The men's double sculls competition at the 1988 Summer Olympics took place at took place at Han River Regatta Course, South Korea.
Competition format
The competition consisted of three main rounds (heats, semifinals, and finals) as well as a repechage. The 17 boats were divided into three heats for the first round, with 5 or 6 boats in each heat. The winner of each heat (3 boats total) advanced directly to the semifinals. The remaining 14 boats were placed in the repechage. The repechage featured three heats, with 4 or 5 boats in each heat. The top three boats in each repechage heat (9 boats total) advanced to the semifinals. The remaining 5 boats (4th and 5th placers in the repechage heats) were eliminated. The 12 semifinalist boats were divided into two heats of 6 boats each. The top three boats in each semifinal (6 boats total) 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.
Results
Heats
The heats were held on September 19. The winner of each heat advanced to the semifinals, with all others going to the repechage. No boats were eliminated in this round (a fact highlighted by the Swiss team, fourth place in their preliminary heat, ultimately winning the silver medal).
Heat 1
The first heat featured a warm (21 °C) but rainy day, with 2.3 m/s northwest winds. It was primarily a contest between the Soviets (who led the full way) and the Norwegians (who started slower and were fourth at 500 metres, but pulled into second before the halfway mark), though the Soviet victory was never much in doubt. Spain started out in third, was passed by Norway but passed Chile, and ended in third as well. Canada ran fifth for the first 1500 metres before also passing Chile and finishing fourth. Chile started strong, in second place at 500 metres, but steadily dropped back through the field and finished fifth. The United States trailed the field throughout.
Heat 2
The second heat was cooler (now 19 °C) and windier (5 m/s, west-northwest), but still rainy. It turned into a four-way race quickly, with Austria well behind after 500 metres and Mexico falling back as well by 1000 metres. At the halfway point, Bulgaria led followed by East Germany, Switzerland, then Denmark. The Germans and Danes pushed forward over the second half, while the Bulgarians and Swiss slowed. By the 1500 metre mark, the East German boat had overtaken Bulgaria and the Danish boat had passed Switzerland. In the last quarter of the course, Denmark surged past both the Germans and Bulgarians to take the victory.
Heat 3
The temperature continued to cool (18 °C) and the rain continued to fall for the third heat, though the wind calmed somewhat (3.7 m/s, west). There was little contest to this heat, with the Dutch boat leading from the start and winning by nearly 3 seconds. The West German team started slow, but caught Italy before the halfway mark and separated from the latter squad by over 4 seconds at the end. Finland and Greece brought up the rear at fourth and fifth place, respectively.
Repechage
The repechage was held on September 21. The top three boats in each of the three repechage heats advanced to the semifinals, with all others eliminated.
Repechage heat 1
The repechage was held on a cool (13.9 °C for the first heat) but sunny day, with calmer winds than the heats (1.2 m/s east-northeast for the first heat). East Germany, after its narrow loss in the heats, led this repechage heat from start to finish. Finland and Spain battled back and forth for second and third, with Finland ultimately taking second. A late push by Mexico was insufficient to catch Spain for the last semifinals place. The United States made it to halfway in fourth place and not far behind the lead group, but faltered over the second half and finished fifth.
Repechage heat 2
The sunny day continued to warm (now 14.8 °C) and the wind remained steady (1.2 m/s, east-northeast). With all but one boat advancing the semifinals, the question was which team would finish last. Chile was only half a second behind third-place Norway at 500 metres, but fell further behind at each quarter-mark after that; the South Americans were eliminated. Switzerland led at each checkpoint, while Norway passed Italy during the second 500 metres.