2008 Olympics Looks Back at the 2004 Olympics Results

While watching the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics, I began to try to remember results from the 2004 Summer Olympics and realized that it is impossible. A few of the names, Michael Phelps, for instance, are a no-brainer. But what events did he swim? What were his times and did he win all gold medals? If not, who beat him in the 2004 Olympics?

What were the surprise results from the 2004 Olympics? Why did the USA basketball team falter and who were the other countries who played so well against them in the 2004 Olympics? How are those other countries faring so far in the 2008 Olympics?

If you are an interested, yet casual Olympics observer, you won't remember the answers to most of these questions. Wouldn't it be nice to find a few online links to reminisce on the 2004 Olympics results, both good and bad?

If you have some extra time and enjoy comparing the 2004 Olympic results to the 2008 Olympics here are some links that you will find very helpful and interesting.

2004 Olympics Results - Show Me the Links

I began my quest by locating a list of countries winning medals in the 2004 Olympics along with a handy breakdown by country and type of medal (gold, silver, bronze). You can find that link here at the Maps of the World web site. But I soon decided that it would be nice if this 2004 Olympic results table was clickable by country to get a breakdown of the medal count by winner name and sport. Oops, no info like that available here. So, my quest continued.

Well, when you want to know about sports you should check a sports authority. With a little more digging around the Internet, guess who came to the rescue? Sports Illustrated, of course. This 2004 Olympics Results Table at Sports Illustrated provided just the data I wanted. With this clickable table you can rank the countries with most medals, most golds, most silvers, and click for more breakdowns by sport. Be sure to scroll to the bottom of most pages to find individual teams, participants, their races, times, etc. Sports Illustrated provides all of the results you could possibly want to have at your fingertips to compare the 2004 Olympic results to the 2008 Olympics medal winners.

Olympics 2004 Results - Want More Than 2004?

Wikipedia shares a list of total medal counts since the beginning of the Olympic games. A perusal of this list is a fascinating history lesson in itself. There are countries that no longer exist (Bohemia), countries that were at one time in a state of flux (the Unified Team of 1992), and countries that are now one (East and West Germany). Did you know that sometimes individuals from different countries joined together to compete? Note the mixed teams from the early years of the Olympics. Did anyone remember the country combo of Australasia, for instance? That one would make a great Olympics Trivia question. You can find this All-Time Olympic Games Medal Count table here. You can arrange this table by rank, type of medal and country. Best of all, you can compare and contrast with the summer and winter Olympics results or combined Olympics results.

Evidently, 17 medals were won by individuals competing in mixed teams during the first three meetings of what we call the modern Olympic games. For instance, Cuba and the United States won a gold medal by working together. Really? I must investigate that interesting tidbit some more at another time. Be sure to visit this Wikipedia page and look for interesting country combinations.

2004 Olympics Results - Hall of Shame List

Want to know how many Olympians have been stripped of their medals between 2004 and 2008? This list of stripped Olympic Medals will give you the information. The 2004 Olympics listing is available as well as all other years.

2004 Olympics Results - Most Clever View

The winner of the most original and clever view of 2004 Olympic medal results (as well as all previous Olympics) goes to the New Yorks Times. If you are a visual learner, you will love this fascinating medal count map of Olympics results. The size of the bubbles equate to the number of medals won. As the years pass, note the change in dominant countries. Especially interesting is the visual dominance of what was once known as the Eastern Bloc countries (look that one up if you are not of "a certain age") and, more recently, the emergence of Japan and China.

Compare and contrast the 2004 Olympic results with previous years - or just play with the bubbles on the map. I won't tell!

More information on the Olympics:

2008 Olympics TV Schedule
2008 Olympics: You're Only as Old as You Swim, Shoot, or Canter

Sources:

Maps of the World, Athens 2004, Mapsof theWorld.com
Sports Illustrated, 2004 Olympic Medal Tracker By Total, sportsillustrated.com
Wikipedia, All-Time Olympic Games Medal Count, wikipedia.com
Wikipedia, Mixed Teams at the Olympics, wikipedia.com
Wikipedia, List of Stripped Olympic Medals, wikipedia.com
New York Times, Medal Count Map, nytimes.com