Central African Republic at the 1988 Summer Olympics

The Central African Republic competed at the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, South Korea. This marked the third appearance of the nation at a Summer Olympics. The country entered 15 competitors, the highest number of Central Africans appearing at any Games so far; with the basketball team comprising 12 of them. In addition to the boxers Fidèle Mohinga and Moussa Wiawindi, there was marathon runner Adolphe Ambowodé, who had previously competed at the 1984 Summer Olympics. No medals were won by any of those athletes.

Central African Republic at the 1988 Summer Olympics
Flag of the Central African Republic
IOC code	CAF
NOC	Comité National Olympique et Sportif Centrafricain
in Seoul
Competitors	15 in 3 sports
Flag bearer	Fidèle Mohinga
Medals	Gold 0 Silver 0 Bronze 0 Total 0
Summer Olympics appearances (overview)
1968 1972–1980 1984 1988 1992 1996 2000 2004 2008 2012 2016 2020

Background

The Central African Republic made its debut in the Olympic Games at the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City, Mexico.[1] The country has twice boycotted the Olympic Games, first was because of the inclusion of the New Zealand team at the 1976 Summer Olympics despite the breach of the international sports boycott of South Africa by the nation's rugby union team shortly prior.[2] Then in 1980, the country was one of several who joined in with a United States led boycott over the 1979 invasion of Afghanistan during the Soviet–Afghan War.[3] The highest number of Central African athletes entered in a team for an Olympics is 15, occurring at both the 1988 and 1992 Summer Olympics.[1]

Athletics

At his previous appearance the 1984 Summer Olympics, runner Adolphe Ambowodé completed the Men's marathon in a time of 2:41:26, finishing in 70th place.[4] His time in the marathon at the 1988 Games was nearly 18 minutes faster, with the runner finishing in a time of 2:23:52 in 42nd place out of the 98 athletes completing the course.[5] The result was the best performance by a Central African at an athletics so far.[6]

Marathon

Event	Athlete	Race
		Time	Rank
Men's marathon	Adolphe Ambowodé	2:23:52	42

Basketball

The Central African team qualified for the Olympics following their victory at the FIBA Africa Championship 1987 in December that year.[7] They were one of two African teams, alongside the basketball squad from Egypt.[8]

Team roster

The following is the Central African Republic roster in the men's basketball tournament of the 1988 Summer Olympics.[9]

Central African Republic men's national basketball team – 1988 Summer Olympics roster
Players	Coaches
Pos. No. Name Age – Date of birth Height Club Ctr. 4 Sanda Bouba Oumarou 30 – 1 January 1958 1.87 m (6 ft 2 in) 5 Aubin-Thierry Goporo 20 – 15 May 1968 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in) 6 Joseph-Dieudonné Ouagon 25 – 10 November 1962 1.87 m (6 ft 2 in) F 7 Bruno-Nazaire Kongaouin 21 – 12 October 1966 2.03 m (6 ft 8 in) 8 Eugène Pehoua-Pelema 25 – 8 April 1963 1.92 m (6 ft 4 in) 9 Guy M'Bongo 19 – 23 September 1968 1.96 m (6 ft 5 in) 10 Frédéricque Rufin Goporo 22 – 8 August 1966 1.75 m (5 ft 9 in) 11 Jean-Pierre Kotta 32 – 3 May 1956 1.87 m (6 ft 2 in) 12 Christian Gombe 26 – 22 February 1962 1.90 m (6 ft 3 in) C 13 Anicet Lavodrama 25 – 4 July 1963 2.02 m (6 ft 8 in) 14 Richard Bella 21 – 3 April 1967 2.05 m (6 ft 9 in) 15 François Naoueyama 31 – 31 January 1957 2.02 m (6 ft 8 in)	Legend Club – describes last club before the tournament Age – describes age on 17 September 1988

Group play

Pos	Team	Pld	W	L	PF	PA	PD	Pts	Qualification
1	Yugoslavia	5	4	1	468	384	+84	9	Quarter-finals
2	Soviet Union	5	4	1	460	393	+67	9
3	Australia	5	3	2	429	408	+21	8
4	Puerto Rico	5	3	2	382	387	−5	8
5	Central African Republic	5	1	4	346	436	−90	6
6	South Korea	5	0	5	384	461	−77	5

Source: FIBA
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Head-to-head results; 3) Points average among tied; 4) Points average.

18 September 1988

Central African Republic	73–70	South Korea
Scoring by half: 47–30, 26–40

Jamsil Gymnasium, Seoul

20 September 1988

Central African Republic	79–92	Yugoslavia
Scoring by half: 33–39, 46–53

Jamsil Gymnasium, Seoul

September 21

Australia	106–67	Central African Republic
Scoring by half: 57–35, 49–32

Jamsil Gymnasium, Seoul

September 23

Central African Republic	67–71	Puerto Rico
Scoring by half: 41–27, 26–34

Jamsil Gymnasium, Seoul

September 24

Central African Republic	78–87	Soviet Union
Scoring by half: 31–40, 47–47

Jamsil Gymnasium, Seoul

Classification round (9th–12th place)

26 September 1998 09:45

Boxscore

Central African Republic	63–57	Egypt
Scoring by half: 33–31, 30–26
Pts: F. Goporo, Bella 15 Rebs: Lavodrama 16 Asts: Lavodrama 7		Pts: Khalil 17 Rebs: Khalil 8 Asts: Amir 4

Jamsil Gymnasium, Seoul

Classification round (9th/10th place)

29 September 1988 16:30

Boxscore

Central African Republic	81–89	South Korea
Scoring by half: 41–43, 40–46
Pts: Lavodrama 14 Rebs: Lavodrama 12 Asts: Kotta 3		Pts: Lee CH 31 Rebs: Lee MK 8 Asts: Kim HJ 6

Jamsil Gymnasium, Seoul

Boxing

The Central African Republic entered two boxers in the tournaments at the 1988 Summer Olympics, Fidèle Mohinga and Moussa Wiawindi. Mohinga competed in the welterweight class, defeating Adão N'Zuzi of Angola in the first round on 20 September. But, he was defeated by Maselino Masoe of American Samoa in the following round, four days later.[10] Wiawindi was defeated in the first round of the light-middleweight tournament by Cameroon's François Mayo.[11]

Boxing

Name	Event	Round of 32	Round of 16	Quarterfinals	Semifinals	Final
		Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Opposition Result
Fidèle Mohinga	Welterweight	N'Zuzi (ANG) W Points	Masoe (ASA) L Points	Did not advance
Moussa Wiawindi	Light-Middleweight	Mayo (CMR) L Points	Did not advance

Notes

1. "Central African Republic at the 1984 Los Angeles Summer Games". Sports Reference. Archived from the original on 17 April 2020. Retrieved 28 October 2016.
2. "1976: African countries boycott Olympics". BBC On This Day. Retrieved 28 October 2016.
3. Smith, Terence (20 January 1980). "The President Said Nyet". The New York Times. Retrieved 22 October 2016.
4. "Athletics at the 1984 Los Angeles Summer Games: Men's Marathon". Sports Reference. Archived from the original on 17 April 2020. Retrieved 28 October 2016.
5. "Athletics at the 1988 Seoul Summer Games: Men's Marathon". Sports Reference. Archived from the original on 17 April 2020. Retrieved 28 October 2016.
6. Grasso, Mallon & Heijmans 2015, p. 74.
7. "Back in the Day: A Little Bit of Seoul". Basketball Australia. 16 September 2010. Retrieved 29 October 2016.
8. Wolff, Alexander (18 July 1988). "Continental Contact". Retrieved 29 October 2016.
9. "1988 Olympic Games : Tournament for Men". FIBA. Retrieved 30 July 2018.
10. "Fidèle Mohinga". Sports Reference. Archived from the original on 18 April 2020. Retrieved 29 October 2016.
11. "Moussa Wiawindi". Sports Reference. Archived from the original on 18 April 2020. Retrieved 29 October 2016.

References

• Grasso, John; Mallon, Bill; Heijmans, Jeroen (2015). Historical Dictionary of the Olympic Movement (5th ed.). Lanham: Rowman & Littlefield. ISBN 978-1-4422-4859-5.