| Turkey at the 2004 Summer Olympics | |
|---|---|
 | |
| IOC code | TUR |
| NOC | Turkish National Olympic Committee |
| Website | olimpiyat |
| in Athens | |
| Competitors | 65 in 10 sports |
| Flag bearer | Ali Enver Adakan[1] |
| Medals Ranked 22nd |
|
| Summer Olympics appearances (overview) | |
| Other related appearances | |
| 1906 Intercalated Games | |
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 worldwide Great Depression, and the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow because of its support for the United States boycott. The Turkish Olympic Committee (Turkish: Türkiye Milli Olimpiyat Komitesi, TMOK) 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 (two of which were previously played for the Unified Team at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona), 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.[1][2]
Turkey left Athens with a total of eleven Olympic medals (three golds, four silver, and four bronze), being considered its most successful Olympics with respect to the overall medal count since 1948.[3] 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.[4][5]
- ^ a b "Türk Bayrağı'nı Adakan taşıyacak" [Adakan carries Turkish flag] (in Turkish). Hürriyet. 12 August 2004. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 23 September 2013.
- ^ "Adakan: Bayrağı taşımak büyük onur" [Adakan: "I have a great honor of carrying the flag"] (in Turkish). NTV (Turkey). 13 August 2004. Retrieved 23 September 2013.
- ^ "2004 Athens: Medal Tally". USA Today. Retrieved 1 April 2014.
- ^ "Mutlu goes for third gold in weightlifting". USA Today. 14 August 2004. Retrieved 16 May 2014.
- ^ "Weightlifters put names in history at Athens Olympics". Xinhua. China Daily. 16 August 2004. Retrieved 16 May 2014.