# Gymnastics at the 1988 Summer Olympics – Men's rings

The men's rings competition was one of eight events for male competitors in artistic gymnastics at the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul. The qualification and final rounds took place on September 18, 20, and 24th at the Olympic Gymnastics Hall. There were 89 competitors from 23 nations, with nations competing in the team event having 6 gymnasts and other nations having up to 3 gymnasts. For the second consecutive Games, the event ended in a way tie for first place. Dmitry Bilozerchev of the Soviet Union and Holger Behrendt of East Germany each received a gold medal. It was East Germany's first medal in the rings. The Soviets had had an eight-Games medal streak (and two-Games gold medal streak) in the event snapped by their boycott of the 1984 Games; Bilozerchev's medal put the nation back on the podium after that one-Games absence. Sven Tippelt, also of East Germany, took bronze.

## Background

This was the 17th appearance of the event, which is one of the five apparatus events held every time there were apparatus events at the Summer Olympics (no apparatus events were held in 1900, 1908, 1912, or 1920). Two of the eight finalists from 1984 returned: gold medalist Li Ning of China and eighth-place finisher Josef Zellweger of Switzerland. Two-time world champion Yuri Korolyov of the Soviet Union was injured and unable to compete in Seoul. Li had shared gold with Korolyov at the 1985 World Championships and silver with Dmitry Bilozerchev of the Soviet Union at the 1987 World Championships.
Chinese Taipei made its debut in the men's rings. The United States made its 15th appearance, most of any nation; the Americans had missed only the inaugural 1896 rings and the boycotted 1980 Games.

## Competition format

Each nation entered a team of six gymnasts or up to three individual gymnasts. All entrants in the gymnastics competitions performed both a compulsory exercise and a voluntary exercise for each apparatus. The scores for all 12 exercises were summed to give an individual all-around score. These exercise scores were also used for qualification for the apparatus finals. The two exercises (compulsory and voluntary) for each apparatus were summed to give an apparatus score. Half of the preliminary score carried over to the final. The 1984 Games had expanded the number of finalists from six to eight. Nations were still limited to two finalists each. Others were ranked 9th through 89th.

## Schedule

All times are Korea Standard Time adjusted for daylight savings (UTC+10)
| Date | Time | Round |
| Sunday, 18 September 1988 | | Preliminary: Compulsory |
| Tuesday, 20 September 1988 | | Preliminary: Voluntary |
| Saturday, 24 September 1988 | 13:10 | Final |

## Results

Eighty-nine gymnasts competed in the rings event during the compulsory and optional rounds on September 18 and 20. The eight highest scoring gymnasts advanced to the final on September 24. Each country was limited to two competitors in the final. Half of the points earned by each gymnast during both the compulsory and optional rounds carried over to the final. This constitutes each gymnast's "prelim" score.
| Rank | Gymnast | Nation | Preliminary | Preliminary | Preliminary | Final | Final | Final |
| Rank | Gymnast | Nation | Compulsory | Voluntary | Total | 1⁄2 Prelim. | Final | Total |
| | Holger Behrendt | East Germany | 9.90 | 10.00 | 19.90 | 9.950 | 9.975 | 19.925 |
| | Dmitry Bilozerchev | Soviet Union | 9.95 | 10.00 | 19.95 | 9.975 | 9.950 | 19.925 |
| | Sven Tippelt | East Germany | 9.90 | 9.95 | 19.85 | 9.925 | 9.950 | 19.875 |
| 4 | Kalofer Khristozov | Bulgaria | 9.90 | 9.90 | 19.80 | 9.900 | 9.925 | 19.825 |
| 4 | Valeri Liukin | Soviet Union | 9.90 | 9.95 | 19.85 | 9.925 | 9.900 | 19.825 |
| 6 | Lou Yun | China | 9.80 | 9.90 | 19.70 | 9.850 | 9.950 | 19.800 |
| 6 | Jury Chechi | Italy | 9.80 | 9.90 | 19.70 | 9.850 | 9.950 | 19.800 |
| 8 | Gyorgy Guczoghy | Hungary | 9.85 | 9.90 | 19.75 | 9.875 | 9.825 | 19.700 |
| 9 | Vladimir Artemov | Soviet Union | 9.90 | 9.90 | 19.80 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 9 | Sergey Kharkov | Soviet Union | 9.90 | 9.90 | 19.80 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 11 | Andreas Aguilar | West Germany | 9.80 | 9.90 | 19.70 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 11 | Lubomir Geraskov | Bulgaria | 9.80 | 9.90 | 19.70 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 11 | Sylvio Kroll | East Germany | 9.80 | 9.90 | 19.70 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 11 | Vladimir Novikov | Soviet Union | 9.80 | 9.90 | 19.70 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 11 | Xu Zhiqiang | China | 9.80 | 9.90 | 19.70 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 16 | Deyan Kolev | Bulgaria | 9.80 | 9.85 | 19.65 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 16 | Marius Toba | Romania | 9.85 | 9.80 | 19.65 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 18 | Vladimir Gogoladze | Soviet Union | 9.80 | 9.80 | 19.60 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 18 | Boris Preti | Italy | 9.70 | 9.90 | 19.60 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 18 | Andreas Wecker | East Germany | 9.80 | 9.80 | 19.60 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 21 | Csaba Fajkusz | Hungary | 9.70 | 9.85 | 19.55 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 21 | Stoyko Gochev | Bulgaria | 9.70 | 9.85 | 19.55 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 21 | Yukio Iketani | Japan | 9.80 | 9.75 | 19.55 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 21 | Toshiharu Sato | Japan | 9.75 | 9.80 | 19.55 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 21 | Wang Chongsheng | China | 9.75 | 9.80 | 19.55 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 26 | Guo Linxian | China | 9.70 | 9.80 | 19.50 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 26 | Li Chunyang | China | 9.70 | 9.80 | 19.50 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 26 | Valentin Pîntea | Romania | 9.75 | 9.75 | 19.50 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 29 | Koichi Mizushima | Japan | 9.65 | 9.80 | 19.45 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 29 | Daisuke Nishikawa | Japan | 9.75 | 9.70 | 19.45 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 29 | Alfonso Rodríguez | Spain | 9.70 | 9.75 | 19.45 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 29 | Dimitar Taskov | Bulgaria | 9.65 | 9.80 | 19.45 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 29 | Josef Zellweger | Switzerland | 9.70 | 9.75 | 19.45 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 34 | Jürgen Brümmer | West Germany | 9.70 | 9.70 | 19.40 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 34 | Ralf Büchner | East Germany | 9.70 | 9.70 | 19.40 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 34 | Curtis Hibbert | Canada | 9.70 | 9.70 | 19.40 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 34 | Zsolt Horváth | Hungary | 9.60 | 9.80 | 19.40 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 34 | Song Yu-jin | South Korea | 9.65 | 9.75 | 19.40 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 39 | Paolo Bucci | Italy | 9.55 | 9.80 | 19.35 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 39 | Philippe Chartrand | Canada | 9.70 | 9.65 | 19.35 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 39 | Petar Georgiev | Bulgaria | 9.65 | 9.70 | 19.35 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 39 | Marius Gherman | Romania | 9.65 | 9.70 | 19.35 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 39 | Ulf Hoffmann | East Germany | 9.65 | 9.70 | 19.35 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 39 | Li Ning | China | 9.40 | 9.95 | 19.35 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 39 | Takahiro Yamada | Japan | 9.70 | 9.65 | 19.35 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 46 | Claude Carmona | France | 9.70 | 9.60 | 19.30 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 46 | Hiroyuki Konishi | Japan | 9.70 | 9.60 | 19.30 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 48 | Zsolt Borkai | Hungary | 9.80 | 9.45 | 19.25 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 48 | Christian Chevalier | France | 9.45 | 9.80 | 19.25 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 48 | Brad Peters | Canada | 9.70 | 9.55 | 19.25 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 48 | Miguel Ángel Rubio | Spain | 9.60 | 9.65 | 19.25 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 52 | Charles Lakes | United States | 9.60 | 9.60 | 19.20 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 52 | Patrick Mattioni | France | 9.55 | 9.65 | 19.20 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 52 | Park Jong-Hoon | South Korea | 9.65 | 9.55 | 19.20 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 52 | Marian Rizan | Romania | 9.55 | 9.65 | 19.20 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 56 | Jenő Paprika | Hungary | 9.50 | 9.65 | 19.15 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 56 | Thierry Pecqueux | France | 9.40 | 9.75 | 19.15 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 58 | Nicolae Bejenaru | Romania | 9.55 | 9.55 | 19.10 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 58 | Kevin Davis | United States | 9.50 | 9.60 | 19.10 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 58 | Scott Johnson | United States | 9.30 | 9.80 | 19.10 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 58 | Riccardo Trapella | Italy | 9.40 | 9.70 | 19.10 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 62 | Johan Jonasson | Sweden | 9.40 | 9.65 | 19.05 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 62 | Ju Yeong-sam | South Korea | 9.75 | 9.30 | 19.05 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 62 | Dominick Minicucci | United States | 9.55 | 9.50 | 19.05 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 65 | Andrew Morris | Great Britain | 9.50 | 9.50 | 19.00 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 65 | Adrian Sandu | Romania | 9.55 | 9.45 | 19.00 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 67 | Bruno Cavelti | Switzerland | 9.35 | 9.60 | 18.95 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 67 | Alan Nolet | Canada | 9.55 | 9.40 | 18.95 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 67 | Bernhard Simmelbauer | West Germany | 9.45 | 9.50 | 18.95 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 70 | Daniel Winkler | West Germany | 9.50 | 9.40 | 18.90 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 71 | Álvaro Montesinos | Spain | 9.55 | 9.30 | 18.85 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 71 | Lance Ringnald | United States | 9.30 | 9.55 | 18.85 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 73 | Kenneth Meredith | Australia | 9.30 | 9.50 | 18.80 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 73 | James Rozon | Canada | 9.50 | 9.30 | 18.80 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 75 | Frédéric Longuepée | France | 9.15 | 9.55 | 18.70 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 76 | Terry Bartlett | Great Britain | 9.50 | 9.15 | 18.65 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 76 | Stéphane Cauterman | France | 9.25 | 9.40 | 18.65 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 76 | Gabriele Sala | Italy | 9.45 | 9.20 | 18.65 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 79 | Mike Beckmann | West Germany | 9.40 | 9.20 | 18.60 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 79 | Lorne Bobkin | Canada | 9.45 | 9.15 | 18.60 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 81 | Vittorio Allievi | Italy | 9.15 | 9.40 | 18.55 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 82 | Wes Suter | United States | 9.15 | 9.35 | 18.50 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 83 | Ralph Kern | West Germany | 9.60 | 8.80 | 18.40 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 83 | Jože Kolman | Yugoslavia | 9.10 | 9.30 | 18.40 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 85 | Chang Chao-chun | Chinese Taipei | 9.20 | 8.95 | 18.15 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 86 | Gil Pinto | Brazil | 8.80 | 9.30 | 18.10 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 87 | Tony Piñeda | Mexico | 8.60 | 9.40 | 18.00 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 88 | Hélder Pinheiro | Portugal | 8.70 | 9.25 | 17.95 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 89 | Balázs Tóth | Hungary | 9.65 | 0.00 | 9.65 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |