| Kazakhstan at the 2004 Summer Olympics | |
|---|---|
.svg) | |
| IOC code | KAZ |
| NOC | National Olympic Committee of the Republic of Kazakhstan |
| Website | www |
| in Athens | |
| Competitors | 114 in 17 sports |
| Flag bearer | Askhat Zhitkeyev[1] |
| Medals Ranked 40th |
|
| Summer Olympics appearances (overview) | |
| Other related appearances | |
 Russian Empire (1900–1912) Soviet Union (1952–1988) Unified Team (1992) | |
Kazakhstan competed at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece, from 13 to 29 August 2004. This was the nation's third appearance at the Summer Olympics in the post-Soviet era.
National Olympic Committee of the Republic of Kazakhstan sent a total of 114 athletes to the Games, 71 men and 43 women, to compete in 17 sports. The nation's team size was roughly smaller by 16 athletes from Sydney, and had the third largest share of men in its Summer Olympic history. Water polo was the only team-based sport in which Kazakhstan had its representation in these Olympic games. Among the sports played by the athletes, Kazakhstan marked its official Olympic debut in rhythmic gymnastics.
Notable Kazakh athletes featured returning Olympic medalists Alexander Vinokourov in road cycling and Islam Bairamukov in men's freestyle wrestling. Grigoriy Yegorov made his official comeback for his second Olympic bid, since he won the bronze medal in the men's pole vault at the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, representing the Soviet Union. Pistol shooter Galina Belyayeva was the oldest and most accomplished member of the team at age 55. Meanwhile, backstroke swimmer Anastassiya Prilepa set a historic milestone for the Kazakh team as the youngest ever athlete, aged 14, to compete at the Olympics.
Kazakhstan left Athens with a total of eight Olympic medals (one gold, four silver, and three bronze), finishing fortieth in the overall medal count. This was also the nation's poorest Olympic performance in history since the breakup of the Soviet Union, collecting only a single gold medal from welterweight boxer Bakhtiyar Artayev.[2] Three of these medals were awarded each to the athletes in boxing and wrestling, including Artayev's illustrious gold, while Dmitriy Karpov added a second Olympic medal for Kazakhstan in track and field by claiming the bronze in men's decathlon.[3]
Weightlifter Sergey Filimonov originally captured a bronze in the men's 77 kg class. On February 12, 2013, the International Olympic Committee stripped Russia's Oleg Perepetchenov of his 2004 Olympic medal after both probes were retested and showed traces of anabolic steroids, upgrading Filimonov's medal to silver.[4]
- ^ "2004 Athens: Flag Bearers for the Opening Ceremony". Olympics. 13 August 2004. Retrieved 11 September 2013.
- ^ "Artayev wins Athens awards". BBC Sport. 29 August 2004. Retrieved 11 April 2014.
- ^ "Fourth place for Macey". BBC Sport. 24 August 2004. Retrieved 11 April 2014.
- ^ Grohmann, Karolos (12 February 2013). "Russian weightlifter stripped of Athens bronze medal". The Star (Malaysia). Archived from the original on 13 April 2013. Retrieved 11 April 2014.