Turkey at the 2004 Summer Olympics


Turkey competed at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece, from 13 to 29 August 2004. Turkish athletes have competed at every Summer Olympic Games since its debut in 1908. Turkey did not attend the 1920 Summer Olympics in Antwerp, the 1932 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles at the period of Great Depression, and the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow because of the United States boycott. The Turkish Olympic Committee sent the nation's largest delegation to the Games. A total of 65 athletes, 45 men and 20 women, competed in 10 sports. There was only a single competitor in shooting and taekwondo.
The Turkish team featured two defending Olympic champions from Sydney: Greco-Roman wrestler Hamza Yerlikaya, and weightlifter and world record holder Halil Mutlu, who competed at his fourth Olympic Games as the most sophisticated athlete of the team. Among the Turkish athletes, three of them were born in the former Soviet Union, namely archer Natalia Nasaridze, long distance runner Ebru Kavaklıoğlu, and Belarusian-born heptathlete Anzhela Atroshchenko. Finn sailor Ali Enver Adakan, who achieved a top ten finish in Sydney four years earlier, was appointed by the committee to carry the Turkish flag in the opening ceremony.
Turkey left Athens with a total of eleven Olympic medals, being considered its most successful Olympics with respect to the overall medal count since 1948. Nearly half of these medals were awarded to the athletes in weightlifting, including a third straight defense for Halil Mutlu in the men's bantamweight class on his final Olympic bid. Meanwhile, Eşref Apak originally claimed the bronze in men's hammer throw. On December 5, 2012, Belarus' Ivan Tsikhan stripped off his silver as being ordered by the International Olympic Committee, after drug re-testings of their samples were found positive, and in case of IOC decision to redistribute medals would upgrade Apak's spot to the silver medal position.

Medalists

MedalNameSportEventDate
WeightliftingWomen's 48 kg
WeightliftingMen's 56 kg
WeightliftingMen's 77 kg
WrestlingMen's Greco-Roman 66 kg
TaekwondoMen's 80 kg
BoxingLight flyweight
*AthleticsMen's hammer throw
WeightliftingMen's 56 kg
WeightliftingMen's 77 kg
WrestlingMen's Greco-Roman 96 kg
WrestlingMen's freestyle 120 kg

* No IOC decision to redistribute medals after Ivan Tsikhan's disqualification in men's hammer throw.

Archery

Four Turkish archers qualified each for the men's and women's individual archery, and a spot for the women's team.

Athletics

Turkish athletes have so far achieved qualifying standards in the following athletics events.
;Men
;Track & road events
;Field events
;Women
;Track & road events
;Field events
;Combined events – Heptathlon

Boxing

Turkey sent eight boxers to the Olympics in Athens.

Judo

Three Turkish judoka qualified for the 2004 Summer Olympics.
;Men
;Women

Sailing

Turkish sailors have qualified one boat for each of the following events.
;Men
;Open
M = Medal race; OCS = On course side of the starting line; DSQ = Disqualified; DNF = Did not finish; DNS= Did not start; RDG = Redress given

Shooting

Turkey has qualified a single shooter.
;Men

Swimming

Turkish swimmers earned qualifying standards in the following events :
;Men
;Women

Taekwondo

One Turkish taekwondo jin qualified to compete in the men's 80 kg class.

Weightlifting

Nine Turkish weightlifters qualified for the following events:
;Men
;Women

Wrestling

;Men's freestyle
;Men's Greco-Roman