Highlights & Replays
DateAugust 13 - August 29
CountryGreece
Athletes10625
Teams201
Originals01:36:16
Athens 2004 Official Film | Bud Greenspan's Athens 2004: Stories of Olympic Glory
Originals04:24
Design Focus: Athens 2004
Design Focus: The Olympic Games
The Golden Generation | Five Rings Films
Five Rings Films: The Golden Generation
Shaikh Ahmed ALMAKTOUM
Almaktoum's Historic Olympic Gold in Athens 2004
The Olympics On the Record
Highlights03:09
Best of Athens 2004
Athens 2004 | Olympic Games
Biggest Games
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 at the Sydney Games in 2000).
Popularity in the Games also soared, as 3.9 billion people had access to the television coverage compared to 3.6 billion for Sydney. This global audience enjoyed coverage of never-before-seen sports such as women's wrestling, which was included in the programme for the first time.
Athens 2004 Olympic Games Legacy
Discover the lasting legacy that this edition of the Olympic Games created for its hosts.
Records Tumble
Swimmer Michael Phelps won six gold medals and set a single-Games record with eight total medals. Leontien Ziljaard-van Moorsel became the first female cyclist to earn four career gold medals, reaching a total of six Olympic medals, while canoeist Birgit Fischer became the first athlete in any sport to win two medals in each of five Olympic Games.
Memorable Champions
Runner Hicham El Guerrouj won both the 1500m and the 5000m, while on the women's side Kelly Holmes triumphed in both the 800m and the 1500m. In team play, Argentina won the men's football tournament without conceding a goal, and the U.S. softball team outscored their opponents by an aggregate score of 51-1.
NOCs: 201
Athletes: 10,625 athletes (4,329 women, 6,296 men)
Events: 301
Volunteers: 45,000
Media: 21,500
Two New National Olympic Committees
Kiribati and Timor Leste entered teams for the first time, although athletes from Timor had competed at the Sydney Olympics as individual Olympic athletes.
Iraqi Football
Despite continuing warfare back home, the football team from Iraq qualified for the Olympic tournament and made it to the semifinals.
Double trap shooter Ahmed Almaktoum won the first gold medal for the United Arab Emirates.
Thai Woman Champion
Weightlifter Pawina Thongsuk became the first woman from Thailand to earn a gold medal when she won the 75kg category.
Greek Judoka
In the men's 81kg category, Ilias Iliadis won Greece's first-ever gold medal in judo.
Tennis Breakthroughs
Chile and China earned their first medals in tennis as Nicolas Massu and Fernando González won the men's doubles championship and Massu also won singles, while Ting Li and Tian Tian Sun took the women's doubles title.
Fencing Firsts
In fencing, women's sabre made its debut with Mariel Zagunis of the United States earning the gold medal. It was the first U.S. victory in fencing. Switzerland also claimed its first fencing gold when Marcel Fischer won the men's individual épée.
Greeks in Synch
Thomas Bimis and Nikolaos Siranidis captured Greece's first medal in diving with an unexpected victory in synchronized springboard.
Greece First and Last
201 National Olympic Committees marched in the Parade of Nations at the Opening Ceremony. Traditionally Greece leads the parade and the host team goes last. Because Greece was the host, they occupied both positions, as weightlifter Pyrros Dimas opened the parade and the rest of the Greek athletes entered at the end.
East African Sweep
Kenyans runners swept the medals in the 3,000m steeplechase with Ezekiel Kemboi taking the gold, Brimin Kipruto the silver and Paul K. Koech the bronze.
Marathon History
The marathon races followed the same route as the 1896 race, beginning in Marathon and ending in Athens' Panathenaic Stadium. Vanderlei de Lima of Brazil was in the lead of the men's race with less than 7 kilometres to go when a disturbed man pushed him off the course. De Lima held on to earn the bronze medal and was awarded the Pierre de Coubertin Medal in recognition of his Olympic spirit.
The shot put events were held in Olympia, the site of the ancient Olympic Games.
Original Stadium
The archery competitions were staged in the same Panathenaic Stadium that was used for the 1896 Olympics.
Women's Wrestling Debuts
Women's wrestling made its debut with competition in four weight categories. Japanese women earned medals in every division, while France and the United States won two medals each. The first gold medal went to Ukraine's Irini Merlini, who dominated her first four opponents in the 48kg category and then won the final on a tiebreaker.
13 August, Athens, Opening Ceremony of the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad. The last runner of the Olympic Torch relay, Nikolaos Kaklamanakis, runs past the athletes in the Olympic Stadium. ©IOC/Tsuyoshi Kishimoto
Official Opening of the Games by:
President of the Hellenic Republic Konstantinos Stephanopoulos
Lighting the Olympic Flame by:
Nikolaos Kaklamanakis (sailing)
Olympic Oath by:
Zoï Dimoschaki (swimming)
Officials' Oath by:
Lazaros Voreadis (basketball)
See the list of teams and medals won by each.
See table
Featured Athletes
pyrros dimas
natalie coughlin
hicham el guerrouj
catalina ponor
Replays from
All Replays
Matthew PINSENT
Matthew Pinsent Wins His 4th Consecutive Gold
Gal Fridman Achieves Olympic Glory
Michael Phelps Becomes a Swimming Phenomenon
Vanderlei de Lima Settles for Bronze after Protest...
Santos and Rego Claim 1st Beach Volleyball Gold
Women's Wrestling Freestyle 63kg Final | Athens 20...
Great Olympic Moments
Discover the Games
A visual identity is developed for each edition of the Olympic Games.
Beginning as an olive wreath, medal designs have evolved over the years.
The Mascot
An original image, it must give concrete form to the Olympic spirit.
An iconic part of any Olympic Games, each host offers their unique version.