Swimming at the 1988 Summer Olympics was held from 18 to 25 September 1988 at Jamsil Indoor Swimming Pool.
The swimming program for 1988 included two new events, the men's and women's 50 m freestyle, raising the total number to 31. This edition marked the last Olympics to feature the swimmers from the Soviet Union and East Germany.
Medal Table[]
| Rank | Nation | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  East Germany |
11 | 8 | 9 | 28 |
| 2 |  United States |
8 | 6 | 4 | 18 |
| 3 |  Hungary |
4 | 2 | 0 | 6 |
| 4 |  Soviet Union |
2 | 2 | 5 | 9 |
| 5 |  Australia |
1 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
 Bulgaria |
1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | |
 Great Britain |
1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | |
 West Germany |
1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | |
| 9 |  Japan |
1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
 Suriname |
1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | |
| 11 |  China |
0 | 3 | 1 | 4 |
| 12 |  Canada |
0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
 Romania |
0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| 14 |  Costa Rica |
0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
 Denmark |
0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | |
 Netherlands |
0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | |
 Sweden |
0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | |
| 18 |  France |
0 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
 New Zealand |
0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | |
| 20 |  Italy |
0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
 Poland |
0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | |
 Spain |
0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
Medalists[]
Men[]
Women[]
Statistics[]
- There were 633 total athletes from 77 countries.
- Nadia Cruz was the youngest participant with 13 years and 73 days.
- Margaret Hohmann was the oldest participant with 32 years and 1 day.
- 8 participants were chosen to be a flag bearer at the opening ceremony.
- East Germany won 28 medals, more than in any other sport.
- Costa Rica and Suriname won their only medal of Seoul 1988 and their first-ever medal in the sport.
- Bulgaria and China won their first-ever medals in the sport.
- New Zealand won its first 2 medals in the sport since Helsinki 1952.
- Denmark won its first medal in the sport since Moscow 1980.
- Japan won its first gold medal in the sport since Munich 1972.
- 9 world records and 10 Olympic records were broken in the course of the competition.
