Norway at the 2004 Summer Olympics
# Norway at the 2004 Summer Olympics

Norway competed at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece, from 13 to 29 August 2004. This was the nation's twenty-fourth appearance at the Summer Olympics, except for the 1904 Summer Olympics in St. Louis, and the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow, due to the country's support of the United States boycott. With the absence of women's football and handball teams, Norwegian Olympic and Paralympic Committee and Confederation of Sports sent the nation's smallest delegation to the Games since the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City. A total of 53 athletes, 36 men and 17 women, competed only in 12 different sports. There was only a single competitor in badminton, swimming, taekwondo, weightlifting, and wrestling.

Sixteen athletes from the Norwegian team had previously competed in Sydney, including Olympic silver medalists Kjersti Plätzer in women's race walk and Olaf Tufte in men's single sculls. At age 51, rifle shooting veteran Harald Stenvaag became the second Norwegian in Summer Olympic history to participate in six Games, tying a record set by sailor Magnus Konow. He was appointed by the National Olympic Committee to carry the Norwegian flag in the opening ceremony. Other notable Norwegian athletes featured kayak pair and world champions Nils Olav Fjeldheim and Eirik Verås Larsen, yachting siblings Christoffer and Siren Sundby, and breaststroke swimmer Alexander Dale Oen, the youngest of the team at age 19.

Despite fielding its smallest team since 1968, Norway left Athens with a remarkable tally of six medals, five golds and one bronze. As a result, the Games were considered the nation's most successful Summer Olympics since 1920.

## Medalists

| Medal | Name | Sport | Event | Date |
| - | - | - | - | - |
| Gold | Olaf Tufte | Rowing | Men's single sculls | August 21 |
| Gold | Siren Sundby | Sailing | Europe class | August 22 |
| Gold | Eirik Verås Larsen | Canoeing | Men's K-1 1000 m | August 27 |
| Gold | Gunn-Rita Dahle Flesjå | Cycling | Women's cross-country | August 27 |
| Gold | Andreas Thorkildsen | Athletics | Men's javelin throw | August 28 |
| Bronze | Nils Olav Fjeldheim Eirik Verås Larsen | Canoeing | Men's K-2 1000 m | August 27 |

## Athletics

Norwegian athletes have so far achieved qualifying standards in the following athletics events (up to a maximum of 3 athletes in each event at the 'A' Standard, and 1 at the 'B' Standard).

### Key

* Note–Ranks given for track events are within the athlete's heat only
* Q = Qualified for the next round
* q = Qualified for the next round as a fastest loser or, in field events, by position without achieving the qualifying target
* NR = National record
* N/A = Round not applicable for the event
* Bye = Athlete not required to compete in round

### Track & road events

| Athlete | Event | Heat | Heat | Final | Final |
| - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Athlete | Event | Result | Rank | Result | Rank |
| Marius Bakken | 5000 m | 13:36.38 | 12 | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| Trond Nymark | 50 km walk | — | — | 3:53:20 | 13 |
| Jim Svenøy | 3000 m steeplechase | 8:33.97 | 10 | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| Erik Tysse | 20 km walk | — | — | DNS | DNS |

### Field events

| Athlete | Event | Qualification | Qualification | Final | Final |
| - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Athlete | Event | Distance | Position | Distance | Position |
| Ronny Nilsen | Javelin throw | 72.70 | 29 | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| Andreas Thorkildsen | Javelin throw | 81.74 | 8 Q | 86.50 | |

### Combined events – Decathlon

| Athlete | Event | 100 m | LJ | SP | HJ | 400 m | 110H | DT | PV | JT | 1500 m | Final | Rank |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Hans Olav Uldal | Result | 11.23 | 6.99 | 13.53 | 1.85 | 50.95 | 15.09 | 43.01 | 4.50 | 60.00 | 4:41.70 | 7495 | 27 |
| Hans Olav Uldal | Points | 810 | 811 | 700 | 670 | 771 | 839 | 726 | 760 | 738 | 670 | 7495 | 27 |

### Track & road events

| Athlete | Event | Heat | Heat | Semifinal | Semifinal | Final | Final |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Athlete | Event | Result | Rank | Result | Rank | Result | Rank |
| Stine Larsen | Marathon | — | — | — | — | 2:39:55 | 24 |
| Trine Pilskog | 1500 m | 4:08.61 | 10 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| Kjersti Plätzer | 20 km walk | — | — | — | — | 1:30.49 | 12 |

## Badminton

| Athlete | Event | Round of 32 | Round of 16 | Quarterfinal | Semifinal | Final / BM | Final / BM |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Athlete | Event | Opposition Score | Opposition Score | Opposition Score | Opposition Score | Opposition Score | Rank |
| Jim Ronny Andersen | Men's singles | Yang (GUA) W 15–9, 8–15, 15–6 | Kuncoro (INA) L 7–15, 6–15 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |

## Canoeing

### Sprint

| Athlete | Event | Heats | Heats | Semifinals | Semifinals | Final | Final |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Athlete | Event | Time | Rank | Time | Rank | Time | Rank |
| Eirik Verås Larsen | Men's K-1 500 m | 1:36.905 | 1 q | 1:38.361 | 1 Q | 1:38.667 | 4 |
| Eirik Verås Larsen | Men's K-1 1000 m | 3:25.150 | 1 Q | Bye | Bye | 3:25.897 | |
| Nils Olav Fjeldheim Eirik Verås Larsen | Men's K-2 1000 m | 3:09.247 | 1 Q | Bye | Bye | 3:19.528 | |
| Andreas Gjersøe Mattis Næss Jacob Norenberg Alexander Wefald | Men's K-4 1000 m | 2:54.894 | 4 q | 2:54.350 | 2 Q | 3:01.698 | 5 |

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

## Cycling

### Road

**Men**

| Athlete | Event | Time | Rank |
| - | - | - | - |
| Kurt Asle Arvesen | Road race | 5:41:56 | 9 |
| Kurt Asle Arvesen | Time trial | 1:02:21.28 | 28 |
| Morten Hegreberg | Road race | Did not finish | Did not finish |
| Thor Hushovd | Road race | Did not finish | Did not finish |
| Thor Hushovd | Time trial | 1:03:10.36 | 32 |
| Mads Kaggestad | Road race | Did not finish | Did not finish |

**Women**

| Athlete | Event | Time | Rank |
| - | - | - | - |
| Lene Byberg | Road race | 3:33:35 | 48 |
| Linn Torp | Road race | 3:40:43 | 53 |
| Anita Valen | Road race | 3:25:42 | 14 |
| Anita Valen | Time trial | 34:31.94 | 22 |

### Mountain biking

| Athlete | Event | Time | Rank |
| - | - | - | - |
| Gunn-Rita Dahle Flesjå | Women's cross-country | 1:56:51 | |

## Rowing

Norwegian rowers qualified the following boats:

### Men

| Athlete | Event | Heats | Heats | Repechage | Repechage | Semifinals | Semifinals | Final | Final |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Athlete | Event | Time | Rank | Time | Rank | Time | Rank | Time | Rank |
| Olaf Tufte | Single sculls | 7:12.53 | 1 SA/B/C | Bye | Bye | 6:50.55 | 1 FA | 6:49.30 | |
| Morten Adamsen Nils-Torolv Simonsen | Double sculls | 6:45.26 | 2 SA/B | Bye | Bye | 6:14.69 | 3 FA | 6:37.25 | 7 |

Qualification Legend: FA=Final A (medal); FB=Final B (non-medal); FC=Final C (non-medal); FD=Final D (non-medal); FE=Final E (non-medal); FF=Final F (non-medal); SA/B=Semifinals A/B; SC/D=Semifinals C/D; SE/F=Semifinals E/F; R=Repechage

## Sailing

Norwegian sailors have qualified one boat for each of the following events.

### Women

| Athlete | Event | Race | Race | Race | Race | Race | Race | Race | Race | Race | Race | Race | Net points | Final rank |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Athlete | Event | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | M* | Net points | Final rank |
| Jannicke Stålstrøm | Mistral | 9 | 3 | 7 | 15 | 14 | 12 | 11 | 8 | 14 | 14 | OCS | 107 | 11 |
| Siren Sundby | Europe | 1 | 3 | DSQ | 1 | 19 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 12 | 47 | |
| Karianne Eikeland Lise Birgitte Fredriksen Beate Kristiansen | Yngling | 14 | 13 | 4 | 6 | 10 | 1 | 14 | 8 | 9 | 15 | 6 | 85 | 9 |

### Open

| Athlete | Event | Race | Race | Race | Race | Race | Race | Race | Race | Race | Race | Race | Race | Race | Race | Race | Race | Net points | Final rank |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Athlete | Event | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | M* | Net points | Final rank |
| Peer Moberg | Laser | 7 | 18 | 37 | 23 | 12 | 26 | 34 | 14 | 3 | DSQ | — | — | — | — | — | 24 | 198 | 21 |
| Frode Bovim Christoffer Sundby | 49er | 1 | 3 | 9 | OCS | 6 | 4 | 13 | 8 | 15 | 11 | 6 | 9 | 11 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 88 | 4 |

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

Five Norwegian shooters qualified to compete in the following events:

### Men

| Athlete | Event | Qualification | Qualification | Final | Final |
| - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Athlete | Event | Points | Rank | Points | Rank |
| Espen Berg-Knutsen | 10 m air rifle | 584 | =41 | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| Espen Berg-Knutsen | 50 m rifle prone | 592 | =16 | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| Espen Berg-Knutsen | 50 m rifle 3 positions | 1156 | =22 | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| Harald Jensen | Skeet | 122 (5) | 6 Q | 145 | 6 |
| Leif Steinar Rolland | 10 m air rifle | 592 | =18 | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| Harald Stenvaag | 50 m rifle prone | 592 | =16 | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| Harald Stenvaag | 50 m rifle 3 positions | 1149 | 30 | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| Erik Watndal | Skeet | 121 | 8 | Did not advance | Did not advance |

## Swimming

Norwegian swimmers earned qualifying standards in the following events (up to a maximum of 2 swimmers in each event at the A-standard time, and 1 at the B-standard time):

### Men

| Athlete | Event | Heat | Heat | Semifinal | Semifinal | Final | Final |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Athlete | Event | Time | Rank | Time | Rank | Time | Rank |
| Alexander Dale Oen | 100 m breaststroke | 1:02.25 | 21 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |

## Taekwondo

Norway has qualified a single taekwondo jin.

| Athlete | Event | Round of 16 | Quarterfinals | Semifinals | Repechage 1 | Repechage 2 | Final / BM | Final / BM |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Athlete | Event | Opposition Result | Opposition Result | Opposition Result | Opposition Result | Opposition Result | Opposition Result | Rank |
| Nina Solheim | Women's −67 kg | Šarić (CRO) W 5–2 | Luo W (CHN) L RSC | Did not advance | Hwang K-S (KOR) L WO | Did not advance | Did not advance | 7 |

## Volleyball

### Beach

| Athlete | Event | Preliminary round | Standing | Round of 16 | Quarterfinals | Semifinals | Final | Final |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Athlete | Event | Opposition Score | Standing | Opposition Score | Opposition Score | Opposition Score | Opposition Score | Rank |
| Vegard Høidalen Jørre Kjemperud | Men's | Pool D Berg – Dahl (SWE) L 0 – 2 (13–21, 18–21) Hernández – Papaleo (PUR) W 2 – 1 (18–21, 21–19, 15–10) Dieckmann – Reckermann (GER) W 2 – 1 (22–24, 26–24, 15–13) | 3 Q | Rego – Santos (BRA) L 1 – 2 (15–21, 21–19, 6–15) | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| Iver Horrem Bjørn Maaseide | Men's | Pool A Rego – Santos (BRA) L 1 – 2 (15–21, 21–19, 10–15) Holdren – Metzger (USA) W 2 – 1 (16–21, 22–20, 15–9) Schacht – Slack (AUS) L 0 – 2 (18–21, 17–21) | 4 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| Susanne Glesnes Kathrine Maaseide | Women's | Pool D McPeak – Youngs (USA) L 0 – 2 (14–21, 14–21) Kuhn – Schnyder (SUI) W 2 – 1 (21–18, 17–21, 15–13) Dumont – Martin (CAN) L 0 – 2 (19–21, 27–29) | 3 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| Nila Håkedal Ingrid Tørlen | Women's | Pool C Connelly – Pires (BRA) L 0 – 2 (18–21, 19–21) Arvaniti – Koutroumanidou (GRE) L 1 – 2 (11–21, 23–21, 12–15) Lahme – Müsch (GER) W 2 – 1 (13–21, 21–17, 15–12) | 4 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |

## Weightlifting

Norway has qualified a single weightlifter.

| Athlete | Event | Snatch | Snatch | Clean & Jerk | Clean & Jerk | Total | Rank |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Athlete | Event | Result | Rank | Result | Rank | Total | Rank |
| Stian Grimseth | Men's +105 kg | 185 | =12 | 205 | DNF | 185 | DNF |

## Wrestling

Key:

* VT - Victory by Fall.
* PP - Decision by Points - the loser with technical points.
* PO - Decision by Points - the loser without technical points.

### Men's Greco-Roman

| Athlete | Event | Elimination Pool | Elimination Pool | Elimination Pool | Quarterfinal | Semifinal | Final / BM | Final / BM |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Athlete | Event | Opposition Result | Opposition Result | Rank | Opposition Result | Opposition Result | Opposition Result | Rank |
| Fritz Aanes | −84 kg | Avramis (GRE) L 1–3 $^{PP}$ | Jamshidi (IRI) L 0–3 $^{PO}$ | 3 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | 15 |
