The 4th goodwill games was held in new york (Manhattan and Long Island) from July 6th to August 2nd, 1998. More than 500 athletes from 65 countries and regions participated in track and field, basketball, boxing, cycling, diving, swimming, synchronized swimming, gymnastics, rhythmic gymnastics, football, figure skating, triathlon, volleyball, water polo and wrestling, setting two world records. Among them, the American team broke the men's 4×400-meter relay world record in 2 minutes 54.20 seconds. South African female athlete Haines broke the women's 50m breaststroke world record in 30.95 seconds. The top three countries in the total number of gold medals are the United States (4 1), Russia (35) and Cuba (8). China won seven gold medals, seven silver medals and six bronze medals, ranking fourth.

This year's sports meeting catered to the interests of American audiences, with a strong commercial color. A prize of 5 million dollars was set up to reward athletes who broke records and achieved superior rankings. This is not only the first time in the history of goodwill games, but also the first time in the history of international large-scale comprehensive games to attract outstanding athletes with high bonuses.

Benefiting children is one of the slogans of this Games. The organizing Committee will attract most of the funds donated by charities to help children participate in sports activities. In order to cultivate children's interest in sports, excellent athletes from all over the world also met with members of American boys and girls clubs and participated in sports activities together. New york and goodwill games also left some unforgettable memories for people. Sang Lan, a female gymnast from China, was unfortunately injured in the competition and received enthusiastic care and active assistance from all walks of life in the United States, becoming a touching model of the spirit of goodwill games.