The 12th Summer Paralympic Games in Athens brought together 3,749 athletes from 135 countries, setting 304 world records across 19 sports.
Key Facts
- Athletes
- 3,749 (2,600 men, 1,149 women)
- Participating countries
- 135
- World records broken
- 304
- Paralympic records broken
- 448
- Sports contested
- 19
- Volunteers
- 8,863
By the Numbers
Location
Cause → Event → Consequence
Following the 2000 Summer Paralympics scandal in which Spain's intellectually-disabled basketball team was stripped of their gold medal for fielding ineligible players, the International Paralympic Committee suspended ID-class events and tightened governance ahead of the Athens Games.
From 17 to 28 September 2004, Athens hosted the 12th Summer Paralympics, with 3,749 athletes from 135 countries competing across 19 sports. Four new events debuted — 5-a-side football for the blind, quads wheelchair tennis, and women's judo and sitting volleyball — and 304 world records were broken.
The Athens Games marked the final use of the traditional Paralympic symbol before its replacement in 2006, and the suspension of ID-class competition highlighted ongoing eligibility reform challenges. The event reinforced Athens as a host city for both the Olympic and Paralympic movements in the same year.
Result
at Athens, Greece (multiple venues)