Record (10.62) in the 100 meter dash and a still-standing world record (21.34) in the 200 meter dash to capture gold medals in both events. To these medals, she adds a gold in the 4x100 relay and a silver in the 4x400. Just after the Games, she announces her retirement.
- Canadian Ben Johnson wins the 100m with a new world record, but is disqualified after he tests positive for stanozolol. In 2004, Johnson accused the American sports authorities of protecting American athletes at the expense of foreign ones. He still claims to this day that Andre "Action" Jackson, A Look at AndrĂ© Jackson, the Mystery Man (and friend of Carl Lewis) in the Drug testing area with Ben Johnson in Seoul| url= »http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/more_sport/athletics/article1161912.ece
- American boxer Roy Jones Jr. loses the gold medal to South Korean fighter Park Si-Hun in a very controversial 3–2 judge's decision. Allegations swirled that Korean officials had fixed the judging. Jones Jr. receives the Val Barker Trophy, an award for the most impressive boxer of the Games. The three judges ruling against Jones were eventually suspended. Boxeo: Roy Jones Jr., un campeón multifacético
- 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 honoring his bravery and sacrifice.
- 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 HIV cannot survive in open water, no other divers were ever in danger.
- Christa Luding-Rothenburger of East Germany becomes the first (and only) 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 Winter Olympics of that year in Calgary.
- Anthony Nesty of Suriname wins his country's first Olympic medal by winning the 100 m butterfly, scoring an upset victory over Matt Biondi by .01 of a second (thwarting Biondis attempt of breaking Mark Spitz' record seven golds in one Olympic event); he is the first black person to win individual swimming gold. El deporte en el Sur
- Swimmer Kristin Otto of East Germany wins six gold medals. Other multi-medalists in the pool are Matt Biondi (five) and Janet Evans (three).
- Swedish fencer Kerstin Palm becomes the first woman to take part in seven Olympics.
- In swimming Mel Stewart of the USA is favorite to win the men's 200 m butterfly final but comes in 5th. Nuoto - risultati 200m. farfalla uomini
- 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.
- Baseball and Taekwondo are demonstration sports. The opening ceremony featured a mass demonstration of taekwondo with hundreds of adults and children performing moves in unison.
- This is the last time the US are represented by a basketball team that doesn't feature NBA stars; the team wins the bronze medal after being defeated by the Soviet Union.
- For the first time in history all the dressage events are won by women.
- Women's judo was held for the first time, as a demonstration sport.
- Table tennis is introduced at the Olympics, with China and South Korea both winning two titles.
- Tennis returns to the Olympics after a 64-year absence, and Steffi Graf adds to her four Grand Slam victories in the year by also winning the Olympic title Steffi graf, la mejor
- Two Bulgarian weightlifters are stripped of their gold medals after failing doping tests, and the team withdraws after this event.
- Controversies occur involving boxers including a gold medal being awarded to a Korean light-middleweight after having apparently been defeated by an American boxer and an assault on a New Zealand referee by Korean officials after the referee cautioned a Korean bantamweight.
- Soviet weightlifter Yuri Zakhareivich wins the mens Heavyweight (up to 110 kg class) with a 210 kg snatch and 245 kg clean and jerk for a 455 kg total. Zakhareivich had dislocated his elbow in 1983 attempting a world record and had it rebuilt with synthetic tendons.
Live doves were released during the Opening Ceremony as a symbol of world peace, but a number of the doves were burned alive by the lighting of the Olympic cauldron. As a result of protests following the incident, the last time live doves were released at the Opening Ceremony was in 1992 in Barcelona, hours before the flame was lit. Balloon doves were released in 1994 at the Lillehammer Winter Games and paper doves were used at the Atlanta Ceremonies in 1996.»When messengers of peace were burned alive, Deccan Herald, August 12, 2004. Retrieved 2008-06-25.
These were also the last Summer Olympic Games to hold Opening Ceremonies during the daytime due to hot summer weather. The Opening Ceremonies were highlighted by a skydiving team descending over the stadium and forming the 5-colored Olympic Rings»http://www.skydivecolumbus.com/demo_jumps.htm, as well as a mass demonstration of taekwondo.
Official Theme Song: Hand in Hand
used during the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul.]]
In 1988, the Seoul Olympic Organizing Committee (SLOOC) decided to produce and
distribute an official song of the Seoul Games to publicize the Games to all the
IOC member nations, encouraging their participation in the festival and
consolidating the harmony and friendship of the entire world citizens through
the song. After Italian composer Giorgio Moroder, U.S. songwriter Tom Whitlock,
and singing group Koreana were chosen, the title of the song was decided as
"Hand in Hand."
"Hand in Hand" topped popular songs in 17 countries including Sweden, Federal
Rep. Of Germany, the Philippines, Spain, Switzerland, Austria, Japan and Hong Kong and was listed
among the top 10s of the popular songs in more than 30 countries.
Lyrics
See the fire in the sky
We feel the beating of our hearts together
This is our time to rise above
We know the chance is here to live forever
For all time
(Refrain:)
Hand in hand we stand
All across the land
We can make this world a better place in which to live
Hand in hand we can
Start to understand
Breaking down the walls that come between us for all time
Arirang
Everytime we give it all
We feel the flame eternally inside us
Lift our hands up to the sky
The morning calm helps us to live in harmony
For all time
(Refrain X2)
''
Venues
in Seoul.]]
.]]
at autumn.]]
.]]
- Seoul Sports Park venues
- Seoul Olympic Stadium² – opening/closing ceremonies, athletics, equestrian events, football/soccer finals
- Jamsil Indoor Swimming Pool² – swimming, diving
- Jamsil Gymnasium² – basketball
- Jamsil Students' Gymnasium² – boxing
- Jamsil Baseball Stadium² – baseball
- Olympic Park venues
- Olympic Velodrome¹ – cycling
- Olympic Weightlifting Gymnasium¹ – weightlifting
- Olympic Fencing Gymnasium¹ – fencing
- Olympic Gymnastics Hall¹ – gymnastics, boxing
- Tennis Courts¹ – tennis
- Mongchon Tosong¹ – modern pentathlon
- Other venues in metropolitan Seoul
- Seoul Equestrian Park – equestrian events
- Misari Regatta Course¹ – rowing, canoeing
- Saemaul Sports Hall¹ – volleyball preliminaries
- Hanyang University Gymnasium¹ – volleyball
- Changchung Gymnasium² – judo, taekwondo
- Seoul National University Gymnasium – table tennis, badminton
- Royal Bowling Center² – bowling
- Dongdaemun Stadium² – football/soccer preliminaries
- Hwarang Archery Field², Nowon-gu – archery
- Taenung International Shooting Range², Taenung – shooting
- Venues outside Seoul
- Sangmu Gymnasium¹, Seongnam – wrestling
- Daejeon Stadium², Daejeon – football/soccer preliminaries
- Daegu Stadium², Daegu – football/soccer preliminaries
- Busan Stadium², Busan – football/soccer preliminaries
- Gwangju Stadium², Gwangju – football/soccer preliminaries
- Suwon Gymnasium¹, Suwon – handball
- Seongnam Stadium², Seongnam – hockey
- Busan Yachting Center¹, Busan – yachting
¹ New facilities constructed in preparation for the Olympic Games. ² Existing facilities modified or refurbished in preparation for the Olympic Games.
Medals awarded
competition at the 1988 Summer Olympics.]]
See the medal winners, ordered by sport:
{|
|
- Archery
- Athletics
- Basketball
- Boxing
- Canoeing
- Cycling
- Diving
- Equestrian
- Fencing
- Swimming
- Synchronized swimming
- Table tennis
- Tennis
- Volleyball
- Water polo
- Weightlifting
- Wrestling
Demonstration sports
These were the demonstration sports in the games:
Participating nations
Athletes from 159 nations competed at the Seoul Games. Aruba, American Samoa, Cook Islands, Guam, Maldives, Vanuatu, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, and South Yemen 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 :
{| |valign=top|
- also participated in the Opening Ceremonies and Closing Ceremonies, marking its first appearance at the Olympic Games, but its delegation consisted of only one swimming official.
These are the top ten nations that won medals at these Games: {| |- | 1
Mascot
The official mascot for the 1988 Summer Olympic Games was Hodori. It was a stylized tiger designed by Kim Hyun as an amicable Amur Tiger, portraying the friendly and hospitable traditions of the Korean people. Hodori's female version was called Hosuni.
The name Hodori was chosen from 2,295 suggestions sent in by the public. It is a portmanteau of ho, which is a derived word from the Korean word for "tiger" (horangi), and dori, which is a diminutive for "boys" in Korean.
See also
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