2004 Summer Olympic Games

In 2004 the Olympic Games returned to Greece, the home of both the ancient Olympics and the first modern Olympics. For the first time ever a record 201 National Olympic Committees (NOCs) participated in the Olympic Games. The overall tally for events on the programme was 301 (one more than in Sydney 2000). Popularity in the Games reached soared to new highs as 3.9 billion people had access to the television coverage compared to 3.6 billion for Sydney 2000. Women's wrestling was included in the program for the first time. Swimmer Michael Phelps won 6 gold medals and set a single-Games record with 8 total medals. Leontien Ziljaard-van Moorsel became the first female cyclist to earn 4 career gold medals and 6 total medals, while canoeist Birgit Fischer became the first athlete in any sport to win two medals in each of 5 Olympics. Runner Hicham El Guerrouj won both the 1,500m and the 5,000m, while on the women's side Kelly Holmes triumphed in both the 800m and the 1,500m. In team play, Argentina won the men's football tournament without giving up a goal, and the U.S. softball team won by outscoring their opponents 51-1.

2004 Summer Olympic Games Medal Table

Country
United States
Russia
China
Australia
Germany
Japan
France
Italy
United Kingdom
South Korea
Cuba
Ukraine
Netherlands
Spain
Romania
Hungary
Greece
Belarus
Bulgaria
Canada
Brazil
Poland
Turkey
Czech Rep.
Denmark
Kazakhstan
Thailand
Austria
Ethiopia
Kenya
Sweden
Argentina
Iran
Norway
South Africa
Slovak Rep.
Azerbaijan
Croatia
Egypt
Jamaica
New Zealand
North Korea
Switzerland
Taiwan
Uzbekistan
Georgia
Indonesia
Latvia
Mexico
Slovenia
Belgium
Chile
Estonia
Lithuania
Morocco
Portugal
Zimbabwe
Bahamas
Finland
Israel
Nigeria
Venezuela
Yugoslav Federation
Cameroon
Colombia
Dominican Rep.
Eritrea
Hong Kong
India
Ireland
Mongolia
Paraguay
Syria
Trinidad & Tobago
United Arab Emirates

Gold
35
27
32
17
14
16
11
10
9
9
9
9
4
3
8
8
6
2
2
3
4
3
3
1
2
1
3
2
2
1
4
2
2
5
1
2
1
1
1
2
3
0
1
2
2
2
1
0
0
0
1
2
0
1
2
0
1
1
0
1
0
0
0
1
0
1
0
0
0
1
0
0
0
0
1

Silver
39
27
17
16
16
9
9
11
9
12
7
5
9
11
5
6
6
6
1
6
3
2
3
3
0
4
1
4
3
4
1
0
2
0
3
2
0
2
1
1
2
4
1
2
1
2
1
4
3
1
0
0
1
2
1
2
1
0
2
0
0
0
2
0
0
0
0
1
1
0
0
1
0
0
0

Bronze
29
38
14
16
18
12
13
11
12
9
11
9
9
5
6
3
4
7
9
3
3
5
4
4
6
3
4
1
2
2
2
4
2
1
2
2
4
2
3
2
0
1
3
1
2
0
2
0
1
3
2
1
2
0
0
1
1
1
0
1
2
2
0
0
1
0
1
0
0
0
1
0
1
1
0

Total
103
92
63
49
48
37
33
32
30
30
27
23
22
19
19
17
16
15
12
12
10
10
10
8
8
8
8
7
7
7
7
6
6
6
6
6
5
5
5
5
5
5
5
5
5
4
4
4
4
4
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
2
2
2
2
2
2
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1