Summer Olympic Games - Memories

Seoul 1988

Men's Swimming Butterfly 100 metres

For a young German press journalist, a visit to the Olympic swimming pool was not exactly what he would have expected first. All because East Germany was a swimming powerhouse, so there were plenty of experienced reporters eager to cover their successes - and I ended up being assigned to other events. But on that particular day, I managed to get to the pool, where the men’s 100-meter butterfly final was scheduled.

Of course, what I wanted most was to see the American giant Matt Biondi in action. He was supposed to be one of the biggest stars of the Games, chasing Mark Spitz’s records. I had no idea I would witness one of the most dramatic and symbolic moments in the history of Olympic swimming.

Biondi took off like a rocket. At the halfway mark, he was clearly in the lead, swimming at world-record pace. It seemed like the race was already decided.

I wasn’t even looking at the other lanes. Only about five meters before the finish did I notice that Biondi no longer had the advantage. In lane three, almost unnoticed, swam Anthony Nesty - the representative of tiny Suriname, a country that until then had never won a single Olympic medal in any discipline.

As Biondi approached the wall, he found himself between strokes. He opted for a long glide instead of a powerful kick. It was a matter of fractions of a second - but it was enough. Nesty touched the wall literally one hundredth of a second earlier: 53.00 to 53.01. The Olympic record was broken, and the gold medal went to Suriname for the first time in history.

For a moment, there was silence on the scoreboard. Biondi looked on in disbelief - I saw that later in the television replays. Nesty raised his arms in triumph, but in his eyes there was more shock than euphoria.

I remember how, right after the race, a journalist - probably Hungarian - who had bet a good dinner that the American wouldn’t win, was celebrating wildly. He clapped his hands like a child, laughed out loud, and kept repeating: “I told you! I told you there’d be a surprise today!” His joy was contagious. Suddenly, the entire press section erupted in a roar. People who had been focused exclusively on Biondi just moments earlier were now frantically searching for information about this unknown swimmer from Suriname.

For a long time after the race, I couldn’t calm down. Accustomed to the medals of the East German swimming machine and the Americans, I suddenly saw one man from a country few had heard of completely shatter the established order at the Olympic pool.

Seoul 1988

Fencing – Women’s Individual Foil

What a tournament that was for German fencing!

I was sitting in the stands of the Olympic Fencing Gymnasium in Seoul, and even today I still get chills thinking about it. The fantastic trio of German girls in foil took the entire podium - a complete, historic achievement. And right at the top stood the 20-year-old Anja Fichtel.

I remember her first group-stage bouts. They were far from perfect. Out of five, she lost two. But then the real show began. The results came one after another: 8-1, 8-4, 8-4, 8-5, and 8-5.

This petite, highly focused German moved with such lightness and precision that her opponents simply couldn’t keep up. She would step onto the piste calm and composed, but once she started, it was immediately clear - this was someone special. Hit after hit, ice-cold nerves, brilliant technique. The group stage was still average, but in the knockout rounds she simply crushed everyone.

When she faced her teammate Sabine Bau in the final, the atmosphere was electric. Two German women fighting for Olympic gold - it was a beautiful but also difficult moment. Anja, however, was unstoppable that day. Silver medalist Sabine Bau also showed world-class fencing, while Zita-Eva Funkenhauser took bronze. Three German flags on the podium, one after another.

That day in women’s foil at the 1988 Olympics was something absolutely extraordinary. Young, talented girls from West Germany showed the whole world what dominance and elegance in fencing really look like. Anja Fichtel didn’t just win Olympic gold that day — she began a legend.

Even today, when someone asks me about the most beautiful moments in fencing, my mind always goes back there -to Seoul, to those three girls on the podium, and to the smile of the 20-year-old who had just become Olympic champion.

Seoul 1988

Cycling: Men's 100 km Team Time Trial

It was the second day of the Games, Sunday, September 18, 1988. In the hot, humid air of Seoul, the men's 100 km team time trial in road cycling got underway.

The competitors started on the Tongil-ro Circuit in Paju, outside Seoul - a flat but technically demanding loop tailored for team time trials. The format was classic: four-man teams, with the clock stopped when the third rider crossed the finish line. The riders had to maintain a high average speed (over 51 km/h), rotate perfectly during changes, and manage their efforts in such demanding conditions.

The race was exceptionally open. The previous three World Championships had been won by different teams (East Germany, Italy, and the Netherlands), and since the Los Angeles Games, no single nation had dominated the event. The favorites were scattered, but East Germany (GDR) demonstrated crushing strength from the start. The team's leader was the star of the Peace Race - Uwe Ampler.

Key Moments of the Race (Split Times)
At 25 km: East Germany had the fastest split; Poland trailed by about 20 seconds.

At 50 km: The Poles made up the deficit brilliantly - they were only 11.5 seconds behind the leaders. This was the moment when fans began to believe a medal was possible.

At 75 km: The Germans pulled away again, leading by 31.6 seconds.

On the final section: Poland recorded the fastest finish of any team and dramatically closed the gap in the hunt for gold. In the end, East Germany won by a mere 6.5 seconds!

This was one of the most thrilling finishes in the history of the event at the Olympics - on a 100 km course, the difference equated to just about 100-150 meters at an average speed of over 51 km/h.

Medal - Winning Teams

Gold - East Germany (GDR) Time: 1:57:47.7 Riders: Jan Schur, Uwe Ampler, Mario Ku**er, Maik Landsmann. The team had excellent rotation, modern equipment (including aerodynamic frames and wheels that impressed their rivals), and vast experience from the Peace Race (Course de la Paix). It was one of the strongest East German squads in the history of road cycling.

Silver - Poland Time: 1:57:54.2 Riders: Andrzej Sypytkowski, Joachim Halupczok, Zenon Jaskuła, Marek Leśniewski. The Poles demonstrated tremendous fighting spirit, character, and tactical maturity - few expected them on the podium. This was one of the greatest successes in the history of Polish road cycling at the Olympics (the first medal in this event in years). Zenon Jaskuła later finished third overall at the Tour de France.

Bronze - Sweden Time: 1:59:47.3 Riders: Michel Lafis, Anders Jarl, Björn Johansson, Jan Karlsson. Another huge surprise - the Swedes finished ahead of, among others, France (4th place) and Italy (5th place), teams that had been considered stronger.

There will never be a more beautiful Olympic song.

These were my first Olympic Games. I wasn’t yet an experienced correspondent. I arrived in Seoul excited and a little lost. The opening ceremony was fast approaching, yet instead of sitting in the press stands, I found myself stuck in my hotel room at the last minute.

As soon as the first notes of “Hand in Hand” sounded on the television, I felt a shiver run down my spine. I stood by the window of that hotel room, glancing back and forth between the TV and the sunny city outside. It was the middle of the day.

The song completely disarmed me. “Hand in hand we stand, all across the land…”

I only regretted that I couldn’t play it again right away — those were not the days of YouTube. I heard it for the second time only a few days later, and once again I got goosebumps.

Even today, whenever I hear the first bars of “Hand in Hand,” my mind instantly returns to Seoul — to that hotel room, to my first Olympic summer, and to that feeling that the world really could be a better place. Even if only for those few minutes of the ceremony.

And then the sporting competitions began.

Koreana - Hand in Hand | Opening Ceremony Seoul 1988 | Music Monday 📺 Re-live ALL the incredible action ➡️ https://go.olympi...