Rowing at the 1988 Summer Olympics was held from 19 to 25 September 1988 at the Misari Regatta Course.
This edition marked the debut of the women's quadruple sculls without a coxswain but the last Games to feature the women's coxed fours. Moreover, the female rowers would compete over the distance of 2000 metres for the first time in history, equivalent to the men's side.
Medal Table[]
| Rank | Nation | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  East Germany |
8 | 1 | 1 | 10 |
| 2 |  Italy |
2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 3 |  Romania |
1 | 4 | 2 | 7 |
| 4 |  West Germany |
1 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| 5 |  Great Britain |
1 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| 6 |  Netherlands |
1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 7 |  Soviet Union |
0 | 2 | 1 | 3 |
 United States |
0 | 2 | 1 | 3 | |
| 9 |  Bulgaria |
0 | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| 10 |  China |
0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| 11 |  Norway |
0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
 Switzerland |
0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| 13 |  New Zealand |
0 | 0 | 3 | 3 |
| 14 |  Yugoslavia |
0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
Medalists[]
Men[]
| Event | 
|
|
|
|---|---|---|---|
| Single sculls | Thomas Lange
|
Peter Michael Kolbe
|
Eric Verdonk
|
| Coxless pair | Andrew Holmes Steven Redgrave
|
Danut Dobre Dragos Neagu
|
Sadik Mujkic Bojan Presern
|
| Coxed pair | Italy Carmine Abbagnale Giuseppe Abbagnale Giuseppe di Capua |
East Germany Detlef Kirchhoff Rene Rensch Mario Streit |
Great Britain Andrew Holmes Steven Redgrave Patrick Sweeney |
| Double sculls | Ronald Florijn Nicolaas Rienks
|
Ueli Bodenmann Beat Schwerzmann
|
Vassily Iakoucha Alexandre Martchenko
|
| Coxless four | East Germany Ralf Brudel Olaf Foerster Thomas Greiner Roland Schroeder |
United States Thomas Bohrer Richard Kennelly David Krmpotich Raoul Rodriguez |
West Germany Guido Grabow Volker Grabow Norbert Kesslau Jorg Puttlitz |
| Coxed four | East Germany Bernd Eichwurzel Frank Klawonn Bernd Niesecke Hendrik Reiher Karsten Schmeling |
Romania Ladislau Lovrenski Dimitrie Popescu Valentin Robu Ioan Snep Vasile Tomoiaga |
New Zealand Andrew Bird Gregory Johnston George Keys Christopher White Ian Wright |
| Quadruple sculls | Italy Agostino Abbagnale Gianluca Farina Piero Poli Davide Tizzano |
Norway Lars Bjonness Alf John Hansen Rolf Bernt Thorsen Vetie Vinje |
East Germany Steffen Bogs Heiko Habermann Jens Koeppen Steffen Zuehlke |
| Eight | West Germany Thomas Domian Armin Eichholz Manfred Klein Wolfgang Maennig Matthias Mellinghaus Thomas Moellenkamp Bahne Rabe Eckhardt Schultz Ansgar Wessling |
Soviet Union Venea Mine Bout Victor Didouk Alexandre Doumtchev Pavel Gourkovsky Nikolai Komarov Alexandre Loukianov Victor Omelianovitch Vassili Tikhanov Andrei Vassiliev |
United States Seth Bauer Doug Burden Jeff McLaughlin Peter Nordell Ted Patton John Pescatore John Rusher John Smith Mike Teti |
Women[]
| Event |
|
|
|
|---|---|---|---|
| Single sculls | Jutta Behrendt
|
Anne Marden
|
Magdalena Gueorguieva
|
| Pair | Rodica Arba Olga Homeghi
|
Lalka Berberova Radka Stoyanova
|
Lynley Hannen Nicola Payne
|
| Double sculls | Birgit Peter Martina Schroeter
|
Veronica Cogeanu Elisabeta Lipa
|
Stefka Madina Violeta Ninova
|
| Coxed four | East Germany Gerlinde Doberschuetz Carola Hornig Sylvia Rose Birte Siech Martina Walther |
China Hu Yadong Li Ronghua Yang Xiao Zhang Xianghua Zhou Shouying |
Romania Herta Anitas Mihaela Armasescu Doina Lilian Balan Adriana Bazon Veronica Necula Ecaterina Oancia Marioara Trasca |
| Quadruple sculls | East Germany Kerstin Foerster Kristina Mundt Beate Schramm Jana Sorgers |
Soviet Union Antonina Doumtcheva Inna Frolova Irina Kalimbet Svetlana Mazyi |
Romania Anisoara Balan Veronica Cogeanu Elisabeta Lipa Anisoara Minea |
| Coxed eight | East Germany Ramona Balthasar Kathrin Haacker Anja Kluge Daniela Neunast Beatrix Schroer Uta Stange Annegret Strauch Ute Wild Judith Zeidler |
Romania Herta Anitas Mihaela Armasescu Rodica Arba Doina Lilian Balan Adriana Bazon Olga Homeghi Veronica Necula Ecaterina Oancia Marioara Trasca |
China Han Yaqin He Yanwen Hu Yadong Li Ronghua Yang Xiao Zhang Xianghua Zhang Yali Zhou Xihua Zhou Shouying |
Statistics[]
- There were 593 athletes from 38 countries.
- Roman Ambrozic was the youngest participant with 15 years and 6 days.
- Ladislau Lovrenski was the oldest participant with 56 years and 96 days.
- Dirk Crois of Belgium and Jesus Posse of Uruguay were the only rowers chosen to be a flag bearer at the opening ceremony.
- Switzerland won its first medal in the sport since Munich 1972.
- Netherlands won its first gold medal in the sport since Mexico City 1968.
- China won its first-ever 2 medals in the sport.
