A fourth boycott could have sunk the Olympic movement and the portents were ominous when the South Korean capital was awarded the 1988 Games.
Terrorism was also a major concern after a Korean Airline plane was destroyed by a bomb planted by North Korean agents, killing all 115 passengers in November 1987.
Times, though, had changed. The politicians had finally realised that boycotts hurt only the athletes and in the end only a handful of smaller nations stayed away.
This time it was an athlete, not a politician, who created the shockwaves. Ben Johnson, a Canadian sprinter with the torso of a prize fighter, sped to victory in the 100 metres final ahead of Lewis in a world record 9.79 seconds.
Three days later Johnson tested positive for the anabolic steriod stanozolol and was hustled out of Seoul protesting his innocence. At a Canadian government inquiry the following year he admitted he had been on a drugs regime since 1981.
Inevitably cynicism had replaced wonder when Florence Griffth-Joyner set a world record 21.34 seconds in the women's 200 metres, a time not even approached since let alone bettered.
Griffith-Joyner, whose body had been transformed since she had competed in Los Angeles, retired in the following year and died unexpectedly in 1998.
{{/usCountry}}Griffith-Joyner, whose body had been transformed since she had competed in Los Angeles, retired in the following year and died unexpectedly in 1998.
{{/usCountry}}The boxing was tainted by poor judging. Home town fighter Park Shi-hun became the light-middleweight champion after five consecutive disputed victories, including a win over American Roy Jones Jnr in the final which mystified neutral observers.