Finland competed at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece, from 13 to 29 August 2004. Finnish athletes have competed at every Olympic Games since its debut in 1908. The Finnish Olympic Committee (Finnish: Suomen Olympiakomitea, SOK) sent the nation's smallest ever team to the Games after the 1932 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles. A total of 53 athletes, 36 men and 17 women, competed only in 12 sports; the nation's team size was roughly denser from Sydney by a quarter of the athletes.
The Finnish team featured three returning Olympic medalists from Sydney: Greco-Roman wrestler Marko Yli-Hannuksela, rifle shooter Juha Hirvi, who won a silver in the men's rifle three positions, and competed at his fifth Olympic Games, and open skiff sailor and defending Olympic champion Thomas Johanson, who was appointed by the committee to carry the Finnish flag in the opening ceremony. Other notable Finnish athletes included swimmers Hanna-Maria Seppälä and 1996 Olympic silver medalist Jani Sievinen, professional tennis player Jarkko Nieminen, javelin thrower and top medal contender Tero Pitkämäki, and hammer thrower Olli-Pekka Karjalainen.
Finland left Athens with their worst athletic performance, as the Finns failed to pick up a single gold for the first time in the entire Olympic history. Two silver medals were awarded to the Finnish team for skeet shooter Marko Kemppainen, and Greco-Roman wrestler Marko Yli-Hannuksela, who had previously won a bronze from Sydney in the men's 74 kg category.
Medalists
Archery
One Finnish archer qualified for the women's individual archery.
Athletics
Finnish athletes have so far achieved qualifying standards in the following athletics events (up to a maximum of 3 athletes in each event at the 'A' Standard, and 1 at the 'B' Standard).
- Men
- Track & road events
- Field events
- Combined events – Decathlon
- Women
- Track & road events
- Field events
- Combined events – Heptathlon
Badminton
Canoeing
Sprint
Qualification Legend: Q = Qualify to final; q = Qualify to semifinal
Diving
Finnish divers qualified for two individual spots at the 2004 Olympic Games.
- Men
Judo
Finland has qualified a single judoka.
Sailing
Finnish sailors have qualified one boat for each of the following events.
- Women
- Open
M = Medal race; OCS = On course side of the starting line; DSQ = Disqualified; DNF = Did not finish; DNS= Did not start; RDG = Redress given
Shooting
Six Finnish shooters (four men and two women) qualified to compete in the following events:
- Men
- Women
Swimming
Finnish swimmers earned qualifying standards in the following events (up to a maximum of 2 swimmers in each event at the A-standard time, and 1 at the B-standard time):
- Men
- Women
Taekwondo
Finland has qualified a single taekwondo jin.
Tennis
Finland nominated one male tennis player to compete in the tournament.
Wrestling
- Men's Greco-Roman
See also
- Finland at the 2004 Summer Paralympics
References
External links
- Official Report of the XXVIII Olympiad
- Finnish Olympic Committee Archived 2017-02-06 at the Wayback Machine (in Finnish)
