2004 Summer Paralympics

XII. Summer Paralympics

Venue:	Athens , Greece Greece
Opening ceremony:	September 17, 2004
Closing ceremony:	September 28, 2004
Opened by:	Konstantinos Stefanopoulos (President of Greece)
Competitions:	550 competitions in 18 sports
Countries:	144
Athletes:	3808 (2643 men, 1165 women)
← Sydney 2000
Beijing 2008 →

space	country				Total
Medal table
1	China People's Republic China	63	46	32	141
2	United Kingdom United Kingdom	35	30th	29	94
3	Canada Canada	28	19th	25th	72
4th	United States United States	27	22nd	39	88
5	Australia Australia	26th	38	36	100
6th	Ukraine Ukraine	24	12	19th	55
7th	Spain Spain	20th	27	24	71
8th	Germany Germany	19th	28	32	79
9	France France	18th	26th	30th	74
10	Japan Japan	17th	15th	20th	52
...	...	...	...	...	...
20th	Austria Austria	8th	11	4th	23
...	...	...	...	...	...
40	Switzerland Switzerland	2	6th	8th	16
Complete medal table

The 12th Summer Paralympics took place from September 17th to 28th, 2004 in the Greek capital Athens . 3808 Paralympic athletes from 144 countries were expected. In addition to the athletes about 2000 official team coaches, 1,000 worked referees and judges , as well as 15,000 volunteers with, 3,103 media representatives were accredited.

For the first time in the history of the Paralympic Games , athletes did not have to pay anything to participate. The athletes were accommodated in the so-called Paralympic Village, which was functionally adapted to the needs of disabled people. After the end of the Paralympics, it was to be converted into a housing estate and thus be available as a handicapped-accessible residential complex.

The Olympic torch

Opening ceremony

The Olympic torch for the 2004 Summer Paralympics was opened on September 9, 2004 at the Temple of Hephaestus in Athens in the presence of the Greek President Konstantinos Stefanopoulos , the Prime Minister Kostas Karamanlis , the President of the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) Philip Craven and the President of the Organizing Committee ignited for the Athens Games Gianna Angelopoulos-Daskalaki . The igniting spark came about when a blacksmith hammer hit an anvil .

The first torchbearer was the gold medalist Konstantinos Fykas , the first night the flame spent in the Herrod Atticus Theater . The following Friday morning, Phil Craven took over the torch. In total, around 700 torchbearers carried the flame over a distance of 410 kilometers until it reached the Athens Olympic Stadium on September 17, 2004.