Swimming at the 2004 Summer Olympics

The 2004 Summer Olympics swimming program ran from August 14 to 21 at the Athens Olympic Aquatic Centre in Marousi. The schedule included 32 events, split evenly between men and women, and involved 937 athletes representing 152 countries. The three-phase format—heats, semifinals, and finals—used for all races of 200 meters or less, which had been introduced at the prior Games, remained in place.

The United States led the medal standings with 28 total medals: 12 gold, 9 silver, and 7 bronze. Australia held second place, as it had in Sydney four years earlier, and added 15 medals to its Olympic swimming history—7 gold, 5 silver, and 3 bronze. Japan moved up to third overall with eight medals, boosted by Kosuke Kitajima’s double victory in the breaststroke events. Across the competition, eight world records and 25 Olympic records were set.

The venue, the Athens Olympic Aquatic Centre, was originally built for the 1991 Mediterranean Games and renovated for the 2004 Olympics. It hosted swimming, diving, synchronized swimming, and water polo—the first time all aquatic disciplines were held at a single Olympic venue. Swimming took place in the main outdoor pool, which seated 10,893 spectators and was also used for water polo. A plastic-coated tarpaulin roof over the two outdoor pools had been planned to shield attendees from summer heat, but cost overruns and construction delays led to its cancellation in March 2004. FINA, the international water sports federation, criticized the decision but approved the venue weeks before the Games began.

The events contested were all long course, with distances in meters: freestyle (50, 100, 200, 400, 800 for women, 1500 for men); backstroke (100, 200); breaststroke (100, 200); butterfly (100, 200); individual medley (200, 400); and relays (4×100 freestyle, 4×200 freestyle, 4×100 medley).

A total of 937 swimmers—544 men and 393 women—from 152 nations competed. Antigua and Barbuda, Benin, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, the Cayman Islands, Guyana, and Turkmenistan made their Olympic swimming debuts. Albania, Libya, and Norway returned to the sport after long absences. The medal summary, results for men’s and women’s events (including relay swimmers who only competed in heats), and lists of world and Olympic records set during the competition are provided below, along with references and an external link to the official resul