China competed at the
2004 Summer Olympics in
Athens
Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...
,
Greece
Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders ...
, from 13 to 29 August 2004. This was the nation's ninth appearance at the Summer Olympics since its debut
in 1952. A total of 384 Chinese athletes, 136 men and 248 women, were selected by the
Chinese Olympic Committee
The Chinese Olympic Committee (; IOC code: CHN) has been the officially designated body of the People's Republic of China (PRC) regarding the Olympic Games and other affiliated international sport federations since 1979, when the Nagoya Resol ...
to compete in 28 sports. For the third time in its Olympic history, China was represented by more female than male athletes.
China left Athens with a total of 63 Olympic medals – 32 golds, 17 silver, and 14 bronze – finishing third in the overall medal standings and second only to the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
in the gold medal tally. The Chinese delegation proved particularly successful in several sports, winning nine medals each in diving and shooting, eight in weightlifting, six in table tennis, and five each in badminton and judo. Chinese athletes dominated in badminton, diving, and table tennis, where they each won gold medals in most sporting events. Three Chinese athletes managed to defend their titles from the
2000 Summer Olympics
The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad and also known as Sydney 2000 ( Dharug: ''Gadigal 2000''), the Millennium Olympic Games or the Games of the New Millennium, was an international multi-sport event held from ...
in
Sydney, while six of them won more than a single medal in Athens. China's team-based athletes came strong and successful in Athens, as the women's volleyball team managed to strike the Russians for the gold medal.
Among the nation's medalists were hurdler
Liu Xiang, who emerged as China's first male athlete to win an Olympic gold medal in men's track and field, badminton player
Zhang Ning
Zhang Ning (; born 19 May 1975) is a former Chinese badminton player. She won the Olympic gold medal twice for women's singles in both 2004 and 2008. She has played badminton on the world scene since the mid-1990s and has been particularly succes ...
in the women's singles, diving tandem
Wu Minxia
Wu Minxia (; born 10 November 1985) is a retired Chinese diver, specializing in the 1 metre and 3 metre springboard, and synchronized 3 metre springboard events. Entering her first major championship in 2001, Wu represented China at every Asi ...
and
Guo Jingjing
Guo Jingjing (; born October 15, 1981, in Baoding, Hebei) is a retired Chinese female diver, and multi-time Olympic gold medalist and world champion. Guo is tied with her partner Wu Minxia for winning the most Olympic medals (6) of any female ...
in the women's synchronized platform, and tennis players
Li Ting and
Sun Tiantian, who became the first Asians to capture an Olympic title in the women's doubles. Badminton player
Gao Ling, who won a gold and a silver in both the mixed doubles with
Zhang Jun and the women's doubles with
Huang Sui, became the most decorated Chinese athlete in the sporting history with a total of four Olympic medals. Along with Zhang Jun and Gao Ling for their Olympic defense campaign, taekwondo jin
Chen Zhong
Chen Zhong (; born November 22, 1982) is a retired Chinese taekwondo competitor who represented her country at international level for more than 10 years, including three consecutive Summer Olympic Games. She won China's first Olympic gold med ...
successfully repeated her gold medal from Sydney in the women's heavyweight division.
With
Beijing
}
Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...
being the host city of the
2008 Summer Olympics, a traditional Chinese segment was performed during the
closing ceremony.
Medalists
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Archery
Five Chinese archers (two men and three women) qualified each for the men's and women's individual archery, and a spot for the women's team.
;Men
;Women
Athletics
Chinese athletes have so far achieved qualifying standards in the following athletics events (up to a maximum of 3 athletes in each event at the 'A' Standard, and 1 at the 'B' Standard).
;Men
;Track & road events
;Field events
;Combined events –
Decathlon
;Women
;Track & road events
;Field events
;Combined events –
Heptathlon
Badminton
;Men
;Women
;Mixed
Basketball
Men's tournament
;Roster
;Group play
;Quarterfinals
;Classification match (7th–8th place)
Women's tournament
;Roster
;Group play
;Classification match (9th–10th place)
Boxing
People's Republic of China sent six boxers to Athens. They won one bronze medal, with one other quarterfinalist. Their combined record was 6-6 as three boxers lost their first matches. They were in a five-way tie for 16th place in the medals board for boxing.
Canoeing
Slalom
Sprint
;Men
;Women
Qualification Legend: Q = Qualify to final; q = Qualify to semifinal
Cycling
Road
Track
;Time trial
;Omnium
Mountain biking
Diving
Chinese divers qualified for eight individual spots at the 2004 Olympic Games. Four Chinese synchronized diving teams qualified through the 2004 FINA Diving World Cup.
;Men
;Women
Fencing
;Men
;Women
Field hockey
Women's tournament
;Roster
;Group play
----
----
----
;Semifinals
;Bronze Medal match
Football
Women's tournament
;Roster
;Group play
Gymnastics
Artistic
;Men
;Team
;Individual finals
;Women
;Team
;Individual finals
Rhythmic
Trampoline
Handball
Women's tournament
;Roster
;Group play
;Quarterfinal
;5th-8th Place Classification
;7th-8th Place Final
Judo
Nine Chinese judoka (two men and seven women) qualified for the 2004 Summer Olympics.
;Men
;Women
Modern pentathlon
Three Chinese athletes qualified to compete in the modern pentathlon event through the Asian Championships.
Rowing
Chinese rowers qualified the following boats:
;Men
;Women
Qualification Legend: FA=Final A (medal); FB=Final B (non-medal); FC=Final C (non-medal); FD=Final D (non-medal); FE=Final E (non-medal); FF=Final F (non-medal); SA/B=Semifinals A/B; SC/D=Semifinals C/D; SE/F=Semifinals E/F; R=Repechage
Sailing
Chinese sailors have qualified one boat for each of the following events.
;Men
;Women
;Open
M = Medal race; OCS = On course side
On the course side is an expression used in sailboat racing to indicate that a boat was on the wrong side of the starting line when the starting signal was given. According to the Sailing Instructions valid for a specific racing event, being on th ...
of the starting line; DSQ = Disqualified; DNF = Did not finish; DNS= Did not start; RDG = Redress given
Shooting
Twenty-six Chinese shooters (fifteen men and eleven women) qualified to compete in the following events:
;Men
;Women
* = Won in shoot-off
Softball
In the final game of the preliminary round, China was the victim of the first perfect game in Olympic softball history, losing to Japan 2–0. Their defeat two days later in the semifinal, again to Japan, eliminated China from medal contention.
;Preliminary Round
;Quarterfinal
Swimming
Chinese swimmers earned qualifying standards in the following events (up to a maximum of 2 swimmers in each event at the A-standard time, and 1 at the B-standard time):
;Men
;Women
*Competed only in heats and received medals
Synchronized swimming
Nine Chinese synchronized swimmers qualified a spot in the women's team.
Table tennis
Nine Chinese table tennis players qualified for the following events.
;Men
;Women
Taekwondo
Two Chinese taekwondo jin qualified for the following events.
Tennis
China won its first Olympic tennis medal, a gold, in the women's doubles. Following this victory, China became the only nation to claim gold medals in all three Olympic racquet sports (badminton, table tennis, tennis), and more importantly, to capture the gold medal in the women's doubles for all of these events.
Triathlon
Two Chinese triathletes qualified for the following events.
Volleyball
Beach
Indoor
Women's tournament
;Roster
;Group play
;Quarterfinal
;Semifinal
;Gold Medal Final
; Won Gold Medal
Weightlifting
Ten Chinese weightlifters qualified for the following events:
;Men
;Women
Wrestling
;Men's freestyle
;Men's Greco-Roman
;Women's freestyle
See also
*
China at the 2002 Asian Games
China competed in the 2002 Asian Games held in Busan, South Korea from September 29, 2002 to October 14, 2002.
See also
* China at the Asian Games
* China at the Olympics
* Sport in China
Nations at the 2002 Asian Games
2002
Asian Games
...
*
China at the 2004 Summer Paralympics
China competed at the 2004 Summer Paralympics, held in Athens, Greece. China topped the medal table for the first time, becoming the first Asian country to top the medal count with more gold medals, more silver medals, and more medals overall than ...
References
External links
Official Report of the XXVIII OlympiadChinese Olympic Committee
{{DEFAULTSORT:China At The 2004 Summer Olympics
Nations at the 2004 Summer Olympics
2004
Summer Olympics