Games of the XXIV Olympiad
The Olympic Games went to Korea for the first time. Table tennis made its first appearance in the Olympic program.
In Seoul, 354 Canadian athletes competed against athletes from 159 other countries. Synchronized swimmer Carolyn Waldo won gold in the solo event, then added another in duet with partner Michelle Cameron. Canadian boxers won one medal of each colour: Lennox Lewis took gold in the super-heavyweight class, Egerton Marcus won silver in the 75kg class, and Ray Downey earned bronze in the 71kg class. In the 4x100m medley relay events, the men’s team (Victor Davis, Sandy Goss, Sean Murphy and Tom Ponting) and the women’s team (Allison Higson, Jane Kerr, Andrea Nugent and Lori Melien) swam to silver and bronze medals respectively.
At the equestrian park, the dressage team of Cynthia Ishoy, Ashley Nicoll, Eva-Maria Pracht and Gina Smith rode to bronze. In yachting, Frank McLaughlin and John Millen earned bronze in the Flying Dutchman. For some, the toughest moment of the Games came when Ben Johnson was disqualified for using anabolic steroids after setting a world record in the 100m sprint. A few days later, Dave Steen earned a bronze in the decathlon with a gut-wrenching effort in the final event, the 1,500m run.
