| 2004 in athletics | |
|---|---|
 Hurdler Liu Xiang became Olympic champion and world record holder in 2004. | |
| Major world events | Olympic Games |
| World records set | 7 |
| IAAF Athletes of the Year | Kenenisa Bekele Yelena Isinbayeva |
← 2003 2005 → | |
This article contains an overview of the sport of athletics, including track and field, cross country and road running, in the year 2004.
The major competition of the year was the 2004 Summer Olympics. At the event, Yelena Isinbayeva cleared a world record 4.91 m in the pole vault. Liu Xiang won the men's 110 metres hurdles with a world record-equalling time of 12.91 seconds,[1] defying traditional beliefs about the physical calibre of Chinese (and Asian) sprint athletes.[2] Hicham El Guerrouj capped off his prominent international career with two gold medals in the 1500 m and 5000 m. The Olympic competition in Athens was marred by an incident involving Greek Olympic medallists Konstantinos Kenteris and Ekaterini Thanou, who were alleged to have staged a motorcycle crash in order to avoid doping tests.[3] Both athletes missed the competition and were later banned for missing three doping tests.[4]
- ^ 2004 Summer Olympics - Men's 110m Hurdles Final. IAAF. Retrieved on 2010-07-18.
- ^ Liu Xiang - 'China's Flying Man'. China.org. Retrieved on 2010-07-18.
- ^ Trial for Greek sprinters postponed. USA Today (2009-02-05). Retrieved on 2010-07-18.
- ^ IAAF charges Kenteris, Thanou and Tzekos with doping violations. IAAF (2004-12-02). Retrieved on 2010-07-18.