1988 Summer Olympics

The Games of the XXIV Olympiad were held in 1988 in Seoul, South Korea. The host was chosen in the September 1981 vote, ahead of the Japanese city of Nagoya. South Korea's government became a democracy under the pressure of organizing the Olympics.

Highlights

• 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; he is also the first Black to win a swimming title.
• 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.
• Mark Todd wins his second consecutive individual gold medal on Charisma, only the second time in eventing history that a gold medal has been won consecutively.
• 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.