Ukraine at the 2004 Summer Olympics


Ukraine competed at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece, from 13 to 29 August 2004. This was the nation's third consecutive appearance at the Summer Olympics in the post-Soviet era. The National Olympic Committee of Ukraine sent the nation's largest ever delegation to these Games. A total of 240 athletes, 125 men and 115 women, took part in 21 sports. Women's handball was the only team-based sport in which Ukraine had its representation at these Games for the first time. There was only a single competitor in modern pentathlon and taekwondo.
The Ukrainian team featured several Olympic medalists from Sydney, including skeet shooter Mykola Milchev, heavyweight wrestler David Saldadze, triple jumper Olena Hovorova, double defending swimming champion Yana Klochkova, and butterfly swimmer Denys Sylantyev, who later became the nation's flag bearer in the opening ceremony. Double sculls rower Svitlana Maziy and freestyle swimmer Pavlo Khnykin were among the athletes to compete in fourth Olympic Games, although they originally played for either Soviet Union or the Unified Team. Rapid fire pistol shooter Oleh Tkachov, at age 42, was the oldest athlete of the team, while butterfly swimmer Kateryna Zubkova was the youngest at age 16.
Ukraine left Athens with a total of 22 medals, 8 golds, 5 silver, and 9 bronze, being considered the nation's most successful Olympics since its debut in 1996. Most of these medals were awarded to the athletes in track and field, gymnastics, and swimming. Being the major highlight of the games, Yana Klochkova set a historic milestone for Ukraine as the first female swimmer to defend Olympic titles in the individual medley at two consecutive Games. Three more female Ukrainian athletes won Olympic gold medals for the first time in their respective events: Olena Kostevych in pistol shooting, Nataliya Skakun in weightlifting, and Irini Merleni in freestyle wrestling. Ukraine 's team-based athletes proved particularly successful in Athens, as the women's handball team took home the bronze medal in the tournament. Originally, Ukraine had won a total of 23 Olympic medals at these Games. On December 5, 2012, the International Olympic Committee and the IAAF stripped off shot putter Yuriy Bilonoh's gold medal after drug re-testings of his samples were discovered positive.

Medalists

MedalNameSportEventDate
SwimmingWomen's 400 m individual medley
ShootingWomen's 10 m air pistol
SwimmingWomen's 200 m individual medley
WeightliftingWomen's 63 kg
GymnasticsMen's trampoline
GymnasticsMen's parallel bars
WrestlingWomen's freestyle 48 kg
WrestlingMen's freestyle 66 kg
JudoMen's 81 kg


SailingYngling class
AthleticsWomen's 100 m hurdles
WeightliftingMen's 105 kg

Sailing49er class
FencingMen's sabre
SwimmingMen's 100 m butterfly


ArcheryMen's team



RowingMen's quadruple sculls
AthleticsWomen's 400 m hurdles



CanoeingWomen's K-4 500 m
AthleticsWomen's high jump
GymnasticsWomen's rhythmic individual all-around

HandballWomen's tournament

Archery

Three Ukrainian archers qualified each for the men's and women's individual archery, and a spot each for both men's and women's teams.
;Men
;Women

Athletics

Ukrainian athletes have so far achieved qualifying standards in the following athletics events. On December 5, 2012, the International Olympic Committee and the IAAF stripped off Ukrainian shot putter Yuriy Bilonoh's gold medal after drug re-testings of his samples were discovered positive.
;Men
;Track & road events
;Field events
;Women
;Track & road events
;Field events
;Combined events – Heptathlon
AthleteEvent200 m800 mFinalRank
Yuliya AkulenkoResult14.111.7313.1524.576.0248.622:22.58599623
Yuliya AkulenkoPoints963891737927856833789599623
Nataliya DobrynskaResult13.891.8214.7025.026.2344.082:17.0162558
Nataliya DobrynskaPoints994100384188592174686562558

Boxing

The Ukrainian boxing team at the 2004 Olympics consisted of six boxers. Only one was defeated in his first bout as four of the six boxers advanced to the quarterfinals. They all lost there, keeping Ukraine from winning any boxing medals.

Canoeing

Sprint

;Men
;Women
Qualification Legend: Q = Qualify to final; q = Qualify to semifinal

Cycling

Road

;Men
;Women
AthleteEventTimeRank
Iryna ChuzhynovaRoad race3:25:4223
Nataliya KachalkaRoad race3:28:3936
Nataliya KachalkaTime trial35:01.0524
Valentyna KarpenkoRoad race3:33:3543

Track

;Pursuit
;Omnium
AthleteEventPointsLapsRank
Vasyl YakovlevMen's points race3019
Lyudmyla VypyrayloWomen's points race−20−218
Volodymyr Rybin
Vasyl Yakovlev
Men's madison905

Mountain biking

Diving

Ukrainian divers qualified for eight individual spots at the 2004 Olympic Games. One Ukrainian synchronized diving team qualified through the 2004 FINA Diving World Cup series.
;Men
;Women

Fencing

Ten Ukrainian fencers, eight men and two women, qualified for the following events.
;Men
;Women

Gymnastics

Artistic

;Men
;Team
;Individual finals
;Women
;Team
;Individual finals

Rhythmic

Trampoline

Handball

Women's tournament

;Roster
;Group play
;Quarterfinals
;Semifinals
;Bronze medal match
; Won bronze medal

Judo

Eight Ukrainian judoka qualified for the 2004 Summer Olympics.
;Men
;Women

Modern pentathlon

One Ukrainian athlete qualified to compete in the modern pentathlon event through the European Championships.

Rowing

Ukrainian rowers qualified the following boats:
;Men
;Women
Qualification Legend: FA=Final A ; FB=Final B ; FC=Final C ; FD=Final D ; FE=Final E ; FF=Final F ; SA/B=Semifinals A/B; SC/D=Semifinals C/D; SE/F=Semifinals E/F; R=Repechage

Sailing

Ukrainian sailors have qualified one boat for each of the following events.
;Men
;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

Eleven Ukrainian shooters qualified to compete in the following events:
;Men
;Women

Swimming

Ukrainian swimmers earned qualifying standards in the following events :
;Men
;Women

Synchronized swimming

Two Ukrainian synchronized swimmers qualified a spot in the women's duet.

Taekwondo

Ukraine has qualified a single taekwondo jin.

Tennis

Ukraine nominated two female tennis players to compete in the tournament.

Triathlon

Two Ukrainian triathletes qualified for the following events.

Weightlifting

Nine Ukrainian weightlifters qualified for the following events:
;Men
;Women

Wrestling

;Men's freestyle
;Men's Greco-Roman
;Women's freestyle