“Athens 2004” – The Olympic Games return to their place of birth

The extraordinary Greek summer of 2004 included the Olympic Games' magical opening ceremony upon their return home. Many people consider this Olympiad one of the best that ever took place.  Earlier, the Olympic flame had visited all continents, carrying the message of peace to every corner of the Earth. The shot-put competition was held at the ancient stadium of Olympia, the birthplace of the ancient Olympic Games. It was a very emotional moment for both athletes and spectators.

During the 2004 Olympic Games, the roster of Greek Olympic Winners was enriched with the athletes, Fani Halkia at 400m hurdles, Thomas Bimis and Nikos Syranidis in diving, Athanasia Tsoumeleka in race walking, Ilias Iliadis in judo, Sofia Bekatorou and Aimilia Tsoulfa in sailing, Demosthenis Tampakos in gymnastics, Anastasia Kelesidou in discus throwing, Paraskevi Devetzi in the triple jump,  Nikos Kaklamanakis in windsurfing, the Women's Water Polo team, Alexandros Nikolaidis and Ellie Mystakidou in taekwondo, Mirella Maniani in the javelin, Pyrros Dimas in weightlifting, Vasilis Polymeros and Nikos Skiathitis in rowing and Artiom Kiouregian in Greco-Roman wrestling.