Sporting Highlights for 1988
Here are some of the sporting highlights in the world of sport for 1988. The major events of this year in sport were the Summer and Winter Olympic Games.
It was the year of the Olympics which saw notable individual performances by a few athletes. Florence Griffith Joyner won three gold medals in track & field, Matt Biondi and Kristin Otto won five and six golds in swimming. Greg Louganis who had a bloodied head hitting the board went on to win two diving gold medals. Ben Johnson who initially set the world record in the 100m sprint was tested positive for anabolic steroid and was stripped of his gold medal which went to Carl Lewis.
Women's tennis was all about Martina Navratilova, and Steffi Graf was an up and coming player. Though she had won the French Open the previous year, there was no sign of what was about to transpire. She won the all the four grand slam events that year, a feat no other man or women has achieved. Steffi also won the Olympic gold medal that year. In men's tennis, Mats Wilander had the best year of his career winning three of his six total grand slams.
Boxing bad boy Mike Tyson had a great start to the year. On a much hyped fight against Michael Spinks on June 27th, where both were undefeated at the time, Tyson won by a knockout in just 91 seconds and earned a purse of $20 million. The rest of the year Tyson was frequently on the news for his off the ring bad behavior. He crashed his new BMW onto a tree, smashed furniture and cameras in his home, had a sexual harassment charges filed against him, and was sued for libel.
Australia won the Rugby League World Cup defeating New Zealand in the finals. Australia also won the women's World Cup defeating England.
70 fans were trampled to death in a stampede at Nepal's national stadium in Kathmandu. Spectators rushed for cover during a violent hailstorm, but the stadium exits were locked.
See some videos from the world of sport in 1988.
Below is a timeline of some significant results in the world of sport for the year 1988.
| Date | Results |
|---|---|
| Jan | Tennis Australia Open won by Mats Wilander and Steffi Graf |
| Jan | Super Bowl held in San Diego won by Washington |
| Feb 13-28 | Winter Olympic Games were held in Calgary, Canada |
| April | Golf Masters won by Sandy Lyle |
| May | Tennis French Open won by Mats Wilander and Steffi Graf |
| June | Golf US Open won by Curtis Strange |
| July | the Cycling Tour de France won by Pedro Delgado |
| July | Tennis Wimbledon won by Stefan Edberg and Steffi Graf |
| July | Golf The Open Championship won by Seve Ballesteros |
| Aug | Golf US PGA won by Jeff Sluman |
| Sep | Tennis US Open won by Mats Wilander and Steffi Graf |
| Sep 17 - Oct 2 | Summer Olympic Games were held in Seoul, South Korea |
| Oct | The Baseball World Series won by Los Angeles Dodgers |
Please note that the dates for past events are not always known, and are sometimes just placed in the month that the current event is held. If no exact date is listed, then it is just an estimated month that it was held.
If you have a correction or know of events that should be included here, please let me know.
Related Pages
- Ballon D'or Winners for 1988
- Timeline (all years) in the world of sport
- For future sporting events, see the Calendar of Major Sporting Events
- More about the World of Sport
Any comments, suggestions, or corrections? Please let us know.
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