| Uzbekistan at the 2004 Summer Olympics | |
|---|---|
.svg) | |
| IOC code | UZB |
| NOC | National Olympic Committee of the Republic of Uzbekistan |
| Website | www |
| in Athens | |
| Competitors | 70 in 13 sports |
| Flag bearer | Abdullo Tangriev[1] |
| Medals Ranked 34th |
|
| Summer Olympics appearances (overview) | |
| Other related appearances | |
 Russian Empire (1900–1912) Soviet Union (1952–1988) Unified Team (1992) | |
Uzbekistan competed at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece, from 13 to 29 August 2004. This was the nation's third consecutive appearance at the Olympics. The National Olympic Committee of the Republic of Uzbekistan sent a total of 70 athletes to the Games, 52 men and 18 women, to compete in 13 different sports, tying its delegation record with Sydney four years earlier. There was only a single competitor in road cycling, artistic and trampoline gymnastics, and table tennis.
Seventeen athletes from the Uzbek team had previously competed in Sydney, including artistic gymnast and three-time Olympic medalist Oksana Chusovitina (who transferred to Germany in 2002 to treat her ailing son Alisher from leukemia),[2] freestyle wrestler Artur Taymazov, who won silver in men's super heavyweight, sprint freestyle swimmer and Asian Games champion Ravil Nachaev, trampoline gymnast Ekaterina Khilko, and heavyweight judoka Abdullo Tangriev, who later became the nation's flag bearer in the opening ceremony.[1] At age 15, backstroke swimmer Olga Gnedovskaya set a historical milestone for Uzbekistan as the youngest ever athlete in history to compete at the Olympics. Other notable Uzbek athletes featured road cyclist and world junior champion Sergey Lagutin, canoeist Anton Ryahov, who later competed for the Russian at his subsequent Olympics, and swimming siblings Danil Bugakov and Mariya Bugakova.
Uzbekistan left Athens with a total of five medals, two golds, one silver, and two bronze, being considered its most successful Olympics in history since the post-Soviet era.[3] Three of these medals were awarded to the athletes in wrestling, including a prestigious gold from Taymazov in men's super heavyweight freestyle.[4] Meanwhile, boxers Bahodirjon Sultonov and Utkirbek Haydarov managed to claim bronze medals in their respective weight classes.[5]
- ^ a b "2004 Athens: Flag Bearers for the Opening Ceremony". Olympics. 13 August 2004. Retrieved 11 September 2013.
- ^ "Why does a champion gymnast return to Uzbekistan". Uznews.net. 3 June 2013. Retrieved 1 May 2014.
- ^ "2004 Athens: Medal Tally". USA Today. Retrieved 1 April 2014.
- ^ "Uzbekistan's Taymazov wins men's 120kg freestyle wrestling gold". Xinhua. 29 August 2004. Archived from the original on October 24, 2004. Retrieved 1 May 2014.
- ^ Smith, Tim (28 August 2004). "Ward gives USA fighting chance at gold; Dirrell settles for bronze". New York Daily News. Retrieved 1 May 2014.