The 1988 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXIV Olympiad and commonly known as Seoul 1988, was 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.
Janet Beth Evans is an American former competition swimmer who specialized in distance freestyle events. Evans was a world champion and world record-holder, and won a total of four gold medals at the 1988 and the 1992 Olympics.
Zina Lynna Garrison is an American former professional tennis player. Garrison was the runner-up in singles at the 1990 Wimbledon Championships, a three-time major mixed doubles champion, and an Olympic gold and bronze medalist from the women's doubles and singles events, respectively, at the 1988 Seoul Olympics. She reached a career-high singles ranking of world No. 4, on 20 November 1989.
Dae Sung Lee is a Korean-American master of taekwondo who holds the rank of 7th dan. Lee is a 10-time US national taekwondo team member and two-time Olympic coach. He served as taekwondo coach for the US Summer Olympic team in 1992.
Madeline Manning Mims is a former American runner. Between 1967 and 1981 she won ten national titles and set a number of American records. She participated in the 1968, 1972, and 1976 Summer Olympics. She likely also would have participated in the 1980 Games in Moscow, had they not been boycotted by the United States. At the 1968 Olympics she won a gold medal in the 800 m, one of only two American women to win this event. Until 2008, she was the youngest winner of the event. At the 1972 Games in Munich she won a silver medal in the 4 × 400 m relay with teammates Mable Fergerson, Kathy Hammond, and Cheryl Toussaint. When she was three years old, she was diagnosed with spinal meningitis and not expected to live. She recovered, but was consistently sick until she was a teen.
USA Taekwondo (USAT) is the national governing body (NGB) of Taekwondo for the United States Olympic Committee (USOC) and thus the United States' official Member National Association of World Taekwondo USAT has complete authority over all decisions regarding US national junior and senior team selections for World Taekwondo events, including the Summer Olympic Games Taekwondo competition event.
Park Dong-keun, also known as D. K. Park, is a South Korean Grandmaster of taekwondo. He holds the title "Grandmaster," the rank of 9th dan in taekwondo, and was Korea's only undefeated taekwondo fighter in more than 200 International championship competition. Park introduced the martial art of taekwondo to Thailand in 1966, before settling in the United States of America, and was the taekwondo coach of both the US National Team and the US Olympic Team.
Taekwondo made its first appearance at the Olympics as a demonstration sport at the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, South Korea. The opening ceremony featured a mass demonstration of taekwondo, with hundreds of adults and children performing moves in unison. Taekwondo was again a demonstration sport at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona, Spain. Taekwondo became a full medal sport at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, Australia, and has been a sport in the Olympic games since then.
Kristie Phillips-Bannister, formerly known as Kristie Phillips, is a retired American elite gymnast. The 1987 senior U.S. National Champion and one of the American team's strongest and most visible competitors in the mid-1980s, Phillips was considered to be one of the front-runners for the 1988 U.S. Olympic team. By the Olympic Trials in 1988, however, she had endured several coaching changes and a growth spurt, and was only named second alternate to the team. She went on to participate in competitive cheerleading in college and has since enjoyed successful careers as an actress, stunt woman, coach and gymnastics club owner.
Sherri Frances Howard is a former American athlete who competed mainly in the 400 metres. She is the older sister of 1988 relay teammate Denean Howard.
Sheila Ann Echols is a retired track and field athlete from the United States who competed in the 100 metres and the long jump. She won a gold medal at the 1988 Olympic Games in the 4 x 100 m relay. She also won the 1989 IAAF World Cup 100 m title.
Jasna Rather is former American table tennis player who played for Yugoslavia and then for United States, competing on four Olympics: in Seoul 1988 Summer Olympics, Barcelona 1992 Summer Olympics, Sydney 2000 Summer Olympics, and Athens 2004 Summer Olympics respectively.
Jordan first participated at the Olympic Games in 1980, and has sent athletes to compete in every Summer Olympic Games since then. The nation has never participated in the Winter Olympic Games, however at the 1992 Albertville Olympics 43-year-old Mohamed Hadid competed for Jordan in the demonstration sport of speed skiing.
Anne Marden is a rower from the United States. She was born in Boston, Massachusetts.
Debra Holloway is a former U.S. Olympian in Taekwondo. She was a seven-time US bantamweight champion, and earned a silver medal in the 1988 Seoul Olympics despite fighting her final round with a broken finger. She attended Howard University and trained in Taekwondo under Dong Ja Yang.
Sharon Ann Jewell is a former US Olympian in the sport of taekwondo. She would train at Howard University under Dong Ja Yang. Sharon would earn a bronze medal in the 1988 Seoul Olympics. While there she would meet and date Olympic wrestler, Rodney Smith. After her career she became a taekwondo referee.
Dong Ja Yang is the former chairman of the AAU National Taekwondo Union from 1979-84. From 1984-88, He was a member of the Executive Board of the United States Olympic Committee. Earning a Ph.D. in counseling psychology, Yang introduced taekwondo to 77 colleges in the U.S. from 1977-83. During these years, he was essential in helping raise taekwondo to Olympic status. He taught Taekwondo for 35 years at Howard University. In 1986, Yang asked WTF President Kim Un-Yong to lower the black belt fee for taekwondo, which resulted in Yang's removal from the WTF Pan American Taekwondo Union. In 1988, three of his students earned medals in the Seoul Summer Olympics: Lynnette Love, Debra Holloway and Sharon Jewell. He received an award from Congressman Ralph Metcalfe for his work in bringing women to taekwondo. He also hosted the Howard University Taekwondo Championships. In 2001, he filed a complaint against the United States Taekwondo Union. Yang was elected to the Taekwondo Hall of Fame and holds a 9th degree black belt.
Sang-chul Lee is a Korean born Taekwondo grandmaster 8th Dan, US Olympic Taekwondo head coach, entrepreneur, and owner of the US Taekwondo Center. Sang-chul Lee is a leading taekwondo innovator and missionary and has played an instrumental role in the promotion and development of Taekwondo throughout the United States and the world.
Yvonne Franssen is a Canadian taekwondo practitioner.
Samer Kamal is a Jordanian taekwondo practitioner, competing in the featherweight category.
