Russia 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 as an independent nation. The Russian Olympic Committee sent a total of 446 athletes to the Games, 244 men and 202 women, to compete in all sports, except baseball, field hockey, football, and softball.
Svetlana Olegovna Abrosimova is a Russian basketball player who has played in college, the Olympics, and in professional leagues. She most recently played for the Seattle Storm in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). She is usually called by her nickname, "Svet" or "Sveta".
Sergei Alexandrovich Monia is a Russian professional basketball player for Khimki of the VTB United League and the EuroLeague. He was selected by the NBA club the Portland Trail Blazers, in the first round of the 2004 NBA draft. At a height of 2.02 m tall, he can play at both the small forward and power forward positions.
Basketball at the Summer Olympics has been a sport for men consistently since 1936. Prior to its inclusion as a medal sport, basketball was held as a demonstration event in 1904. Women's basketball made its debut in the Summer Olympics in 1976.
Sergei Alexandrovich Belov was a professional basketball player, most noted for playing for CSKA Moscow and the senior Soviet Union national basketball team. He is considered to be one of the best European basketball players of all time, and was given the honour of lighting the Olympic Cauldron with the Olympic flame during the 1980 Summer Olympics opening ceremony, in Moscow.
Ramūnas Šiškauskas is a former Lithuanian professional basketball player and basketball coach. At a listed height of 6'6" tall, he could play at both the shooting guard and small forward positions. His individual accolades as a player include a EuroLeague MVP award, four All-EuroLeague Team selections, as well as an All-EuroBasket Team designation. On May 16, 2014, Šiškauskas was named a EuroLeague Basketball Legend.
Kazakhstan consistently performs in Olympic competitions. It is especially successful in boxing. This has brought some attention to the Central Asian nation, and increased world awareness of its athletes. Kazakhstan's city of Almaty submitted twice bid for the Winter Olympics: In 2014 and again for the 2022 Winter Olympics. Nur-Sultan and Almaty hosted the 2011 Asian Winter Games.
Gennadi Georgievich Volnov was a Russian basketball player who played for the senior Soviet Union national basketball team from the late 1950s, to the early 1970s. He was born in Moscow. He was among the 105 player nominees for the 50 Greatest EuroLeague Contributors list.
Laura Hodges is an Australian female professional basketball player, having played in Australia's Women's National Basketball League (WNBL), Europe, and the WNBA. She currently plays for the Adelaide Lightning in the WNBL.
Tayyiba Mumtaz Haneef-Park is a retired American indoor volleyball player. She played at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece, where the team finished in 5th place. Haneef-Park also competed in the 2008 Beijing Olympics, where she won a silver medal with team USA. After her pregnancy in 2010, she returned to Team USA to repeat their silver medal performance at the 2012 London Olympics. Both times USA lost to Brazil. She is currently the Director of Basketball Administration for the UC Irvine Women's basketball team.
Ilona Kalyuvna Korstin is a retired Russian basketball forward of Estonian origin, who competed for her native Russia at the 2004 Summer Olympics, the 2008 Summer Olympics and the 2012 Summer Olympics, winning two bronze medals. She ended her career in 2013.
Brazil sent a delegation to compete at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, China, in August 2008. Brazilian athletes have competed in every Summer Olympic Games since 1920, except the 1928 Summer Olympics. The country is represented by the Brazilian Olympic Committee. Brazil headed to the Beijing Games with its largest Olympic delegation ever, 277 athletes, including a record 132 women. The 17 medals won by Brazil topped the previous medal count record set in 1996, and included the first individual and gold medals by women, by judoka Ketleyn Quadros and jumper Maurren Maggi, respectively. Three of the medals were gold, by Maggi, swimmer César Cielo and the female volleyball team.
Russia competed at the 2008 Summer Olympics, held in Beijing, China, represented by the Russian Olympic Committee. Russia competed in all sports except baseball, football, field hockey, softball and taekwondo.
Dmitry Grigoryevich Khvostov is a Russian professional basketball player for Zenit Saint Petersburg of the VTB United League and the EuroLeague. He was part of Russia's bronze medal winning team at the 2012 Summer Olympics. He is 1.90 m in height and 86 kg in weight.
Jennifer (Jenni) Screen is an Australian basketball player. She has played for the Australian Institute of Sport, the Adelaide Fellas and the Adelaide Lightning in Australia's WNBL, and has spent time playing professionally for Parma in Italy. As a member of the Australia women's national basketball team, she has won a gold medal at the 2006 Commonwealth Games, a silver medal at the 2008 Summer Olympics and a bronze medal at the 2012 Summer Olympics.
Brazil competed at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, from 27 July to 12 August 2012. This was the nation's twenty-first appearance at the Summer Olympics, having missed the 1928 Summer Olympics in Amsterdam. The Brazilian Olympic Committee sent a total of 258 athletes to the Games, 136 men and 122 women, to compete in 24 sports. Brazil left London with a total of 17 Olympic medals, winning their second largest number of medals at a single games, a performance only surpassed 4 years later in Rio de Janeiro, when Brazil was the host country.
The Russian Federation competed at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, United Kingdom, from 27 July to 12 August 2012. This was the nation's fifth consecutive appearance at the Summer Olympics as an independent nation. The Russian Olympic Committee sent a total of 436 athletes to the Games, 208 men and 228 women, to compete in 24 sports. For the first time in its Olympic history, Russia was represented by more female than male athletes.
Céline Dumerc is a French professional basketball player. She was named the FIBA Europe Women's Player of the Year in 2012, and the French Player of the Year in 2017.
Nataliya Olegovna Goncharova, from 2012 to 2016 Obmochaeva, is a Russian female volleyball player. She played for the Ukraine women's national volleyball team until 2010 when she became part of the Russia women's national volleyball team.
