Athletics at the 1988 Summer Olympics – Men's discus throw

The men's discus throw event at the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, South Korea had an entry list of 29 competitors from 20 nations, with two qualifying groups before the final (12) took place on Saturday October 1, 1988.[1] The maximum number of athletes per nation had been set at 3 since the 1930 Olympic Congress. The event was won by Jürgen Schult of East Germany, the nation's first victory in the men's discus throw and first medal since 1976. Romas Ubartas of the Soviet Union took silver, while Rolf Danneberg of West Germany earned bronze. Danneberg was the 10th man to win multiple discus throw medals, adding to his 1984 gold. For the first time, the United States competed in the event but did not make the podium (the Americans had previously failed to win a medal in the men's discus throw only in 1980, when the nation boycotted the Olympics).

Men's discus throw
at the Games of the XXIV Olympiad
Pictogram for athletics
VenueOlympic Stadium
Date30 September 1988 (qualifications)
1 October 1988 (finals)
Competitors29 from 20 nations
Winning distance68.82 OR
Medalists
1st place, gold medalist(s) Jürgen Schult
 East Germany
2nd place, silver medalist(s) Romas Ubartas
 Soviet Union
3rd place, bronze medalist(s) Rolf Danneberg
 West Germany
← 1984
1992 →

Background

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This was the 21st appearance of the event, which is one of 12 athletics events to have been held at every Summer Olympics. The returning finalists from the 1984 Games were gold medalist Rolf Danneberg of West Germany, silver medalist (and 1976 gold medalist) Mac Wilkins of the United States, fourth-place finisher Knut Hjeltnes of Norway, and ninth-place finisher Erik de Bruin of the Netherlands. Jürgen Schult of East Germany was favored; he had won the 1987 world championships and set a world record of 74.08 metres in 1986 that still stands as of 2020.[2]

Nigeria and Paraguay each made their debut in the men's discus throw. The United States made its 20th appearance, most of any nation, having missed only the boycotted 1980 Games.

Competition format

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The competition used the two-round format introduced in 1936, with the qualifying round completely separate from the divided final. In qualifying, each athlete received three attempts; those recording a mark of at least 64.00 metres advanced to the final. If fewer than 12 athletes achieved that distance, the top 12 would advance. The results of the qualifying round were then ignored. Finalists received three throws each, with the top eight competitors receiving an additional three attempts. The best distance among those six throws counted.[2][3]

Records

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Prior to the competition, the existing world and Olympic records were as follows.

World record   Jürgen Schult (GDR) 74.08 Neubrandenburg, East Germany 6 June 1986
Olympic record   Mac Wilkins (USA) 68.28 Montréal, Canada 24 July 1976

Jürgen Schult's first throw in the final broke the Olympic record, setting a new one at 68.82 metres.

Schedule

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All times are Korea Standard Time adjusted for daylight savings (UTC+10)

Date Time Round
Friday, 30 September 1988 9:30 Qualifying
Saturday, 1 October 1988 12:45 Final

Results

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Qualifying

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Rank Athlete Nation 1 2 3 Distance Notes
1 Rolf Danneberg   West Germany 65.70 65.70 Q
2 Romas Ubartas   Soviet Union 65.58 65.58 Q
3 Jürgen Schult   East Germany 64.70 64.70 Q
4 Knut Hjeltnes   Norway 63.50 62.66 X 63.50 q
5 Gejza Valent   Czechoslovakia 61.88 62.84 63.46 63.46 q
6 Mike Buncic   United States X 63.16 X 63.16 q
7 Mac Wilkins   United States 62.48 X 61.34 62.48 q
8 Yuriy Dumchev   Soviet Union 61.30 60.24 62.08 62.08 q
9 Imrich Bugár   Czechoslovakia 61.94 61.48 61.00 61.94 q
10 Erik de Bruin   Netherlands 58.56 60.72 61.66 61.66 q
11 Alois Hannecker   West Germany 61.44 X X 61.44 q
12 Georgi Georgiev   Bulgaria 59.78 61.34 X 61.34 q
13 Vaclavas Kidykas   Soviet Union 58.82 60.88 X 60.88
14 Svein-Inge Valvik   Norway 59.40 X 60.64 60.64
15 Werner Reiterer   Australia X 57.58 59.78 59.78
16 Bradley Cooper   Bahamas 59.74 56.88 56.44 59.74
17 Randy Heisler   United States X X 59.08 59.08
18 Patrick Journoud   France 58.94 57.62 55.82 58.94
19 Vésteinn Hafsteinsson   Iceland 58.94 57.10 55.70 58.94
20 Paul Mardle   Great Britain 57.18 56.06 58.28 58.28
21 Ray Lazdins   Canada 57.94 X X 57.94
22 Wulf Brunner   West Germany X 57.50 X 57.50
23 Adewale Olukoju   Nigeria 51.38 54.44 47.60 54.44
24 Ramón Jiménez Gaona   Paraguay 50.18 48.80 50.90 50.90
25 Henry Smith   Samoa 47.96 49.40 48.98 49.40
26 Min Se-hun   South Korea X 46.52 47.84 47.84
Ibrahim Mohamed Al-Ouiran   Saudi Arabia X X X No mark
Eggert Bogason   Iceland X X X No mark
Mohamed Hamed Naguib   Egypt X X X No mark

Final

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Rank Athlete Nation 1 2 3 4 5 6 Distance Notes
  Jürgen Schult   East Germany 68.82 OR 67.92 65.76 68.18 65.70 68.26 68.82 OR
  Romas Ubartas   Soviet Union 66.86 66.20 66.24 64.40 63.74 67.48 67.48
  Rolf Danneberg   West Germany 65.58 63.60 X 63.88 67.38 62.56 67.38
4 Yuriy Dumchev   Soviet Union 64.00 63.74 63.54 63.66 62.86 66.42 66.42
5 Mac Wilkins   United States 61.88 X 65.12 63.84 65.90 62.96 65.90
6 Géjza Valent   Czechoslovakia X 63.36 62.46 62.80 64.28 65.80 65.80
7 Knut Hjeltnes   Norway 63.30 X 64.10 64.94 63.22 X 64.94
8 Alois Hannecker   West Germany 60.28 62.50 63.28 60.94 61.54 X 63.28
9 Erik de Bruin   Netherlands 63.06 X X Did not advance 63.06
10 Mike Buncic   United States 62.46 X X Did not advance 62.46
11 Gueorgui Gueorguiev   Bulgaria 61.24 61.12 59.66 Did not advance 61.24
12 Imrich Bugár   Czechoslovakia 59.60 X 60.88 Did not advance 60.88

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Athletics at the 1988 Seoul Summer Games: Men's Discus Throw". sports-reference.com. Archived from the original on 17 April 2020. Retrieved 14 January 2018.
  2. ^ a b "Discus Throw, Men". Olympedia. Retrieved 2 November 2020.
  3. ^ Official Report, vol. 2, p. 244.
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