1988 in the sport of athletics explained

1988 in athletics
Previous:	1987
Next:	1989

This article contains an overview of the year 1988 in athletics.

International events

• African Championships
• Balkan Games
• European Indoor Championships
• Olympic Games
• World Cross Country Championships
• World Junior Championships

World records

Men

EVENT	ATHLETE	MARK	DATE	VENUE
100 metres		9.92	24 September	Seoul, South Korea
400 metres		43.29	17 August	Zürich, Switzerland
4 × 400 metres relay	• Danny Everett • Steve Lewis • Kevin Robinzine • Butch Reynolds	2:56.16	1 October	Seoul, South Korea
High Jump		2.43m	8 September	Salamanca, Spain
Pole vault		6.05m	9 June	Bratislava, Czechoslovakia
		6.06m	10 July	Nice, France
Shot put		23.06m	22 May	Chania, Greece
Marathon		2:06:50	17 April	Rotterdam, Netherlands

• Carl Lewis finished behind Ben Johnson (9.79) who was disqualified for a failed drugs test
• 4 × 400 team equalled the record by the United States on October 20, 1968, by Vincent Matthews, Ron Freeman, Larry James and Lee Evans.

Women

EVENT	ATHLETE	MARK	DATE	VENUE
100 metres		10.49	16 July	Indianapolis, United States
200 metres		21.56	29 September	Seoul, South Korea
		21.34	29 September	Seoul, South Korea
25,000 metres		1:29:29.2	22 April	Budapest, Hungary
30,000 metres		1:47:05.6	22 April	Budapest, Hungary
100 metres hurdles		12.21	20 August	Stara Zagora, Bulgaria
4 × 400 m Relay	• Tatyana Ledovskaya • Olga Nazarova • Mariya Pinigina • Olga Bryzgina	3:15.17	1 October	Seoul, South Korea
Long jump		7.52 m	11 June	Leningrad, Soviet Union
Discus throw		76.80 m	9 July	Neubrandenburg, East Germany
Javelin throw		80.00 m	9 September	Potsdam, East Germany
Heptathlon		7215	16 July	Indianapolis, United States
	7291	24 September	Seoul, South Korea

• Many observers believe Griffith-Joyner's time of 10.49 should not have been accepted as a record due to excessive following wind
• Christyakova equalled the previous record of 7.45m with a prior jump

Men's Best Year Performers

100 metres

Main race this year: Men's Olympic 100 metres

RANK	1988 WORLD BEST PERFORMERS	TIME
1.		9.92
2.		9.97
-		9.97
4.		10.03
-		10.03

200 metres

Main race this year: Men's Olympic 200 metres

RANK	1988 WORLD BEST PERFORMERS	TIME
1.		19.75
2.		19.79
3.		19.87
4.		20.04
5.		20.05
-		20.05

400 metres

Main race this year: Men's Olympic 400 metres

RANK	1988 WORLD BEST PERFORMERS	TIME
1.		43.29
2.		43.87
3.		43.98
4.		44.22
5.		44.38

800 metres

Main race this year: Men's Olympic 800 metres

RANK	1988 WORLD BEST PERFORMERS	TIME
1.		1:42.65
2.		1:43.20
3.		1:43.42
4.		1:43.45
5.		1:43.86

1,500 metres

Main race this year: Men's Olympic 1,500 metres

RANK	1988 WORLD BEST PERFORMERS	TIME
1.		3:30.95
2.		3:31.01
3.		3:32.69
4.		3:32.94
5.		3:33.33

Mile

RANK	1988 WORLD BEST PERFORMERS	TIME
1.		3:48.85
2.		3:49.20
3.		3:49.22
4.		3:49.40
5.		3:50.09

3,000 metres

RANK	1988 WORLD BEST PERFORMERS	TIME
1.		7:38.79
2.		7:43.22
3.		7:43.46
4.		7:43.58
5.		7:43.65

5,000 metres

Main race this year: Men's Olympic 5,000 metres

RANK	1988 WORLD BEST PERFORMERS	TIME
1.		13:11.70
2.		13:15.52
3.		13:15.62
4.		13:15.73
5.		13:15.85

10,000 metres

Main race this year: Men's Olympic 10,000 metres

RANK	1988 WORLD BEST PERFORMERS	TIME
1.		27:21.46
2.		27:23.06
3.		27:23.55
4.		27:25.07
5.		27:25.16

Marathon

Main race this year: Men's Olympic Marathon

RANK	1988 WORLD BEST PERFORMERS	TIME
1.		2:06:50
2.		2:07:07
3.		2:07:35
4.		2:07:40
5.		2:08:20

Race Walking

See main article: 1988 Race Walking Year Ranking.

110m hurdles

Main race this year: Men's Olympic 110m hurdles

RANK	1988 WORLD BEST PERFORMERS	TIME
1.		12.97
2.		13.11
3.		13.17
-		13.17
5.		13.20

400m hurdles

Main race this year: Men's Olympic 400m hurdles

RANK	1988 WORLD BEST PERFORMERS	TIME
1.		47.19
2.		47.23
3.		47.37
4.		47.72
5.		47.74

3,000m steeplechase

Main race this year: Men's Olympic 3,000m steeplechase

RANK	1988 WORLD BEST PERFORMERS	TIME
1.		8:05.51
2.		8:06.79
3.		8:07.96
4.		8:12.00
5.		8:12.17

High jump

Main competition this year: Men's Olympic High Jump

RANK	1988 WORLD BEST PERFORMERS	HEIGHT
1.		2.43
2.		2.38
-		2.38
4.		2.37
-		2.37
-		2.37
-		2.37

Long jump

Main competition this year: Men's Olympic Long Jump

RANK	1988 WORLD BEST PERFORMERS	DISTANCE
1.		8.76
2.		8.74
3.		8.49
4.		8.46
5.		8.44

Triple jump

Main competition this year: Men's Olympic Triple Jump

RANK	1988 WORLD BEST PERFORMERS	DISTANCE
1.		17.77
2.		17.69
3.		17.68
4.		17.59
5.		17.56

Discus

Main competition this year: Men's Olympic Discus Throw

RANK	1988 WORLD BEST PERFORMERS	DISTANCE
1.		70.46
2.		70.30
3.		70.06
4.		68.92
5.		68.88

Shot put

Main competition this year: Men's Olympic Shot Put

RANK	1988 WORLD BEST PERFORMERS	DISTANCE
1.		23.06
2.		22.75
3.		22.42
4.		22.10
5.		21.88

Hammer

See main article: 1988 Hammer Throw Year Ranking.

RANK	1988 WORLD BEST PERFORMERS	DISTANCE
1.		85.14
2.		84.80
3.		84.16
4.		83.78
5.		83.44

Javelin (new design)

Main competition this year: Men's Olympic Javelin Throw

RANK	1988 WORLD BEST PERFORMERS	DISTANCE
1.		86.88
2.		86.50
3.		85.96
4.		84.66
5.		84.14

Pole vault

Main competition this year: Men's Olympic Pole Vault

RANK	1988 WORLD BEST PERFORMERS	HEIGHT
1.		6.06
2.		5.95
3.		5.90
4.		5.89
5.		5.87

Decathlon

Main competition this year: Men's Olympic Decathlon

RANK	1988 WORLD BEST PERFORMERS	POINTS
1.		8512
2.		8506
3.		8488
4.		8447
5.		8424

Women's Best Year Performers

Main race this year: Women's Olympic 100 metres

100 metres

RANK	1988 WORLD BEST PERFORMERS	TIME
1.		10.49
2.		10.81
3.		10.83
4.		10.85
5.		10.86

200 metres

Main race this year: Women's Olympic 200 metres

RANK	1988 WORLD BEST PERFORMERS	TIME
1.		21.34
2.		21.72
3.		21.84
4.		21.93
5.		21.99

400 metres

Main race this year: Women's Olympic 400 metres

RANK	1988 WORLD BEST PERFORMERS	TIME
1.		48.65
2.		49.11
3.		49.30
4.		49.47
5.		49.57

800 metres

Main race this year: Women's Olympic 800 metres

RANK	1988 WORLD BEST PERFORMERS	TIME
1.		1:56.0
-		1:56.0
3.		1:56.10
4.		1:56.36
5.		1:56.42

1,500 metres

Main race this year: Women's Olympic 1,500 metres

RANK	1988 WORLD BEST PERFORMERS	TIME
1.		3:53.96
2.		3:58.92
3.		4:00.24
4.		4:00.30
5.		4:00.46

Mile

RANK	1988 WORLD BEST PERFORMERS	TIME
1.		4:21.25
2.		4:25.80

3,000 metres

Main race this year: Women's Olympic 3,000 metres

RANK	1988 WORLD BEST PERFORMERS	TIME
1.		8:26.53
2.		8:27.15
3.		8:29.02
4.		8:30.45
5.		8:31.67

5,000 metres

RANK	1988 WORLD BEST PERFORMERS	TIME
1.		15:03.29
2.		15:10.89
3.		15:11.16
4.		15:11.83
5.		15:12.7

10,000 metres

Main race this year: Women's Olympic 10,000 metres

RANK	1988 WORLD BEST PERFORMERS	TIME
1.		31:05.21
2.		31:06.99
3.		31:19.82
4.		31:26.79
5.		31:31.37

Marathon

Main race this year: Women's Olympic Marathon

RANK	1988 WORLD BEST PERFORMERS	TIME
1.		2:23:51
2.		2:24:30
3.		2:25:41
4.		2:26:21
5.		2:27:05

Race Walking

See main article: 1988 Race Walking Year Ranking.

100m hurdles

Main race this year: Women's Olympic 100m hurdles

RANK	1988 WORLD BEST PERFORMERS	TIME
1.		12.21
2.		12.48
-		12.48
-		12.48
5.		12.52

400m hurdles

Main race this year: Women's Olympic 400m hurdles

RANK	1988 WORLD BEST PERFORMERS	TIME
1.		53.17
2.		53.18
3.		53.63
4.		53.69
5.		54.03

High Jump

Main competition this year: Women's Olympic High Jump

RANK	1988 WORLD BEST PERFORMERS	HEIGHT
1.		2.07 m
2.		2.03 m
3.		2.02 m
4.		2.00 m
-		2.00 m
-		2.00 m

Long Jump

Main competition this year: Women's Olympic Long Jump

RANK	1988 WORLD BEST PERFORMERS	DISTANCE
1.		7.52 m
2.		7.48 m
3.		7.40 m
4.		7.36 m
5.		7.29 m

Shot put

Main competition this year: Women's Olympic Shot Put

RANK	1988 WORLD BEST PERFORMERS	DISTANCE
1.		22.55 m
2.		21.76 m
3.		21.73 m
4.		21.28 m
5.		21.27 m

Discus throw

Main competition this year: Women's Olympic Discus Throw

RANK	1988 WORLD BEST PERFORMERS	DISTANCE
1.		76.80 m
2.		74.40 m
3.		73.84 m
4.		72.94 m
5.		72.30 m

Javelin (old design)

Main competition this year: Women's Olympic Javelin Throw

RANK	1988 WORLD BEST PERFORMERS	DISTANCE
1.		80.00 m
2.		73.30 m
3.		71.70 m
4.		71.00 m
5.		70.48 m

Heptathlon

Main competition this year: Women's Olympic Heptathlon

RANK	1988 WORLD BEST PERFORMERS	POINTS
1.		7291
2.		6897
3.		6858
4.		6702
5.		6660

Births

• January 17 - Anna Bulgakova, Russian hammer thrower
• January 21 - Ashton Eaton, American decathlete
• January 26 - Gilbert Yegon, Kenyan long-distance runner
• April 29 - Jan Kudlička, Czech pole vaulter
• May 20 - Yomara Hinestroza, Colombian sprinter
• May 26 - Dani Samuels, Australian discus thrower
• June 22 - Yekaterina Yevseyeva, Kazakh high jumper
• July 5 - Vincent Chepkok, Kenyan long-distance runner
• August 4 - Liam Zamel-Paez, Australian high jumper
• August 10 - Robert Kiprono Cheruiyot, Kenyan marathon runner
• August 24 - Matteo Galvan, Italian sprinter
• August 29 - Harry Aikines-Aryeetey, English sprinter
• September 5 - Chu Yafei, Chinese race walker
• October 31 - Eglė Balčiūnaitė, Lithuanian middle-distance runner
• December 17 - David Rudisha, Kenyan middle-distance runner

Deaths

• July 8 — Ray Barbuti (83), American athlete (b. 1905)

References

• Year Lists
• 1988 Year Rankings
• Association of Road Racing Statisticians