That was mainly caused by the extensive state-sponsored doping programs that were developed in these communist countries to fulfil their political agenda on an international stage.
The United States continued to be a strong contender in archery, though it found that South Korea had taken the top spot in the sport.
The men's 100 meter sprint was marred by the usage of performance-enhancing drugs when the initial winner, Canadian sprinter Ben Johnson, tested positive for banned substances after the race and was stripped of the gold medal and his world record time of 9.79 seconds, thus allowing Carl Lewis to repeat as gold medal winner.
In the men's relays, a fumbled baton exchange in the heat of the 4 × 100 caused a heartbreaking disqualification for the favored American team.
Meanwhile, in the heptathlon, Jackie Joyner-Kersee dominated the competition while setting a world record that has not been approached in the succeeding 30 years.
Finally, the only United States medal in the middle-distance events came from Kim Gallagher, who captured bronze in the 800 meters.
[7][8][9] The decision sparked outrage and an International Olympic Committee investigation found that the three judges who voted for Park Si-Hun had been bribed by South Korean officials.
[10] With some elements of corruption in Olympic boxing coming to light, refereeing standards were changed after the games to avoid future controversies.
[11] In another controversial gold medal match, Riddick Bowe lost to future world heavyweight champion Lennox Lewis.
[12] In yet another controversy, Michael Carbajal lost the gold medal bout in the light flyweight, with suspicions of politics influencing the judges decision being quite widespread.
[13] Members of the U.S. Army Boxing Team (Anthony Hembrick, Andrew Maynard, Kennedy McKinney, Ray Mercer) trained for the Olympics at Fort Huachuca, Arizona.
By the time Hembrick arrived at Chamshil Students' Gymnasium twelve minutes late, he had been disqualified and the match was being awarded to South Korean Ha Jong-ho.