Olympic Games, Seoul 1988

Olympics in Seoul
State Medal, 5747-1987

The 24th Olympic Games will take place in Seoul, Korea, in September 1988. Israel will take part in these games and is a member of the big Olympic family, embracing over 160 nations of the world. Since Israel first participated in the games in 1952, in Helsinki, it has done so in each of the subsequent Olympics apart from those in Moscow in 1980. Up to the present, 152 Israeli athletes, both men and women, have participated. While acknowledging the motto "The importance is not in winning but in participating", Israel also tries to live up to the other Olympic motto of "Citus - Altius - Fortius" (Faster, Higher, Stronger). Israel has yet to win its first Olympic medal but the Israeli Olympic Committee is encouraging the country's sports institutes to elevate their athletic performance. To this day, the spirit of the 11 Israeli athletes, murdered at the Munich Olympic Games in 1972, lives in the minds of Israeli sportsmen.

Obverse: The Olympic stadium symbolically joining North and South Korea. Emblems of six of the Olympic sports. The verse "Brace yourselves put forth all your strength" (Nahum 2:2) in Hebrew and English.

Reverse: Emblem of the Olympic committee of Israel and the words in Hebrew and English - "Israel Olympic XXIV Seoul 1988".

Edge: The emblem of the State of Israel. The words "State of Israel" in Hebrew and English, the metal content and serial number.

Designer: Obverse - Ronit Berson. Reverse - Dan Reisinger.

Mint: Hecht and the Government Mint, Jerusalem.