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Great Britain, represented by the British Olympic Association (BOA), competed at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece, from 13 to 29 August 2004. The British sent a wide-ranging delegation to the Games, continuing its ubiquitous presence in the Olympic games, the only country to have sent competitors to every summer and winter games since the birth of the modern Olympics in 1896. Great Britain's 264 athletes, 161 men and 103 women, competed in 22 disciplines throughout the two-week event. The team entered the opening ceremony behind the Union Flag carried by judoka Kate Howey. Double gold medal winner Kelly Holmes carried the flag at the closing ceremony. ==Chronology== The delegation started the Olympics slowly, the silver its divers won on 14 August being the first of only a few opening-week medals. Although a sprinkling of silver and bronze medals — including a pair in men's and women's k1 kayak slalom — enlivened the mid-week, Britain's first gold did not come until Friday the 20th (won by Chris Hoy in the 1 km track cycling time-trial). Then, on 21 August ("Golden Saturday") Britain's contributions to the medal table became more significant. First Britain's traditional strength in rowing continued as the men's coxless four, stroked by Matthew Pinsent, narrowly won gold, a defining moment since this was Pinsent's fourth gold medal in as many games. Sailor Ben Ainslie wrapped up a successful few days of racing with a gold, as did the women's Yngling sailboats who were finally awarded the gold medal they had sewn up on Thursday. Bradley Wiggins continued Britain's cycling success, winning gold in the 4 km pursuit. Young swimmer David Davies, coming third in the men's 1500 m freestyle, set a European record in the process and won Britain's second swimming medal of the games — a notable improvement over the 2000 Sydney games from which the swimmers had returned empty-handed. Also on Saturday, it was announced that, after an appeal, Leslie Law would be promoted from silver to gold in the three-day equestrian eventing (and his team from bronze to silver). As the games' aquatic-dominated first week shifted into a second week focused more on track and field events, Kelly Sotherton came third in the heptathlon. Sunday 22 August brought another rowing medal. However, marathon favourite Paula Radcliffe failed to cope with the heat of Athens and did not finish. The timing of the race with a late afternoon start, supposedly to appease US broadcasters, produced some controversy since summer marathons normally start early in the morning to avoid the heat. 23 August saw Britain's first gold medal of the track and field events, Kelly Holmes winning the women's 800 metres. This was Britain's first gold medal on the track since Sally Gunnell won the 400 metre hurdles at the 1992 Barcelona games. By claiming bronze in the Madison cycling on 25 August, to add to his earlier individual gold and a silver from the team pursuit, Bradley Wiggins became the first Briton for 40 years to claim three medals in one games. The evening of Saturday 28 August saw Britain's medal hunt centered on the Olympic Stadium. Steve Backley, in his final javelin throw competition, failed to win the gold he had been seeking since 1992, finishing fourth. Kelly Holmes achieved the middle-distance double, taking gold in the 1500 metres. The men's 4×100 metre relay team won a surprising victory, winning gold ahead of the American team. Earlier in the day, Ian Wynne had added to the medal haul, with a bronze medal in the K1 kayak class, competing despite an ankle injury picked up the day before. The final day of the games, 29 August, saw Amir Khan collect Britain's last medal of the event with a silver in boxing's lightweight division. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Great Britain at the 2004 Summer Olympics」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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