The Soviet Union won 55 gold medals at the 1988 Seoul Olympics. It topped the medal table with 132 medals overall: 55 gold, 31 silver and 46 bronze.
The Games of the XXIV Olympiad were held in Seoul, South Korea, from 17 September to 2 October 1988. They brought together 8,397 athletes representing 159 National Olympic Committees, competing in 237 events across 23 sports.
The Soviet Union finished comfortably ahead of East Germany, which won 37 gold medals, and the United States, which won 36. The Soviet total therefore refers to the nation’s entire Olympic delegation, not to one sport or one athlete. The medal table’s standard ranking method placed gold medals first, followed by silver and bronze when needed.
Another number often causes confusion: East German swimmer Kristin Otto won six gold medals herself, the most by any individual at those Games. Her six-gold haul is impressive but is not the Soviet Union’s national total. Seoul also marked table tennis’s Olympic debut and tennis’s return after a long absence.