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

The men's vault 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. The event was won by Lou Yun of China, the second man to successfully defend an Olympic title in the vault and fourth man to win two medals of any color in the event. Sylvio Kroll of East Germany took the silver medal, while Park Jong-hoon of South Korea earned his nation's first men's vault medal with his 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, both of the Chinese finalists: gold medalist Lou Yun and one of the four silver medalists, Li Ning. Lou had finished second in the 1985 World Championships and shared gold with Sylvio Kroll of East Germany in the 1987 World Championships; the defending champion was heavily favored to repeat.
Chinese Taipei made its debut in the men's vault. The United States made its 15th appearance, most of any nation; the Americans had missed only the inaugural 1896 vault and the boycotted 1980 Games.

## Competition format

The event used a "vaulting horse" aligned parallel to the gymnast's run (rather than the modern "vaulting table" in use since 2004). 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 | 13:40 | Final |

## Results

Eighty-nine gymnasts competed in the vault 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 the "prelim" score.
| Rank | Gymnast | Nation | Preliminary | Preliminary | Preliminary | Final | Final | Final |
| Rank | Gymnast | Nation | Compulsory | Voluntary | Total | 1⁄2 Prelim. | Final | Total |
| | Lou Yun | China | 9.90 | 9.95 | 19.85 | 9.925 | 9.950 | 19.875 |
| | Sylvio Kroll | East Germany | 9.85 | 9.95 | 19.80 | 9.900 | 9.962 | 19.862 |
| | Park Jong-Hoon | South Korea | 9.85 | 9.75 | 19.60 | 9.800 | 9.975 | 19.775 |
| 4 | Deyan Kolev | Bulgaria | 9.80 | 9.85 | 19.65 | 9.825 | 9.912 | 19.737 |
| 5 | Holger Behrendt | East Germany | 9.80 | 9.90 | 19.70 | 9.850 | 9.800 | 19.650 |
| 6 | Sergey Kharkov | Soviet Union | 9.85 | 9.95 | 19.80 | 9.900 | 9.700 | 19.600 |
| 7 | Yukio Iketani | Japan | 9.90 | 9.75 | 19.65 | 9.825 | 9.700 | 19.525 |
| 8 | Vladimir Gogoladze | Soviet Union | 9.90 | 9.85 | 19.75 | 9.875 | 9.637 | 19.512 |
| 9 | Vladimir Artemov | Soviet Union | 9.85 | 9.80 | 19.65 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 10 | Dmitri Bilozertchev | Soviet Union | 9.80 | 9.80 | 19.60 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 10 | Ralf Büchner | East Germany | 9.80 | 9.80 | 19.60 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 10 | Valeri Liukin | Soviet Union | 9.70 | 9.90 | 19.60 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 13 | Jürgen Brümmer | West Germany | 9.85 | 9.70 | 19.55 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 13 | Sven Tippelt | East Germany | 9.75 | 9.80 | 19.55 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 15 | Marius Gherman | Romania | 9.70 | 9.80 | 19.50 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 15 | Wang Chongsheng | China | 9.65 | 9.85 | 19.50 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 15 | Xu Zhiqiang | China | 9.80 | 9.70 | 19.50 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 18 | Gyorgy Guczoghy | Hungary | 9.75 | 9.70 | 19.45 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 18 | Curtis Hibbert | Canada | 9.70 | 9.75 | 19.45 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 18 | Ulf Hoffmann | East Germany | 9.70 | 9.75 | 19.45 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 18 | Dimitar Taskov | Bulgaria | 9.65 | 9.80 | 19.45 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 22 | Terry Bartlett | Great Britain | 9.80 | 9.60 | 19.40 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 22 | Patrick Mattioni | France | 9.75 | 9.65 | 19.40 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 22 | Daisuke Nishikawa | Japan | 9.75 | 9.65 | 19.40 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 22 | Alfonso Rodríguez | Spain | 9.80 | 9.60 | 19.40 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 26 | Lorne Bobkin | Canada | 9.70 | 9.65 | 19.35 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 26 | Zsolt Borkai | Hungary | 9.80 | 9.55 | 19.35 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 26 | Guo Linxian | China | 9.65 | 9.70 | 19.35 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 26 | Zsolt Horváth | Hungary | 9.65 | 9.70 | 19.35 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 26 | Koichi Mizushima | Japan | 9.70 | 9.65 | 19.35 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 26 | Toshiharu Sato | Japan | 9.70 | 9.65 | 19.35 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 26 | Song Yu-jin | South Korea | 9.85 | 9.50 | 19.35 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 33 | Jury Chechi | Italy | 9.70 | 9.60 | 19.30 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 33 | Petar Georgiev | Bulgaria | 9.60 | 9.70 | 19.30 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 33 | Ralph Kern | West Germany | 9.80 | 9.50 | 19.30 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 33 | Kalofer Khristozov | Bulgaria | 9.65 | 9.65 | 19.30 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 33 | Marius Toba | Romania | 9.70 | 9.60 | 19.30 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 33 | Andreas Wecker | East Germany | 9.65 | 9.65 | 19.30 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 39 | Mike Beckmann | West Germany | 9.65 | 9.60 | 19.25 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 39 | Vladimir Novikov | Soviet Union | 9.80 | 9.45 | 19.25 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 39 | Jenő Paprika | Hungary | 9.65 | 9.60 | 19.25 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 42 | Csaba Fajkusz | Hungary | 9.50 | 9.70 | 19.20 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 42 | Scott Johnson | United States | 9.50 | 9.70 | 19.20 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 42 | Charles Lakes | United States | 9.60 | 9.60 | 19.20 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 42 | James Rozon | Canada | 9.60 | 9.60 | 19.20 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 46 | Lyubomir Gueraskov | Bulgaria | 9.60 | 9.55 | 19.15 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 46 | Hiroyuki Konishi | Japan | 9.55 | 9.60 | 19.15 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 46 | Boris Preti | Italy | 9.75 | 9.40 | 19.15 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 46 | Bernhard Simmelbauer | West Germany | 9.65 | 9.50 | 19.15 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 50 | Paolo Bucci | Italy | 9.60 | 9.50 | 19.10 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 50 | Li Chunyang | China | 9.50 | 9.60 | 19.10 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 50 | Álvaro Montesinos | Spain | 9.55 | 9.55 | 19.10 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 50 | Brad Peters | Canada | 9.60 | 9.50 | 19.10 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 50 | Lance Ringnald | United States | 9.40 | 9.70 | 19.10 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 50 | Gabriele Sala | Italy | 9.50 | 9.60 | 19.10 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 50 | Adrian Sandu | Romania | 9.70 | 9.40 | 19.10 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 50 | Daniel Winkler | West Germany | 9.50 | 9.60 | 19.10 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 58 | Ju Yeong-sam | South Korea | 9.75 | 9.30 | 19.05 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 58 | Alan Nolet | Canada | 9.45 | 9.60 | 19.05 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 60 | Claude Carmona | France | 9.50 | 9.50 | 19.00 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 60 | Christian Chevalier | France | 9.70 | 9.30 | 19.00 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 60 | Johan Jonasson | Sweden | 9.50 | 9.50 | 19.00 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 60 | Thierry Pecqueux | France | 9.50 | 9.50 | 19.00 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 60 | Valentin Pîntea | Romania | 9.60 | 9.40 | 19.00 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 60 | Wes Suter | United States | 9.50 | 9.50 | 19.00 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 60 | Takahiro Yamada | Japan | 9.40 | 9.60 | 19.00 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 67 | Vittorio Allievi | Italy | 9.45 | 9.45 | 18.90 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 67 | Stoyko Gochev | Bulgaria | 9.30 | 9.60 | 18.90 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 67 | Jože Kolman | Yugoslavia | 9.50 | 9.40 | 18.90 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 67 | Frédéric Longuepée | France | 9.70 | 9.20 | 18.90 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 67 | Kenneth Meredith | Australia | 9.40 | 9.50 | 18.90 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 67 | Riccardo Trapella | Italy | 9.30 | 9.60 | 18.90 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 73 | Nicolae Bejenaru | Romania | 9.35 | 9.50 | 18.85 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 73 | Stéphane Cauterman | France | 9.35 | 9.50 | 18.85 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 73 | Chang Chao-chun | Chinese Taipei | 9.15 | 9.70 | 18.85 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 73 | Dominick Minicucci | United States | 9.50 | 9.35 | 18.85 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 77 | Andrew Morris | Great Britain | 9.35 | 9.45 | 18.80 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 77 | Josef Zellweger | Switzerland | 9.30 | 9.50 | 18.80 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 79 | Bruno Cavelti | Switzerland | 9.50 | 9.25 | 18.75 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 79 | Kevin Davis | United States | 9.30 | 9.45 | 18.75 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 79 | Marian Rizan | Romania | 9.40 | 9.35 | 18.75 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 79 | Miguel Ángel Rubio | Spain | 9.60 | 9.15 | 18.75 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 83 | Gil Pinto | Brazil | 9.40 | 9.30 | 18.70 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 84 | Philippe Chartrand | Canada | 9.45 | 9.15 | 18.60 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 85 | Andreas Aguilar | West Germany | 9.35 | 9.20 | 18.55 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 86 | Li Ning | China | 9.25 | 9.15 | 18.40 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 87 | Tony Piñeda | Mexico | 9.05 | 9.25 | 18.30 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 88 | Hélder Pinheiro | Portugal | 8.80 | 9.15 | 17.95 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| 89 | Balázs Tóth | Hungary | 9.70 | 0.00 | 9.70 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |