Swimming at the 2004 Summer Olympics — overview of swimming at the 2004 Summer Olympics
The 2004 Athens Olympics swimming competition featured 937 athletes across 32 events, producing 8 world records and 25 Olympic records.
Key Facts
- Total events
- 32 (16 male, 16 female)
- Participating swimmers
- 937 athletes
- Nations represented
- 152 nations
- World records set
- 8 records
- Olympic records set
- 25 records
- US total medals
- 28 (12 gold, 9 silver, 7 bronze)
By the Numbers
Location
Cause → Event → Consequence
Building on reforms introduced at the Sydney 2000 Games, the swimming program at Athens adopted a standardized three-phase format — heats, semifinals, and finals — for all short-distance races of 200 metres and under, aiming to improve competitive fairness and audience engagement across the 32 scheduled events.
Swimming competitions ran from 14 to 21 August 2004 at the Athens Olympic Aquatic Centre in Marousi, Greece, drawing 937 swimmers from 152 nations. The United States led the medal tally with 28 total medals, while Australia placed second and Japan rose to third, driven by Kosuke Kitajima's breaststroke double.
Eight world records and twenty-five Olympic records were broken during the competition, underscoring high performance levels across the field. Japan's unexpected surge to third in the medal standings, along with the continued dominance of the United States and Australia, reshaped expectations for international competitive swimming heading into subsequent Games.
Result
at Athens Olympic Aquatic Centre, Marousi