1988 Summer Olympics medal table — distribution of medals at the 1988 Summer Olympics
The 1988 Seoul Olympics saw 8,397 athletes from 159 nations compete, with the Soviet Union topping the medal table with 55 golds and 132 total medals.
Key Facts
- Total athletes
- 8,397
- Participating NOCs
- 159
- Events contested
- 237 events in 23 sports
- Soviet Union gold medals
- 55
- Soviet Union total medals
- 132
- NOCs winning at least one medal
- 52
By the Numbers
Location
Cause → Event → Consequence
Hosted in Seoul, South Korea, the 1988 Summer Olympics represented a return to near-universal participation after boycotts had marred the 1980 and 1984 Games. With 159 NOCs attending, the Games offered a stage for broad international athletic competition across newly introduced and reintroduced sports, including table tennis and tennis.
Held from 17 September to 2 October 1988, the Games of the XXIV Olympiad featured 8,397 athletes competing in 237 events. The Soviet Union led the medal table with 55 gold and 132 total medals. East Germany's Kristin Otto won six individual gold medals in swimming, while American Matt Biondi tied Mark Spitz's single-Games record with seven total medals.
Several nations earned their first-ever Olympic medals at these Games, including Suriname, which claimed its first Olympic gold. Costa Rica, Djibouti, Indonesia, the Netherlands Antilles, Senegal, and the United States Virgin Islands also won their inaugural Olympic medals, broadening the global reach of Olympic achievement.