| Athletics at the Games of the XXIV Olympiad | |
|---|---|
 Host stadium (shown in 2020) | |
| No. of events | 42 |
| Competitors | 1,617 from 149 nations |
| Athletics at the 1988 Summer Olympics | ||
|---|---|---|
 | ||
| Track events | ||
| 100 m | men | women |
| 200 m | men | women |
| 400 m | men | women |
| 800 m | men | women |
| 1500 m | men | women |
| 3000 m | women | |
| 5000 m | men | |
| 10,000 m | men | women |
| 100 m hurdles | women | |
| 110 m hurdles | men | |
| 400 m hurdles | men | women |
| 3000 m steeplechase | men | |
| 4 × 100 m relay | men | women |
| 4 × 400 m relay | men | women |
| Road events | ||
| Marathon | men | women |
| 20 km walk | men | |
| 50 km walk | men | |
| Field events | ||
| Long jump | men | women |
| Triple jump | men | |
| High jump | men | women |
| Pole vault | men | |
| Shot put | men | women |
| Discus throw | men | women |
| Javelin throw | men | women |
| Hammer throw | men | |
| Combined events | ||
| Heptathlon | women | |
| Decathlon | men | |
| Wheelchair races | ||
At the1988 Summer Olympics inSeoul a total number of 42 events inathletics were contested: 24 by men and 18 by women. There were a total number of 1617 participating athletes from 149 countries.
| Rank | Nation | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  United States (USA) | 13 | 7 | 6 | 26 |
| 2 |  Soviet Union (URS) | 10 | 6 | 10 | 26 |
| 3 |  East Germany (GDR) | 6 | 11 | 10 | 27 |
| 4 |  Kenya (KEN) | 4 | 2 | 1 | 7 |
| 5 |  Bulgaria (BUL) | 2 | 1 | 1 | 4 |
| 6 |  Italy (ITA) | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| 7 |  Australia (AUS) | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
 Czechoslovakia (TCH) | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | |
 Romania (ROM) | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | |
| 10 |  Finland (FIN) | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
 Morocco (MAR) | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | |
| 12 |  Portugal (POR) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 13 |  Great Britain (GBR) | 0 | 6 | 2 | 8 |
| 14 |  Jamaica (JAM) | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| 15 |  West Germany (FRG) | 0 | 1 | 3 | 4 |
| 16 |  Brazil (BRA) | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| 17 |  Senegal (SEN) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 18 |  Canada (CAN) | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
 China (CHN) | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | |
 Djibouti (DJI) | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | |
 France (FRA) | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | |
 Sweden (SWE) | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | |
 Switzerland (SUI) | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | |
| Totals (23 entries) | 42 | 42 | 43 | 127 | |
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