| Canoeing at the 1988 Summer Olympics | ||
|---|---|---|
Sprint | ||
| C-1 500 m | men | |
| C-1 1000 m | men | |
| C-2 500 m | men | |
| C-2 1000 m | men | |
| K-1 500 m | men | women |
| K-1 1000 m | men | |
| K-2 500 m | men | women |
| K-2 1000 m | men | |
| K-4 500 m | women | |
| K-4 1000 m | men | |
At the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, twelve events in sprint canoe racing were contested. The program was unchanged from the previous Games in 1984.
| Rank | Nation | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  East Germany (GDR) | 3 | 4 | 2 | 9 |
| 2 |  Soviet Union (URS) | 3 | 3 | 0 | 6 |
| 3 |  Hungary (HUN) | 2 | 1 | 1 | 4 |
| 4 |  United States (USA) | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 5 |  Bulgaria (BUL) | 1 | 1 | 3 | 5 |
| 6 |  New Zealand (NZL) | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| 7 |  Poland (POL) | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| 8 |  Australia (AUS) | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| 9 |  France (FRA) | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
 Netherlands (NED) | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | |
| Totals (10 entries) | 12 | 12 | 12 | 36 | |
| Games | Gold | Silver | Bronze |
|---|---|---|---|
| K-1 500 metres | Vanja Gesheva  Bulgaria | Birgit Schmidt  East Germany | Izabela Dylewska  Poland |
| K-2 500 metres | Birgit Schmidt and Anke Nothnagel East Germany | Vanja Gesheva and Diana Paliiska Bulgaria | Annemiek Derckx and Annemarie Cox  Netherlands |
| K-4 500 metres | East Germany (GDR) Birgit Schmidt Anke Nothnagel Ramona Portwich Heike Singer | Hungary (HUN) Erika Géczi Erika Mészáros Éva Rakusz Rita Kőbán | Bulgaria (BUL) Vanja Gesheva Diana Paliiska Ogniana Petkova Borislava Ivanova |
The 1988 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXIV Olympiad and officially branded as Seoul 1988, were an international multi-sport event held from 17 September to 2 October 1988 in Seoul, South Korea. 159 nations were represented at the games by a total of 8,391 athletes. 237 events were held and 27,221 volunteers helped to prepare the Olympics.
The 1988 Summer Paralympics were the first Paralympics in 24 years to take place in the same city as the Olympic Games. They took place in Seoul, South Korea. This was the first time the term "Paralympic" was used officially.
The United States of America (USA) competed at the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, South Korea. 527 competitors, 332 men and 195 women, took part in 230 events in 27 sports. The United States finished outside of the top two in the overall medal count for the first time and in the gold medal count for only the second time. That was mainly caused by the extensive state-sponsored doping programs that were developed in these communist countries to fulfil their political agenda on an international stage.
Brazil competed at the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, South Korea. 160 competitors, 127 men and 33 women, took part in 106 events in 21 sports. Brazilians conquered 6 medals in Seoul, but only one gold medal.
Hong Kong competed at the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, South Korea. 48 competitors, 38 men and 10 women, took part in 49 events in 11 sports. The use in the traditional Korean Hangul alphabet which placed last before the host nation in the Parade of Nations.
Canada competed at the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, South Korea, held from 17 September to 2 October 1988. 328 competitors, 223 men and 105 women, took part in 193 events in 23 sports. Most Canadians remember these Olympics for Ben Johnson, who won the gold medal and set a world record in the men's 100 metres, before being disqualified and his record deleted after he tested positive for stanozolol.
Tennis was part of the Summer Olympic Games program from the inaugural 1896 Summer Olympics, but was dropped after the 1924 Summer Olympics due to disputes between the International Lawn Tennis Federation and the International Olympic Committee over how to define amateur players. After two appearances as a demonstration sport in 1968 and 1984, it returned as a full medal sport at the 1988 Summer Olympics open for all players regardless of their age and status and has been played at every summer Games since then.
Bulgaria competed at the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, South Korea. Bulgaria ranked 5th overall by medal count with 35 medals won. 171 competitors, 104 men and 67 women, took part in 120 events in 16 sports. The nation returned to the Olympic Games after being forced to boycott the 1984 Summer Olympics.
The Judo competition at the 1988 Summer Olympics continued the seven weight classes first used at the 1980 Games. The open division was eliminated from the competition. Women's judo made its first appearance at the Olympic Games, as a demonstration sport. Japan failed to claim the top of the medal count for the first time in an Olympics in which they participated, coming in third behind South Korea and Poland.
Djibouti took part in the 1988 Summer Olympics which were held in Seoul, South Korea from September 17 to October 2. The country's participation marked its second appearance in the Summer Olympics since its debut at the 1984 Summer games in Los Angeles, United States. The delegation from Djibouti included six athletes, five in athletics and one in sailing. The five athletes for athletics were Hoche Yaya Aden, Ismael Hassan, Talal Omar Abdillahi, Hussein Ahmed Salah, and Omar Moussa while Robleh Ali Adou represented the nation in sailing. Ahmed Salah won the nation's first Olympic medal, which is a bronze at the Men's Marathon event.
The Central African Republic competed at the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, South Korea. This marked the third appearance of the nation at a Summer Olympics. The country entered 15 competitors, the highest number of Central Africans appearing at any Games so far; with the basketball team comprising 12 of them. In addition to the boxers Fidèle Mohinga and Moussa Wiawindi, there was marathon runner Adolphe Ambowodé, who had previously competed at the 1984 Summer Olympics. No medals were won by any of those athletes.
The men's marathon at the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, South Korea was held on Sunday October 2, 1988. The race started at 14:30h local time. A total of 98 athletes completed the race, with Polin Belisle from Belize finishing in last position in 3'14:02. There were 118 competitors from 60 countries. Twenty of them did not finish. The maximum number of athletes per nation had been set at 3 since the 1930 Olympic Congress. The event was won by Gelindo Bordin of Italy, the nation's first victory in the Olympic men's marathon and first medal in the event since 1924. Kenya and Djibouti each won their first Olympic men's marathon medal.
Table tennis was first included in the Olympic program at the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, with four events contested. Prior to the 1988 Summer Olympics, Table tennis has been held at the Summer Paralympic Games since they were first held in 1960.
Djibouti first participated at the Olympic Games in 1984, and have competed in every Summer Olympic Games, apart from the 2004 edition, since then. They have never competed in the Winter Olympic Games.
For the 1988 Summer Olympics, a total of thirty-one sports venues were used. South Korea hosted its first World Championships in 1978 in shooting sports. Three years later, Seoul was awarded the 1988 Summer Olympics. Many of the venues constructed for the 1988 Games were completed two years earlier in time for the Asian Games. The 1986 Asian Games served as test events for the 1988 Summer Olympics. The men's marathon course was lined by 36,000 policemen. Steffi Graf won a gold medal in women's singles to complete the "Golden Slam". None of the football venues used for these games were used for the 2002 FIFA World Cup that Korea co-hosted with Japan.
Eight women's teams competed in basketball at the 1988 Summer Olympics.
