Rowing at the 1988 Summer Olympics – Men's single sculls
The men's single sculls competition at the 1988 Summer Olympics took place at Han River Regatta Course, South Korea. The event was held from 19 to 24 September. It was the 20th appearance of the event, which had been held at every Olympic Games since the introduction of rowing in 1900. NOCs were limited to one boat apiece; 22 sent a competitor in the men's single sculls. Thomas Lange of East Germany won the event, denying Pertti Karppinen a record fourth-straight win and starting a two-Games winning streak of his own.
Background
Due to boycotts in 1980 and 1984, this was the first time since 1976 that all of the strongest rowing nations were present. The single sculls field included Finland's Pertti Karppinen, East Germany's Thomas Lange, and West Germany's Peter-Michael Kolbe. Andrew Sudduth of the United States had won a silver medal in 1984 in the eight; Dirk Crois of Belgium similarly changed events from 1984, when he took silver in double sculls. Other Olympic veterans were France's Pascal Body, Brazil's Denis Marinho, and Puerto Rico's Juan Felix.Schedule
Competition format
The competition consisted of three main rounds as well as a repechage. The 22 boats were divided into four heats for the first round, with 5 or 6 boats in each heat. The winning boat in each heat advanced directly to the semifinals. The remaining 18 boats were placed in the repechage. The repechage featured four heats of 4 or 5 boats each, with the top two boats in each heat advancing to the semifinals and the remaining 10 boats being eliminated. The 12 semifinalist boats were divided into two heats of 6 boats each. The top three boats in each semifinal advanced to the "A" final to compete for medals and 4th through 6th place; the bottom three boats in each semifinal were sent to the "B" final for 7th through 12th.All races were over a 2000 metre course.
Heats
The winner in each heat advanced directly to the semi-finals. The remaining rowers must compete in the repechage round for the remaining spots in semi-finals.Heat 1
| Rank | Rower | Nation | Time | Notes |
| 1 | Thomas Lange | 7:03.25 | ||
| 2 | Andrew Sudduth | 7:05.61 | ||
| 3 | Peter-Michael Kolbe | 7:12.35 | ||
| 4 | Kajetan Broniewski | 7:13.77 | ||
| 5 | Henk-Jan Zwolle | 7:29.68 | ||
| 6 | Juan Felix | 7:55.46 |
Heat 2
| Rank | Rower | Nation | Time | Notes |
| 1 | Hamish McGlashan | 7:25.26 | ||
| 2 | Jesús Posse | 7:37.92 | ||
| 3 | Jüri Jaanson | 7:41.28 | ||
| 4 | Masahiro Sakata | 7:43.67 | ||
| 5 | Gordon Henry | 7:51.83 | ||
| 6 | Edgardo Maerina | 8:54.90 |
Heat 3
| Rank | Rower | Nation | Time | Notes |
| 1 | Eric Verdonk | 7:18.69 | ||
| 2 | Pascal Body | 7:26.12 | ||
| 3 | Dirk Crois | 7:34.74 | ||
| 4 | Giovanni Calabrese | 7:45.02 | ||
| 5 | Denis Marinho | 7:48.33 |
Heat 4
| Rank | Rower | Nation | Time | Notes |
| 1 | Fredrik Hultén | 7:12.98 | ||
| 2 | Pertti Karppinen | 7:24.72 | ||
| 3 | Arnold Jonke | 7:30.45 | ||
| 4 | Im Gyeong-seok | 7:39.94 | ||
| 5 | Waleed Al-Mohamed Abdulmuhsin | 8:05.35 |
Repechage
Two fastest rowers in each repechage advanced to semi-finals.Repechage 1
| Rank | Rower | Nation | Time | Notes |
| 1 | Pertti Karppinen | 7:14.91 | ||
| 2 | Henk-Jan Zwolle | 7:16.23 | ||
| 3 | Dirk Crois | 7:19.94 | ||
| 4 | Masahiro Sakata | 7:26.66 |
Repechage 2
| Rank | Rower | Nation | Time | Notes |
| 1 | Jüri Jaanson | 7:04.04 | ||
| 2 | Kajetan Broniewski | 7:04.39 | ||
| 3 | Pascal Body | 7:05.80 | ||
| 4 | Waleed Al-Mohamed Abdulmuhsin | 8:15.16 |
Repechage 3
| Rank | Rower | Nation | Time | Notes |
| 1 | Peter-Michael Kolbe | 7:12.27 | ||
| 2 | Jesus Posse | 7:17.43 | ||
| 3 | Denis Marinho | 7:22.84 | ||
| 4 | Im Gyeong-seok | 7:46.40 | ||
| 5 | Edgardo Maerina | 8:27.02 |
Repechage 4
| Rank | Rower | Nation | Time | Notes |
| 1 | Andrew Sudduth | 7:05.52 | ||
| 2 | Giovanni Calabrese | 7:12.93 | ||
| 3 | Arnold Jonke | 7:18.29 | ||
| 4 | Juan Felix | 7:18.77 | ||
| 5 | Gordon Henry | 7:37.48 |
Semifinals
Three fastest rowers in each semifinal advanced to the final, while the others to the small final.Semifinal 1
| Rank | Rower | Nation | Time | Notes |
| 1 | Thomas Lange | 6:58.65 | ||
| 2 | Andrew Sudduth | 6:59.70 | ||
| 3 | Eric Verdonk | 7:11.98 | ||
| 4 | Jesus Posse | 7:27.43 | ||
| 5 | Henk-Jan Zwolle | 7:30.45 | ||
| 6 | Jüri Jaanson | 7:32.51 |
Semifinal 2
| Rank | Rower | Nation | Time | Notes |
| 1 | Peter-Michael Kolbe | 7:01.76 | ||
| 2 | Hamish McGlashan | 7:03.40 | ||
| 3 | Kajetan Broniewski | 7:03.90 | ||
| 4 | Fredrik Hulten | 7:04.36 | ||
| 5 | Giovanni Calabrese | 7:23.69 | ||
| 6 | Pertti Karppinen | 7:32.78 |
Final B
| Rank | Rower | Nation | Time |
| 7 | Pertti Karppinen | 7:34.47 | |
| 8 | Jüri Jaanson | 7:35.09 | |
| 9 | Fredrik Hulten | 7:40.07 | |
| 10 | Giovanni Calabrese | 7:43.31 | |
| 11 | Jesus Posse | 7:44.18 | |
| 12 | Henk-Jan Zwolle | 7:44.92 |
Final A
| Rank | Rower | Nation | Time | Notes |
| Thomas Lange | 6:49.86 | |||
| Peter-Michael Kolbe | 6:54.77 | |||
| Eric Verdonk | 6:58.66 | |||
| 4 | Hamish McGlashan | 7:01.43 | ||
| 5 | Kajetan Broniewski | 7:03.67 | ||
| 6 | Andrew Sudduth | 7:11.45 |