1988 Seoul Summer Games
9,421 Athletes, 160 Countries, 237 Events
In the last Olympic Summer Games of the Cold War era, the 1988
Games were awarded to South Korea. The Olympics were used once
again as a political vehicle as North Korea, Cuba, Ethiopia, and
Nicaragua all boycotted the Games. The United States and the Soviet
Republic each returned to the Olympics after boycotting each
other's Games in Moscow 1980 and Los Angeles 1984. The extra time
off didn't hurt the USSR as it claimed the overall medal count with
132 medals, 55 of which were gold. Sohn Keechung,
a Korean, who won the marathon at the 1936 Berlin Games while Korea
was occupied by Japan, lit the Olympic cauldron.
Table tennis was added as an official sport and tennis was
reinstituted after a 62-year absence.
East German Christa Luding-Rothenburger became
the only person ever in history to win medals in the Summer and
Winter Olympics in the same year. She won silver in the inaugural
women's cycling match sprint to go with a silver and gold she had
won at the 1988 Calgary Games in speed skating.
The Ivy League sent 35 athletes, the majority of which were
rowers. The team also included two people who competed in
equestrian and seven fencers. The final Ivy medal count stood at
15; two gold, five silver, and eight bronze.
The one gold medal belonged to Harvard's Norman
Bellingham '94. Bellingham teamed with Gregory
Barton to take the top place in the pairs kayak
1,000-meter race.
Harvard's David Berkoff '89 took gold in the
400medley relay and a silver in the 100-meter backstroke. He also
initiated an Olympic rules change with his controversial start.
Berkoff, who was a senior at Harvard, used a submarine start where
he swam 32 kicks underwater before emerging about 30 meters into
the race. Using his start in the prelims Berkoff swam a 54.51 to
set the world record. In the final though, his start was slow and
Daichi Suzuki from Japan, also using the submarine
start, ended up winning by 10 inches. Immediately after the Seoul
Games the F.I.N.A. banned the submarine start and said that any
swimmer still underwater after 10 meters was automatically
disqualified.
| Name |
School |
Sport |
| Ted Patton |
Brown University |
Men's Rowing |
| John Smith |
Brown University |
Men's Rowing |
| Katy Bilodeux |
Columbia University |
Women's Fencing |
| Bob Cottingham |
Columbia University |
Men's Fencing |
| Steve Trevor |
Columbia University |
Men's Fencing |
| Curt Hampstead |
Cornell University |
Men's Athletics |
| Terry Kent |
Cornell University |
Men's Kayaking |
| Stephanie Maxwell-Pierson |
Cornell University |
Women's Rowing |
| Pete Pfitzinger |
Cornell University |
Men's Athletics |
| Michael S. Brown |
Dartmouth College |
Men's Diving |
| Charles Altekruse |
Harvard University |
Men's Rowing |
| Norman Bellingham |
Harvard University |
Men's Kayaking |
| David Berkoff |
Harvard University |
Men's Swimming |
| Rich Kennelley |
Harvard University |
Men's Rowing |
| John D. 'Jack' Rusher |
Harvard University |
Men's Rowing |
| Anna Seaton |
Harvard University |
Women's Rowing |
| Andrew Sudduth |
Harvard University |
Men's Rowing |
| Juliet B. Thompson |
Harvard University |
Women's Rowing |
| Alison Townley |
Harvard University |
Women's Rowing |
| Greg Best |
University of Pennsylvania |
Men's Equestrian |
| John Flobeck |
University of Pennsylvania |
Men's Rowing |
| Paul Friedberg |
University of Pennsylvania |
Men's Fencing |
| Angie Herron |
University of Pennsylvania |
Women's Rowing |
| Barbara Kirch |
University of Pennsylvania |
Women's Rowing |
| Mary Jane O'Neill |
University of Pennsylvania |
Women's Fencing |
| John Pescatore |
University of Pennsylvania |
Men's Rowing |
| Kay Worthington |
University of Pennsylvania |
Women's Rowing |
| Doug Burden |
Princeton University |
Men's Rowing |
| Lynn Jennings |
Princeton University |
Women's Athletics |
| Anne Marden |
Princeton University |
Women's Rowing |
| Lee Shelley |
Princeton University |
Men's Fencing |
| Deborah St. Phard |
Princeton University |
Women's Athletics |
| Dan Veatch |
Princeton University |
Men's Swimming |
| Seth Bauer |
Yale University |
Men's Rowing |
| Peter Nordell |
Yale University |
Men's Rowing |