The

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., federal district, five ma ...

competed at the

1988 Summer Olympics The 1988 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XXIV Olympiad () and commonly known as Seoul 1988 ( ko, 서울 1988, Seoul Cheon gubaek palsip-pal), was an international multi-sport event held from 17 September to 2 October ...

Seoul Seoul (; ; ), officially known as the Seoul Special City, is the Capital city, capital and largest metropolis of South Korea.Before 1972, Seoul was the ''de jure'' capital of the North Korea, Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea ...

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...

. 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 (third behind the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

and

East Germany East Germany, officially the German Democratic Republic (GDR; german: Deutsche Demokratische Republik, , DDR, ), was a country that existed from its creation on 7 October 1949 until its dissolution on 3 October 1990. In these years the state ...

) 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.

Medalists

The following U.S. competitors won medals at the games. In the by discipline sections below, medalists' names are bolded. , style="text-align:left; width:78%; vertical-align:top;", , style="text-align:left; width:22%; vertical-align:top;", * - Indicates that the athlete competed in preliminaries but not the final.

Archery

The United States continued to be a strong contender in archery, though it found that

had taken the top spot in the sport.

Jay Barrs Jack Leonard "Jay" Barrs, Jr. (born July 17, 1962) is an American archer. He won a gold medal in the 1988 Summer Olympics. He is aNAANational Outdoor Champion and FITA World Field Champion, as well as a fourteen timNAAUS Field Champion. Barrs ...

was the only non-Korean to win a gold medal for archery in Seoul. Two-time gold medallist

Darrell Pace Darrell Owen Pace (born October 23, 1956) is a former archer from the United States, who won two individual Olympic and World Championships titles each during his career. In 2011, as part of the World Archery Federation's 80th anniversary celebr ...

and 1984 silver medallist Richard McKinney joined Barrs in winning the team silver, while the women's team added a bronze medal despite not having any of the individual archers advance to the final. With her women's team bronze, 15-year-old Denise Parker become the youngest medalist in the history of Olympic archery. ;Men ;Women

Athletics

The men's 100 meter sprint was marred by the usage of performance-enhancing drugs when the initial winner, Canadian sprinter

Ben Johnson Ben, Benjamin or Benny Johnson may refer to: In sports Association football * Ben Johnson (footballer, born 2000), English footballer * Ben Johnson (soccer) (born 1977), American soccer player Other codes of football * Ben Johnson (Australian foo ...

, tested positive for banned substances after the race and was stripped of the gold medal and his world record time of 9.79 seconds, thus allowing Carl Lewis to repeat as gold medal winner. In 1989, Johnson admitted to further PED usage between 1981 and 1988 and his world record of 9.83 seconds from the 1987 World Championships was rescinded as well, allowing Lewis's 9.92 seconds in the Olympic final became the new world record. This put the United States in position to sweep the gold medals in the men's sprint distances, including a sweep of all medals at the 400 meter distance. The United States men also won medals while setting Olympic records at both hurdle distances. In the men's relays, a fumbled baton exchange in the heat of the 4 × 100 caused a heartbreaking disqualification for the favored American team. In the 4 × 400, however, the United States cruised to victory while equaling the 20-year-old world record which had been set in

Mexico City Mexico City ( es, link=no, Ciudad de México, ; abbr.: CDMX; Nahuatl: ''Altepetl Mexico'') is the capital and largest city of Mexico, and the most populous city in North America. One of the world's alpha cities, it is located in the Valley of ...

. In men's field events, the highlight came from Carl Lewis defending his gold medal from Los Angeles and leading the United States to a medal sweep in the long jump. In the women's events, Florence Griffth-Joyner had dominating performances in the 100 and 200 meter sprints, lowering the Olympic record by over 0.2 seconds in the 100 and lowering the world record by almost 0.4 seconds in the 200. She also helped the United States to strong performances in the relays, winning gold in the 4 × 100 and coming in second, while beating the previous world record, to a record-shattering performance by the Soviet team in the 4 × 400. Meanwhile, in the heptathlon, Jackie Joyner-Kersee dominated the competition while setting a world record that has not been approached in the succeeding 30 years. Joyner-Kersee's long jump performance in the heptathlon was enough to set the Olympic record for the discipline, only for her to eclipse it in the final of the long jump event. The high jump event also saw Louise Ritter eclipse the Olympic record on the way to a gold medal. Finally, the only United States medal in the middle distance events came from Kim Gallagher, who captured bronze in the 800 meters. ;Men ;;Track and road events * - Indicates the athlete ran in a preliminary round but not the final. ;;Field events ;;Combined event –

Decathlon The decathlon is a combined event in athletics consisting of ten track and field events. The word "decathlon" was formed, in analogy to the word "pentathlon", from Greek δέκα (''déka'', meaning "ten") and ἄθλος (''áthlos'', or ἄθ ...

;Women * - Indicates the athlete ran in a preliminary round but not the final.
** - Griffith-Joyner's final time was faster than the Olympic record she had set in the quarterfinal but the wind reading during the race was 3 meters/second in favor of the sprinters, thus disallowing the race for any

IAAF World Athletics, formerly known as the International Amateur Athletic Federation (from 1912 to 2001) and International Association of Athletics Federations (from 2001 to 2019, both abbreviated as the IAAF) is the international governing body fo ...

records. ;;Field events ;;Combined event –

Heptathlon A heptathlon is a track and field combined events contest made up of seven events. The name derives from the Greek επτά (hepta, meaning "seven") and ἄθλος (áthlos, or ἄθλον, áthlon, meaning "competition"). A competitor in a hep ...

Basketball

;Summary

Men's tournament

This was the last time that the United States was represented by college players in Olympic competition. Other countries, meanwhile, used their best professionals. ;Roster ;Group play ---- ---- ---- ---- ;Quarterfinal ;Semifinal ;Bronze medal game

Women's tournament

;Team roster ;Group play ---- ---- ;Semifinal ;Gold medal game

Boxing

There were several controversies involving the American boxers at the games. Young and talented Roy Jones Jr. dominated his opponents, never losing a round en route to the final, where he controversially lost a 3–2 decision to South Korean fighter

Park Si-Hun A park is an area of natural, semi-natural or planted space set aside for human enjoyment and recreation or for the protection of wildlife or natural habitats. Urban parks are green spaces set aside for recreation inside towns and cities. N ...

despite pummeling Park for three rounds and landing 86 punches to Park's 32. The decision sparked outrage and an

International Olympic Committee The International Olympic Committee (IOC; french: link=no, Comité international olympique, ''CIO'') is a non-governmental sports organisation based in Lausanne, Switzerland. It is constituted in the form of an association under the Swis ...

investigation found that the three judges who voted for Park Si-Hun had been bribed by South Korean officials. With some elements of corruption in Olympic boxing coming to light, refereeing standards were changed after the games to avoid future controversies. Corruption was also suspected in Michael Carbajal's decision loss in his gold medal match. In another controversial gold medal match,

Riddick Bowe Riddick Lamont Bowe (born August 10, 1967) is an American former professional boxer who competed between 1989 and 2008. He reigned as the undisputed world heavyweight champion in 1992, and as an amateur he won a silver medal in the super heavyw ...

lost to future world heavyweight champion

Lennox Lewis Lennox Claudius Lewis (born 2 September 1965) is a former professional boxer and boxing commentator who competed from 1989 to 2003. He is a three-time world heavyweight champion, a two-time lineal champion, and the last heavyweight to hol ...

. After Lewis landed several hard punches the referee gave Bowe two

standing eight count A standing eight count, also known as a protection count, is a boxing judgment call made by a referee during a bout. When invoked, the referee stops the action and counts to eight. During that time, the referee will determine if the boxer can ...

s and waved the fight off after the second one, even though Bowe seemed able to continue. In yet another controversy,

Michael Carbajal Michael Carbajal (born September 17, 1967) is an American five-time world boxing champion of Mexican descent. His nickname was "Little Hands Of Stone," after his favorite boxer,"Hands Of Stone" Roberto Durán. Amateur career Carbajal had an amat ...

lost the gold medal bout in the light flyweight, with suspicions of politics influencing the judges decision being quite widespread. Members of the U.S. Army Boxing Team ( Anthony Hembrick, Andrew Maynard, Kennedy McKinney, Ray Mercer) trained for the Olympics at Fort Huachuca, Arizona. Furthermore, middleweight Anthony Hembrick never had the opportunity to fight. Hembrick and his coach, Ken Adams, misinterpreted the fight schedule. Afterwards, they blamed the schedule for being too confusing. By the time Hembrick arrived at Chamshil Students' Gymnasium twelve minutes late, he had been disqualified and the match was being awarded to

Ha Jong-ho Ha Jong-ho (born 16 July 1963) is a South Korean boxer. He competed in the men's middleweight event at the 1988 Summer Olympics The 1988 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XXIV Olympiad () and commonly known as Seou ...

Canoeing

;Men ;Women Key: QF - Qualified to medal final; SF - Qualified to semifinal; R - Qualified to repechage; * - Heat not held due to lack of competitors. All competitors scheduled for this heat advanced to the next round.

Cycling

Nineteen cyclists represented the United States in 1988. Connie Paraskevin-Young won bronze in the women's sprint.

Road

Track

;Points race ;Pursuit ;Sprint ;Time trial

Diving

;Men ;Women

Equestrian

;Dressage ;Eventing ;Jumping

Fencing

19 fencers represented the United States in 1988. ;Men ;Women

Field hockey

;Summary

Women's tournament

The US women's field hockey team competed for the second time at the Summer Olympics. ;Roster :* ( 1.) Patty Shea (gk) :* ( 2.)

Yolanda Hightower Yolanda Hightower (born January 1, 1961) is an American former field hockey player who competed in the 1988 Summer Olympics. She won the silver medal at the Pan American Games in Indianapolis. In 2001, Hightower was inducted into the Virginia Sp ...

:* ( 3.)

Mary Koboldt Mary Koboldt (born March 18, 1964) is an American former field hockey player who competed in the 1988 Summer Olympics. She attended the University of Iowa, where she played for the Hawkeyes The Iowa Hawkeyes are the athletic teams that repres ...

:* ( 4.) Marcia Pankratz :* ( 5.) Cheryl Van Kuren :* ( 6.) Diane Bracalente :* ( 7.) Beth Beglin :* ( 8.)

Marcella Place Marcella Jeanette "Marcy" Place (born April 23, 1959) is a former field hockey player from the United States, who was a member of the national team that won the bronze medal at the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, California. Four years later ...

:* ( 9.)

Sandra Vander-Heyden Sandra Vander-Heyden (born December 26, 1964, in Nashua, New Hampshire) is an American former field hockey player who competed in the 1988 Summer Olympics The 1988 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XXIV Olympiad () and ...

:* (10.) Tracey Fuchs :* (11.)

Sheryl Johnson Sheryl Ann Johnson (born December 9, 1957 in Palo Alto, California) is a former field hockey player and coach from the United States. She grew up in Cupertino, CA, and attended Monta Vista High School. She was a three-sport athlete at the Univers ...

:* (12.) Sandra Costigan :* (13.) Christy Morgan :* (14.) Barbara Marois :* (15.) Megan Donnelly :* (16.)

Donna Lee "Donna Lee" is a bebop jazz standard attributed to Charlie Parker, although Miles Davis has also claimed authorship. Written in A-flat, it is based on the chord changes of the jazz standard " (Back Home Again in) Indiana". Beginning with an unusu ...

Head Coach:

Boudewijn Castelijn Boudewijn Castelijn is a former Dutch field hockey coach and team performance trainer. He has been awarded by the FIH a master's degree of International Coaching. He worked at multiple field hockey clubs in the Netherlands. In 1988 he led the Un ...

;Preliminary round ;;Group A ---- ---- ;5th-8th place classification ;8th place game

Football

;Summary ;Roster Head coach: Lothar Osiander ;Preliminary round ---- ----

Gymnastics

Artistic

;Men ;;Team ;;Individual finals ;Women ;;Team ;;Individual finals

Rhythmic

Handball

;Summary

Judo

Modern pentathlon

Three pentathletes represented the United States in 1988.

Rowing

;Men ;Women * - Race not run, times from heats were used to rank boats.
Qualification legend: FA = Final A (medal); FB = Final B (non-medal); SF = Semifinal; R = Repechage

Sailing

;Men ;Women ;Open

Shooting

;Men ;Women ;Open shotgun

Swimming

;Men ;Women * - Athlete swam in the heat but not the final.
Note: Times in the first round ranked across all heats.
Qualification legend: FA - Advance to medal final; FB - Advance to non-medal final

Synchronized swimming

Three female synchronized swimmers represented the United States in 1988.

Table tennis

Tennis

;Men ;Women

Volleyball

;Summary

Men's tournament

* Preliminary Round (Group B) :* United States – Japan 3-0 (15-13, 15-2, 15-2) :* United States – The Netherlands 3-1 (15-7, 12-15, 15-1, 15-11) :* United States – Argentina 3-2 (11-15, 11-15, 15-4, 17-15, 15-7) :* United States – France 3-0 (17-15, 15-6, 15-13) :* United States – Tunisia 3-0 (15-4, 15-6, 15-4) * Semi Finals :* United States – Brazil 3-0 (15-3, 15-5, 15-11) * Final :* United States – Soviet Union 3-1 (13-15, 15-10, 15-4, 15-8) *Team Roster :* Craig Buck :*

Bob Ctvrtlik Robert Jan "Bob" Ctvrtlik (; born July 8, 1963) is an American volleyball player, Olympic gold medalist, businessman and former member of the International Olympic Committee. He is a 1985 graduate of Pepperdine University. Early life Bob Ctvr ...

:* Scott Fortune :*

Karch Kiraly Charles Frederick "Karch" Kiraly () (born November 3, 1960) is an American volleyball player, coach and broadcast announcer. In the 1980s he was a central part of the U.S National Team that won gold medals at the 1984 and 1988 Olympic Games. H ...

:* Ricci Luyties :* Doug Partie :*

Jon Root Jonathan Edward "Jon" Root (born July 10, 1964) is an American former volleyball player. He was a member of the United States men's national volleyball team that won the gold medal at the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, South Korea. Root also ...

:* Eric Sato :* Dave Saunders :*

Jeff Stork Jeffrey Malcolm Stork (born July 8, 1960 in Longview, Washington) is an American former volleyball player. He was a member of the US national team that won the gold medal in the 1988 Summer Olympics and the bronze medal in the 1992 Summer Olympi ...

Steve Timmons Steve Dennis Timmons (born November 29, 1958) is an American former volleyball player who represented the United States at three consecutive Summer Olympics starting in 1984, winning gold in 1984 and 1988 plus a bronze in 1992. Steve played vol ...

Troy Tanner Troy Richard Tanner (born October 31, 1963 in Hacienda Heights, California) is a former All-American volleyball player. He was a member of the United States men's national volleyball team that won the gold medal at the 1988 Summer Olympics in S ...

*Head Coach: Marv Dunphy

Women's tournament

* Preliminary Round (Group B) :* Lost to PR China (0-3) :* Defeated Brazil (3-2) :* Lost to Peru (2-3) * Classification Matches :* 5th/8th place: Lost to East Germany (1-3) :* 7th/8th place: Defeated South Korea (3-2) *Team Roster :*

Deitre Collins Deitre Collins (born March 3, 1962) is an American volleyball player. She competed in the women's tournament at the 1988 Summer Olympics. While at Hawai'i, she won the Broderick Award (now the Honda Sports Award The Honda Sports Award is an a ...

:* Caren Kemner :*

Laurel Kessel Laurel Kessel (born February 7, 1954) is an American former volleyball player. She played volleyball for San Diego's Crawford High School, and then San Diego State University, before joining the United States national team. She appeared in the ...

:* Liz Masakayan :* Jayne McHugh :*

Melissa McLinden Melissa Therese McLinden (born September 13, 1964) is a former volleyball player. She played for the University of Arizona and for the United States national team at the 1988 Summer Olympics The 1988 Summer Olympics (), officially known as t ...

:* Kim Oden :*

Prikeba Phipps Prikeba ("Keba") Reed Phipps (born June 30, 1969) is a retired volleyball player from the United States who represented her native country at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece. There she finished in fifth place with the United States w ...

:* Angela Rock :* Kimberly Ruddins :* Liane Sato :* Tammy Webb *Head Coach: Terry Liskevych

Water polo

;Summary ;Roster :* Craig Wilson :* Kevin Robertson :* James Bergeson :* Peter Campbell :* Douglas Kimbell :* Edward Klass :* Alan Mouchawar :* Jeffrey Campbell :* Greg Boyer :*

Terry Schroeder Terry Alan Schroeder, DC (born October 9, 1958) is an American former water polo player who competed in the 1984 Summer Olympics, in the 1988 Summer Olympics, and in the 1992 Summer Olympics. Schroeder is a chiropractor, practicing in Agoura ...

:* Jody Campbell :*

Christopher Duplanty Christopher David "Chris" Duplanty (born October 21, 1965, in Palo Alto, California) is a former water polo goalkeeper from the United States, who competed in three Summer Olympics (1988, 1992 and 1996) for his native country. He won the silver m ...

:* Michael Evans *Head Coach:

Bill Barnett William Perry Barnett (born May 10, 1956 in St. Paul, Minnesota) is a former professional American football player who played defensive tackle for six seasons for the Miami Dolphins in the National Football League The National Football ...

;Preliminary round ---- ---- ---- ---- ;Semifinal ;Gold medal game

Weightlifting

Wrestling

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:United States At The 1988 Summer Olympics Nations at the 1988 Summer Olympics 1988 Oly

Medalists

Archery

Athletics

Basketball

Men's tournament

Women's tournament

Boxing

Canoeing

Cycling

Road

Track

Diving

Equestrian

Fencing

Field hockey

Women's tournament

Football

Gymnastics

Artistic

Rhythmic

Handball

Judo

Modern pentathlon

Rowing

Sailing

Shooting

Swimming

Synchronized swimming

Table tennis

Tennis

Volleyball

Men's tournament

Women's tournament

Water polo

Weightlifting

Wrestling

See also

References