Czech Republic The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...

competed at the

2004 Summer Olympics The 2004 Summer Olympics ( el, Θερινοί Ολυμπιακοί Αγώνες 2004, ), officially the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad ( el, Αγώνες της 28ης Ολυμπιάδας, ) and also known as Athens 2004 ( el, Αθήνα 2004), ...

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 with ...

, from 13 to 29 August 2004. This was the nation's third appearance at the Summer Olympics after gaining its independence from the former ''Czechoslovakia''. The

Czech Olympic Committee The Czech Olympic Committee ( cs, Český olympijský výbor) is the National Olympic Committee (NOC) representing the Czech Republic. History The Czech Olympic Committee is one of the oldest NOCs in the world, having been founded in 1899 as Bo ...

sent the nation's largest team to the Games since the post-Czechoslovak era. A total of 142 athletes, 80 men and 62 women, competed in 19 sports; the nation's team size was roughly denser from Sydney by one sixth of the athletes.

Women's basketball Women's basketball is the team sport of basketball played by women. It began being played in 1892, one year after men's basketball, at Smith College in Massachusetts. It spread across the United States, in large part via women's college compet ...

was the only team-based sport in which the Czech Republic had its representation at these Olympic Games. There was only a single competitor in equestrian, artistic and trampoline gymnastics, judo, and weightlifting. The Czech team featured two defending Olympic champions: slalom kayaker

Štěpánka Hilgertová Štěpánka Hilgertová () (née Prošková, born 10 April 1968 in Prague) is a former Czechoslovak-Czech slalom canoeist who competed at the international level from 1988 to 2017. Competing in six Summer Olympics, she won two gold medals in the ...

, who made her fourth Olympic appearance as the most experienced female athlete, and javelin throwing legend

Jan Železný Jan Železný (; born 16 June 1966) is a Czech former track and field athlete who competed in the javelin throw. He is a World and Olympic champion and holds the world record with a throw of . Widely considered to be the greatest javelin thrower ...

, who had won three consecutive Olympic titles throughout his illustrious sporting career, and competed at his fifth Olympics. Meanwhile, freestyle swimmer and top medal favorite

Květoslav Svoboda Květoslav Svoboda () (born August 25, 1982 in Znojmo) is an Olympic freestyle swimmer from the Czech Republic. He swam for the Czech Republic at the 2000, 2004 and 2008 Olympics.Roman Šebrle Roman Šebrle (; born 26 November 1974) is a retired decathlete from the Czech Republic. He is considered to be one of the best decathlon athletes of all time. Originally a high jumper, he later switched to the combined events and is a former worl ...

and

Tomáš Dvořák Tomáš Dvořák (), born 11 May 1972 in Gottwaldov (now Zlín), Czechoslovakia, is an athlete from the Czech Republic. He competed in the decathlon and heptathlon for the team ''Dukla Prague''. He is a three-time decathlon ...

, double Olympic champion

Martin Doktor Martin Doktor (; born 21 May 1974 in Polička, Czechoslovakia) is the Czech Republic's best-known sprint canoeist. He was double Olympic champion in the Canadian canoe C-1 discipline at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta. Du ...

in men's sprint canoeing, and rifle shooter Kateřina Kůrková, who eventually married to the American and Olympic rifle prone titleholder

Matt Emmons Matthew D. Emmons (born April 5, 1981) is an American rifle shooter. He competed in various events at the 2004, 2008, 2012 and 2016 Olympics and won a gold, a silver, and a bronze medal. Career Emmons started out as a successful junior and has b ...

. Czech Republic left Athens with a total of nine Olympic medals (one gold, three silver, and four bronze), surpassing the record set in Sydney four years earlier by just a single medal.

Roman Šebrle Roman Šebrle (; born 26 November 1974) is a retired decathlete from the Czech Republic. He is considered to be one of the best decathlon athletes of all time. Originally a high jumper, he later switched to the combined events and is a former worl ...

, who previously won silver in Sydney, ended a 20-year drought to set an Olympic record and to receive the nation's only gold medal in men's decathlon, while

Libor Capalini Libor Capalini (born 30 January 1973 in Hořovice) is a modern pentathlete from the Czech Republic who won the bronze medal in the Modern Pentathlon at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, � ...

set a historic milestone for Czech Republic to pick up its first Olympic medal in modern pentathlon. Meanwhile, Věra Pospíšilová-Cechlová originally finished fourth in women's discus throw. On December 5, 2012, the

International Olympic Committee The International Olympic Committee (IOC; french: link=no, Comité international olympique, ''CIO'') is a non-governmental sports organisation based in Lausanne, Switzerland. It is constituted in the form of an association under the Swiss ...

stripped off Belarusian

Iryna Yatchenko Iryna Vasiliyevna Yatchenko ( be, Ірына Ятчанка, russian: Ирина Васильевна Ятченко; born 31 October 1965) is a Belarusian former discus thrower best known for winning two Olympic bronze medals at the 2000 Summer ...

's silver medal after drug re-testings of her samples were found positive, lifting Cechlova's spot to the bronze medal position. For

, he ended his sparkling career with a disappointing ninth-place finish in men's javelin throw at his fifth Olympic Games. On August 29, 2004, at the time of the closing ceremony, Zelezny was elected to the

IOC Athletes' Commission International Olympic Committee Athletes' Commission (IOC AC) is a majority elected body that serves as a link between athletes and the IOC. The mission of the IOC AC is to ensure that athletes' viewpoint remains at the heart of the Olympic Movemen ...

, along with three other athletes.

Medalists

Athletics

Czech 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). Věra Pospíšilová-Cechlová originally finished fourth in women's discus throw. On December 5, 2012, Belarus'

was ordered to strip off her silver medal by the

after drug re-testings of her samples were discovered positive, lifting Cechlova's spot to the bronze medal position. ;Men ;Track & road events ;Field events ;Combined events –

Decathlon The decathlon is a combined event in Athletics (sport), athletics consisting of ten track and field events. The word "decathlon" was formed, in analogy to the word "pentathlon", from Greek language, Greek δέκα (''déka'', meaning "ten") and ...

;Women ;Track & road events ;Field events ;Combined events –

Heptathlon A heptathlon is a track and field combined events contest made up of seven events. The name derives from the Greek επτά (hepta, meaning "seven") and ἄθλος (áthlos, or ἄθλον, áthlon, meaning "competition"). A competitor in a hept ...

Basketball

Women's tournament

;Roster ;Group play ---- ---- ---- ---- ;5th place game

Canoeing

Slalom

Sprint

Qualification Legend: Q = Qualify to final; q = Qualify to semifinal

Cycling

Road

;Men ;Women

Track

;Sprint ;Pursuit ;Time trial ;Keirin ;Omnium

Mountain biking

Equestrian

Eventing

Gymnastics

Artistic

;Women

Rhythmic

Judo

Czech Republic has qualified a single judoka.

Modern pentathlon

Three Czech athletes qualified to compete in the modern pentathlon event through the European and UIPM Championships.

Rowing

Czech 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

Czech 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 The sport of sailing involves a variety of competitive sailing formats that are sanctioned through various sailing federations and yacht clubs. Racing disciplines include matches withi ...

of the starting line; DSQ = Disqualified; DNF = Did not finish; DNS= Did not start; RDG = Redress given

Shooting

Seven Czech shooters (five men and two women) qualified to compete in the following events: ;Men ;Women

Swimming

Czech 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

Synchronized swimming

Two Czech synchronized swimmers qualified a spot in the women's duet.

Table tennis

Four Czech table tennis players qualified for the following events.

Tennis

Czech Republic nominated four male and four female tennis players to compete in the tournament. ;Men ;Women

Triathlon

Two Czech triathletes in 2004 were veterans, but the nation's defending bronze medallist did not return. The Czechs' best result in 2004 was a twenty-sixth-place finish.

Volleyball

Beach

Weightlifting

Czech Republic has qualified a single weightlifter.

Wrestling

;Men's Greco-Roman

References

External links

Official Report of the XXVIII OlympiadCzech Olympic Committee
{{DEFAULTSORT:Czech Republic At The 2004 Summer Olympics Nations at the 2004 Summer Olympics

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 6 ...

Summer Olympics The Summer Olympic Games (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques d'été), also known as the Games of the Olympiad, and often referred to as the Summer Olympics, is a major international multi-sport event normally held once every four years. The inau ...