Artistic Gymnastics at the 1988 Summer Olympics

After the boycotts of 1980-84 this was the first time since 1976 that all the world’s top gymnasts met at the Olympics. After missing the 1984 Olympics, the Soviet men must have been seeking revenge, winning 12 of 26 medals in Seoul, and 8 of 12 gold medals. The competitions were held at the Che-yuk-gwan, Ol-lim-pik Gong-won, or the Olympic Gymnastics Hall in Olympic Park. It was completed in 1986 for the Seoul Olympics, had a capacity of over 14,000 and still is used mostly as a concert venue.

On the women’s side, Romania won eight medals to the Soviet Union’s seven, with both nations winning three events. Except for their 1984 boycott year, this was the only time between 1952-92, during their existence competing at the Olympics in gymnastics (as the Unified Team in 1992), that the Soviet women did not lead the medal lists. The United States had seemed to move forward as an Olympic gymnastics power in 1984, both for the men and women, but they won only one medal in Seoul, a women’s bronze medal by Phoebe Mills on balance beam.