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 ...

took place in

Seoul Seoul (; ; ), officially known as the Seoul Special City, is the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea.Before 1972, Seoul was the ''de jure'' capital of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) as stated iArticle 103 of ...

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korean Peninsula and sharing a land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed by the Yellow Sea, while its eas ...

. The swimming competition, held from September 18 to September 25, was notable for the seven medals, including five golds, won by

Matt Biondi Matt may refer to: *Matt (name), people with the given name ''Matt'' or Matthew, meaning "gift from God", or the surname Matt *In British English, of a surface: having a non-glossy finish, see gloss (material appearance) *Matt, Switzerland, a mu ...

, the six golds won by

Kristin Otto Kristin Otto (; born 7 February 1966) is a German Olympic swimming champion. She is most famous for being the first woman to win six gold medals at a single Olympic Games, doing so at the 1988 Seoul Olympic Games.

, and the three individual golds won by

Janet Evans Janet Beth Evans (born August 28, 1971) 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 Ol ...

. 633 participants from 77 countries were competing.

Medal table

Events

The swimming program for 1988 included two new events, the men's and women's 50 m freestyle, bringing the total number of events to 31. The following events were contested: * Freestyle: 50 m, 100 m, 200 m, 400 m, 800 m (women), 1500 m (men), *

Backstroke Backstroke or back crawl is one of the four swimming styles used in competitive events regulated by FINA, and the only one of these styles swum on the back. This swimming style has the advantage of easy breathing, but the disadvantage of swimm ...

: 100 m, 200 m * Breaststroke: 100 m, 200 m *

Butterfly Butterflies are insects in the macrolepidopteran clade Rhopalocera from the order Lepidoptera, which also includes moths. Adult butterflies have large, often brightly coloured wings, and conspicuous, fluttering flight. The group comprise ...

: 100 m, 200 m *

Individual Medley Medley is a combination of four different swimming styles—backstroke, breaststroke, butterfly, and freestyle—into one race. This race is either swum by one swimmer as individual medley (IM) or by four swimmers as a medley relay. Individual m ...

: 200 m, 400 m *Relay: 4 × 100 m free, 4 × 200 m free (men); 4 × 100 m medley

Competition schedule

All dates are in 1988.

Medal summary

Men’s events

* Swimmers who participated in the heats only and received medals.

Women’s events

* Swimmers who participated in the heats only and received medals.

Participating nations

633 swimmers from 77 nations competed.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Swimming At The 1988 Summer Olympics 1988 Summer Olympics events

1988 File:1988 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The oil platform Piper Alpha explodes and collapses in the North Sea, killing 165 workers; The USS Vincennes (CG-49) mistakenly shoots down Iran Air Flight 655; Australia celebrates its Bicenten ...

1988 in swimming