In the countdown to the 2012 London Olympics, we retrace some memorable achievements in the history of the Games. Today, a look at the 1988 Seoul Games where Great Britain won a hockey gold, Florence Griffith Joyner set a host of records and Greg Louganis conquered his fears in part six of our Olympic moments recall.
1988: Great Britain win hockey gold at Seoul
When Imran Sherwani scored Great Britain's third goal to seal gold at the 1988 Seoul Olympics, a bunch of players completed a stunning campaign that turned them into overnight superstars.
The British men's hockey team had entered the Games with a high degree of expectation, not least because they had reached the final of the 1986 World Championship – they lost to Australia – and qualified after missing out in Los Angeles in 1984. Such was the British expectancy that Ian Taylor, the goalkeeper, was made the country's flag bearer at the opening ceremony.
Their campaign began on a dull note, as Britain squandered a 2-0 lead to draw 2-2 against the hosts. A win over Canada was followed by a controversial 2-1 loss to West Germany, in which the Australian umpire Don Prior, with the scores level at 1-1, awarded a penalty in the final minute which the Germans capitalized on.
Wins over the Soviet Union and India took Britain into the semi-finals, where they faced Australia. Britain also took a two-goal lead but the world champions managed to draw level. Then, with less than two minutes on the clock, Sean Kearley completed a hat-trick to put Britain through to the final.
The Germans had already beaten Britain in the group stage, and had not lost to them in 30 years, so naturally they were ranked favorites in front of a crowd of 12,000 at the Songnam Stadium. But thanks to Kerly and Sherwani, the underdogs took a 2-0 lead after 49 minutes, with Kerly netting his 15th Olympic goal. Sherwani’s second goal was followed by a third in the 59th minute and when the final whistle blew, Richard Dodds' team was deserved gold medal winners.
It was the first gold in 80 years, and likened to the achievements of the 1966 football team winning the World Cup.
1988: 'Flo-Jo' burns up the track
Florence Griffith Joyner was to the 1988 Olympics what Wilma Rudolph was to the 1960 Rome Games.
On July 16, 1988, at the US Olympic Trials in Indianapolis, 'Flo-Jo' – as she was known - accomplished a spectacular breakthrough when she ran the 100m in 10.49 records, demolishing Evelyn Ashford's record of 10.79. Her time was faster than the men’s records in several countries, and she entered the Olympic as a world record holder. What took place in Seoul merely confirmed her greatness.
'Flo-Jo' twice broke the Olympic record and then won the final easily in 10.54 seconds. Four days later, in the semi-finals, she smashed a nine-year world record for 200m and then, 100 minutes later, set another world record in the final with a time of 21.34 seconds. These are records yet to be broken. Her third gold medal came in the 4x100m, and she also won silver in the 4x400m.
'Flo-Jo' made the 1988 Games hers. Her grace and athletic prowess made her the epitome of fitness and femininity. No female runner has since dominated the world stage, and it is unlikely that anyone will.
1988: Greg Louganis conquers his fears
Greg Louganis arrived in Seoul as champion swimmer, with two Olympic gold medals from the Los Angeles Games in 1984 and silver in Montreal 1976, where he made his Games debut at 16.
During the preliminary rounds of the three meter springboard competition, Louganis struck his head on the springboard while performing his penultimate dive, an attempted reverse 2 ½ somersault pike. Images of the sickening moment flashed around the globe and as news of a concussion filtered the airwaves it was feared that Louganis' campaign was over.
But in a stirring display of perseverance and determination, the American returned to the diving board 35 minutes after the incident, a two-inch wound in his scalp. One day and five stitches later, he won a gold medal in the final to cap his second consecutive Olympic victory in the springboard. It was an outstanding performance.
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