Great Britain, the team of the

British Olympic Association The British Olympic Association (BOA) is the National Olympic Committee for the United Kingdom. It is responsible for organising and overseeing the participation of athletes from the Great Britain and Northern Ireland Olympic Team, at both ...

(BOA), 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 a ...

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 wi ...

, from 13 to 29 August 2004 with the team of selected athletes was officially known as

Team GB Team GB is the brand name used since 1999 by the British Olympic Association (BOA) for their British Olympic team. The brand was developed after the nation's poor performance in the 1996 Summer Olympics, and is now a trademark of the BOA. I ...

. The British sent a wide-ranging delegation to the Games, continuing its ubiquitous presence in the Olympic games, the only country to have sent competitors to every summer and winter games since the birth of the modern Olympics in 1896. Great Britain's 264 athletes, 161 men and 103 women, competed in 22 disciplines throughout the two-week event. The team entered the

opening ceremony An opening ceremony, grand opening, or ribbon-cutting ceremony marks the official opening of a newly-constructed location or the start of an event.

behind the

Union Flag The Union Jack, or Union Flag, is the ''de facto'' national flag of the United Kingdom. Although no law has been passed making the Union Flag the official national flag of the United Kingdom, it has effectively become such through precedent. ...

carried by

judo is an unarmed modern Japanese martial art, Olympic sport (since 1964), and the most prominent form of jacket wrestling competed internationally.『日本大百科全書』電子版【柔道】(CD-ROM version of Encyclopedia Nipponica, "Judo") ...

Kate Howey Kate Louise Howey (born 31 May 1973 in Andover, Hampshire, England) is a former elite British judoka. She remains the only British woman to have won two Olympic judo medals (silver at the 2000 Olympics in Sydney, and bronze at the 1992 Olympi ...

. Double gold medal winner Kelly Holmes carried the flag at the

closing ceremony An opening ceremony, grand opening, or ribbon-cutting ceremony marks the official opening of a newly-constructed location or the start of an event.

Chronology

The delegation started the Olympics slowly, the silver its divers won on 14 August being the first of only a few opening-week medals. Although a sprinkling of silver and bronze medals – including a pair in men's and women's k1 kayak slalom – enlivened the mid-week, Britain's first gold did not come until Friday the 20th (won by Chris Hoy in the 1 km track cycling time-trial). Then, on 21 August ("Golden Saturday") Britain's contributions to the medal table became more significant. First Britain's traditional strength in rowing continued as the men's coxless four, stroked by

Matthew Pinsent Sir Matthew Clive Pinsent, (; born 10 October 1970) is an English rower and broadcaster. During his rowing career, he won 10 world championship gold medals and four consecutive Olympic gold medals. Since retiring, he has worked as a sports br ...

, narrowly won gold, a defining moment since this was Pinsent's fourth gold medal in as many games. Sailor

Ben Ainslie Sir Charles Benedict Ainslie (born 5 February 1977) is a British competitive sailor. Ainslie is the most successful sailor in Olympic history. He won medals at five consecutive Olympics from 1996 onwards, including gold at the four consecutiv ...

wrapped up a successful few days of racing with a gold, as did the women's Yngling sailboats who were finally awarded the gold medal they had sewn up on Thursday.

Bradley Wiggins Sir Bradley Marc Wiggins, CBE (born 28 April 1980) is a British former professional road and track racing cyclist, who competed professionally between 2001 and 2016. He began his cycling career on the track, but later made the transition to r ...

continued Britain's cycling success, winning gold in the 4 km pursuit. Young swimmer David Davies, coming third in the men's 1500 m freestyle, set a European record in the process and won Britain's second swimming medal of the games – a notable improvement over the

2000 Sydney games 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 1 ...

from which the swimmers had returned empty-handed. Also on Saturday, it was announced that, after an appeal,

Leslie Law Leslie Law MBE (born 5 May 1965) is a British eventer, who won the individual gold medal in the 2004 Summer Olympic Games. He started riding at age 10, competing with his brother, and participated in his first accredited event in 1982. He attende ...

would be promoted from silver to gold in the three-day equestrian eventing (and his team from bronze to silver). As the games' aquatic-dominated first week shifted into a second week focused more on track and field events,

Kelly Sotherton Kelly Jade Sotherton (born 13 November 1976) is a British former heptathlete, long jumper and relay runner. In the heptathlon she was the bronze medallist at the 2004 Summer Olympics and, following the disqualification of two other athletes, a ...

came third in the heptathlon. Sunday 22 August brought another rowing medal. However, marathon favourite

Paula Radcliffe Paula Jane Radcliffe MBE (born 17 December 1973) is a former British long-distance runner. She is a three-time winner of the London Marathon (2002, 2003, 2005), three-time New York Marathon champion (2004, 2007, 2008), and 2002 Chicago Marath ...

failed to cope with the heat of Athens and did not finish. The timing of the race with a late afternoon start, supposedly to appease US broadcasters, produced some controversy since summer marathons normally start early in the morning to avoid the heat. 23 August saw Britain's first gold medal of the track and field events, Kelly Holmes winning the women's 800 metres. This was Britain's first gold medal on the track since

Sally Gunnell Sally Jane Janet Gunnell (born 29 July 1966) is a British former track and field athlete, active between 1984 and 1997, who won the 1992 Olympic gold medal in the 400 metres hurdles. During a golden 24-month period between 1992 and 1994, Gunn ...

won the 400-metre hurdles at the

1992 Barcelona games The 1992 Summer Olympics ( es, Juegos Olímpicos de Verano de 1992, ca, Jocs Olímpics d'estiu de 1992), officially known as the Games of the XXV Olympiad ( es, Juegos de la XXV Olimpiada, ca, Jocs de la XXV Olimpíada) and commonly known as ...

. By claiming bronze in the Madison cycling on 25 August, to add to his earlier individual gold and a silver from the team pursuit,

became the first Briton for 40 years to claim three medals in one games. The evening of Saturday 28 August saw Britain's medal hunt centred on the Olympic Stadium.

Steve Backley Stephen James Backley, OBE (born 12 February 1969) is a retired British track and field athlete who competed in the javelin throw. He formerly held the world record, and his throw from 1992 is the British record. During his career, he was a ...

, in his final javelin throw competition, failed to win the gold he had been seeking since 1992, finishing fourth. Kelly Holmes achieved the middle-distance double, taking gold in the 1500 metres. The men's 4×100-metre relay team won a surprising victory, winning gold ahead of the

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

team. Earlier in the day, Ian Wynne had added to the medal haul, with a bronze medal in the K1 kayak class, competing despite an ankle injury picked up the day before. The final day of the games, 29 August, saw Amir Khan collect Britain's last medal of the event with a silver in

boxing Boxing (also known as "Western boxing" or "pugilism") is a combat sport in which two people, usually wearing protective gloves and other protective equipment such as hand wraps and mouthguards, throw punches at each other for a predetermined ...

's lightweight division.

Overall performance

In the final

medal table The Olympic medal table is a method of sorting the medal placements of countries in the modern-day Olympics and Paralympics. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) does not officially recognize a ranking of participating countries at the Olympic ...

, Great Britain finished in 10th place overall. The BBC stated that this was "the best British performance in the modern era", and quantified this with further considerations: "GB won 37 in 1984, but that was a boycott-hit Games missing the Eastern Bloc countries. Take Los Angeles out of the picture, and this was Britain's best haul since 1924."

Medallists

Great Britain finished in tenth position in the final medal rankings, with 9 gold and 30 total medals. , width="78%" align="left" valign="top" , , style="text-align:left; width:23%; vertical-align:top;",

Multiple medallists

The following Team GB competitors won multiple medals at the 2004 Olympic Games. Kelly Holmes became the first British athlete since 1972 and the first British track and field athlete to win two gold medals at the same Summer Olympics.

Archery

Four British archers (one man and three women) qualified each for the men's and women's individual archery, and a spot for the women's team.

Athletics

British 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 The decathlon is a combined event in athletics consisting of ten track and field events. The word "decathlon" was formed, in analogy to the word "pentathlon", from Greek δέκα (''déka'', meaning "ten") and ἄθλος (''áthlos'', or ἄ ...

;Women ;Track & road events * Competed only in heats ;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 ...

Badminton

;Men ;Women ;Mixed

Boxing

Great Britain sent only one boxer to Athens, the 17-year-old Amir Khan. Khan tore through his first four fights, including two that the referees had to stop prematurely. His loss in the final to the defending Olympic champion and three-time world champion gave Khan a 4–1 record and a silver medal; many hoped he would compete the

2008 Summer Olympics The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and also known as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes from 204 Nat ...

but in the event he decided to turn professional later in 2004.

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

Diving

British divers qualified for eight individual spots at the 2004 Olympic Games. Three British synchronised diving teams qualified through the 2004 FINA Diving World Cup. ;Men ;Women

Equestrian

Because only three horse and rider pairs from each nation could advance beyond certain rounds in the individual events, five British pairs did not advance despite being placed sufficiently high. They received rankings below all pairs that did advance.

Dressage

Eventing

"#" indicates that the score of this rider does not count in the team competition, since only the best three results of a team are counted.

Show jumping

Fencing

Two British fencers qualified for the following events: ;Men ;Women

Field hockey

Men's tournament

;Roster ;Group play ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ;9th–12th place Semi-final ;9th–10th place Final

Gymnastics

Artistic

;Women ;Team ;Individual finals

Rhythmic

Trampoline

Judo

Eight British judoka (two men and six women) qualified for the 2004 Summer Olympics. ;Men ;Women

Modern pentathlon

Two British athletes qualified to compete in the modern pentathlon event through the European and UIPM World Championships.

Rowing

British 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

British sailors 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

Six British shooters (five men and one woman) qualified to compete in the following events: ;Men ;Women

Swimming

British 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): All British swimmers must qualify by finishing in the top two of the Olympic trials having gained the GB qualifying A standard set by

British Swimming British Swimming is the national governing body of swimming, water polo, synchronised swimming, diving and open water in Great Britain.

in the relevant final (that time being the fastest time of the sixteenth fastest swimmer internationally in that event in 2003). ;Men * Competed only in heats ;Women * Competed only in heats

Taekwondo

Four British taekwondo jin qualified for the following events.

Tennis

Great Britain had only a single tennis player that qualified automatically through their world ranking.

Triathlon

Six British triathletes qualified for the following events.

Weightlifting

Two British weightlifters qualified for the following events:

Wrestling

;Men's freestyle

Media coverage

The main rights to Olympic coverage in the UK are held by the BBC, under the

Ofcom Code on Sports and Other Listed and Designated Events The Ofcom Code on Sports and Other Listed & Designated Events is a series of regulations issued originally by the Independent Television Commission (ITC) then by Ofcom when the latter assumed most of the ITC's responsibilities in 2003, which is des ...

. 2004 marked the first year that

digital television Digital television (DTV) is the transmission of television signals using digital encoding, in contrast to the earlier analog television technology which used analog signals. At the time of its development it was considered an innovative adva ...

and

webcast A webcast is a media presentation distributed over the Internet using streaming media technology to distribute a single content source to many simultaneous listeners/viewers. A webcast may either be distributed live or on demand. Essentially, web ...

s were used to cover an Olympic Games. The digital television service allowed up to five streamed channels covering the games, allowing more extensive coverage of minor sports, whilst the BBC's website permitted UK broadband users to view live streams from a variety of events, and other countries to view delayed highlights. Live broadcasts were run throughout the day, with a highlights program on BBC1 following the close of the day's events. The BBC's coverage was anchored (at various times of the day) by

Craig Doyle Craig Doyle (born 17 December 1970, Dublin) is an Irish television and radio presenter. To British viewers he is recognisable as working for the BBC and ITV and more recently BT Sport. Irish viewers also know him as the host of RTÉ One cha ...

Clare Balding Clare Victoria Balding (born 29 January 1971) is an English broadcaster, journalist, and author. She currently presents for BBC Sport, Channel 4, BT Sport, is the current president of the Rugby Football League (RFL) and formerly presented the ...

Suzi Perry Suzi Perry (born 3 May 1970) is a British television presenter, currently covering MotoGP for BT Sport. She is best known for covering MotoGP for the BBC for 13 years, ''The Gadget Show'' on Channel 5 for 8 years and the BBC's Formula One covera ...

Sue Barker Sue or SUE may refer to: Music * Sue Records, an American record label * ''Sue'' (album), an album by Frazier Chorus * "Sue (Or in a Season of Crime)", a song by David Bowie Places * Sue Islet (Queensland), one of the Torres Straits islan ...

Steve Rider Stephen Rider (born 28 April 1950) is an English sports presenter, and was the anchorman of ITV's football coverage. He anchored ITV's Formula One coverage from 2006 to 2008, and football coverage from 2006 to April 2010. He was the lead presen ...

Hazel Irvine Hazel Irvine (born 24 May 1965) is a Scottish sports presenter. Early life Irvine was born in St Andrews, Scotland. Educated at Hermitage Academy in Helensburgh, she achieved an MA in History of Art at the University of St. Andrews, and compe ...

and

Steve Cram Stephen Cram, (born 14 October 1960) is a British retired track and field athlete. Along with fellow Britons Sebastian Coe and Steve Ovett, he was one of the world's dominant middle distance runners during the 1980s. Nicknamed "The Jarrow Arr ...

. Expert analysts and commentators included

Sharron Davies Sharron Elizabeth Davies, (born 1 November 1962) is an English former competitive swimmer who represented Great Britain in the Olympics and European championships and competed for England in the Commonwealth Games. Davies has attended 12 ...

, Jonathan Edwards,

, Michael Johnson,

Colin Jackson Colin Ray Jackson, (born 18 February 1967) is a Welsh former sprint and hurdling athlete who specialised in the 110 metres hurdles. During a career in which he represented Great Britain and Wales, he won an Olympic silver medal, became wo ...

, and

Steve Redgrave Sir Steven Geoffrey Redgrave (born 23 March 1962) is a British retired rower who won gold medals at five consecutive Olympic Games from 1984 to 2000. He has also won three Commonwealth Games gold medals and nine World Rowing Championships gold ...

Eurosport Eurosport is a group of pay television networks in Europe and parts of Asia. Owned by Warner Bros. Discovery through its international sports unit, it operates two main channels— Eurosport 1 and Eurosport 2—across most of its territorie ...

also ran coverage of the Games viewable in the UK – in accordance with the ITC Code, it can show live events, provided that such events can also be broadcast by the BBC (although the BBC can choose not to do so). Radio coverage was provided by

BBC Radio Five Live BBC Radio 5 Live is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC that broadcasts mainly news, sport, discussion, interviews and phone-ins. It is the principal BBC radio station covering sport in the United Kingdom, broadcas ...

and IRN, and the events were also covered by the sports pages of the major newspapers.

References

External links

Official Report of the XXVIII OlympiadBritish Olympic AssociationTeam GBBBC Olympics News and Coverage
{{DEFAULTSORT:Great Britain 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 ...

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 ina ...