The bicycle at the 1988 Olympic Games (7)

The Summer Olympic Games of the XXIV Olympiad were held in Seoul in 1988. The Seoul Games were a great success. After the three previous Games had each been hit by a major boycott, nearly 160 countries were present in Seoul, representing all continents. It was the first time that the major powers competed against each other peacefully. The United States, the Soviet Union, and the People's Republic of China were all present in Seoul. The mascot of these Games was Hondori. Cycling is one of the Olympic sports practiced at the Olympic Games. The sport has been on the program continuously since the first edition of the modern Summer Olympic Games. Monique Knol (= definitely a Dutch woman! and not a Frenchwoman!), winner of the Gold medal on the road. In 1988, Monique was the first Dutch gold medalist at the Olympic Games. With twelve stage victories, she has also been very successful in the Women's Tour de France, which was organized for women for the first time in 1984. Officially called “La Grande Boucle Féminine Internationale”. On the occasion of the 1992 Olympic Games in Barcelona, ​​Nevis issued a stamp featuring “our” Monique. Nevis just didn't know that Monique is Dutch instead of French.

Jutta Niehaus, winner of the silver medal on the road.

Judith (“Jutta”) is a former cyclist from West Germany who represented her native country at the 1988 Olympic Games in Seoul, South Korea. There she won the silver medal in the women's individual road race, but lost to Dutch Monique Knol in the sprint. Barbados, the Bahamas, and the Turks and Caicos Islands are countries that like to issue stamps to promote the Olympic Games. The Belgian Erik Schoefs achieved a sixth place in the Sprint in Seoul. The Cayman Islands and Chile both showcase track cycling. Ireland, Jordan, and Jamaica participated with 65, 9, and 35 participants, respectively. Both Germans are honored by Korea with a personalized cover. Christian Henn, as bronze medalist in the road race, and Robert Lechner as bronze medalist in the 1000-meter time trial. These stamps depict the following in succession: 1. Out of the saddle and on the pedals, in other words, Action! 2. A rider on a track bike, which is a bicycle without brakes and with a fixed gear. 3. A rider on a time trial bike with bullhorn handlebars. Two totally different stamp designs with the same purpose: the 1988 Olympic Games. Paraguay didn't think it was enough to honor Fredy Schmidtke on a single stamp. So they also depicted him on a nice sheet, with the same outfit and the same bike. Tanzania has had a special overprint made in honor of Lutz Hesslich, the East German who won the gold medal in the Sprint. To conclude this episode, another Dutch achievement. “Our” Leo Peelen won a silver medal in the points race, after qualifying with the team pursuit. See you at the next 1992 Olympic Games in Barcelona!