The 2004 Summer Paralympics, the 12th Summer Paralympic Games, were a major international multi-sport event for athletes with disabilities governed by the International Paralympic Committee, held in Athens, Greece from 17 September to 28 September 2004. 3,806 athletes from 136 National Paralympic Committees competed. 519 medal events were held in 19 sports.
Cheating at the Paralympic Games has caused scandals that have significantly changed the way in which the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) manages the events.
Timothy ("Tim") Francis Sullivan, OAM is an Australian Paralympic athlete.
Palestine participated in the 2004 Summer Paralympics in Athens, Greece. Palestine was represented by two athletes: Husam Azzam, who had won a bronze medal in the shot put in the previous Games, and Mohammed Fannouna, competing in the long jump and javelin events.
Husam Azzam is a Palestinian track and field athlete. He was, according to the International Paralympic Committee, "the first Palestinian athlete to compete in Paralympic Games" when he represented Palestine at the 2000 Summer Paralympics in Sydney. Azzam won a bronze medal in Sydney in the shot put, with a throw of 6.94 metres. It was the first Paralympic medal for Palestine.
Afghanistan first competed at the Paralympic Games during the 1996 Summer Paralympics in Atlanta, where it was represented by cyclists Gul Afzal and Zabet Khan.
Azerbaijan competed at the 2000 Summer Paralympics in Sydney, Australia having won one silver medal. Powerlifter Gunduz Ismayilov who initially had won a gold medal in Men's -90kg competition lifting 240 kg to set a world record was stripped of it with his record nullified after testing positive for the anabolic steroid nandrolone. Ismayilov subsequently was banned from the Paralympics for life in 2004 after testing positive for stanazolol in the 2004 Summer Paralympics.
Palestine participated in the 2008 Summer Paralympics in Beijing, but did not win any medals.
The United States sent a delegation to compete at the 2000 Summer Paralympics in Sydney, Australia. The United States finished fifth in the gold medal count and third in the overall medal count.
Canada has participated eleven times in the Summer Paralympic Games and in all Winter Paralympic Games. They first competed at the Summer Games in 1968 and the Winter Games in 1976.
The Union of Serbia and Montenegro only competed at the Paralympic Games under that name at the 2004 Summer Paralympics in Athens. In 1992, its athletes competed as Independent Paralympic Participants. From 1996 to 2000, included, it was officially known as the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. The International Paralympic Committee lists the country as "Yugoslavia" up to 2000, included, and considers that "Serbia and Montenegro" participated only in 2004. In 2006, the Union split into two sovereign countries, henceforth competing separately as Serbia and Montenegro.
The 2010 Winter Paralympics, officially known as the X Paralympic Winter Games, were held in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, from March 12 to March 21, 2010. A total of 506 athletes from 44 nations participated in 64 events from five different sport disciplines.
Romania made its Paralympic Games début at the 1972 Summer Paralympics in Heidelberg, sending a single representative to compete in table tennis. He was eliminated in his first match. The country was then absent from the Paralympics until the 1996 Summer Games, where it was again represented by a single competitor. Romania was represented again by just one athlete in 2000, and two in 2004, but sent a larger delegation of five athletes to the 2008 Summer Games. Its most recent participation in the Paralympics was also its first in the Winter Games, in 2010. Its sole representative was Laura Valeanu, who entered two events in alpine skiing.
Ukraine made its Paralympic Games début at the 1996 Summer Paralympics in Atlanta, with thirty athletes competing in archery, track and field, powerlifting, swimming, and sitting volleyball. Vasyl Lishchynskyy won Ukraine's first Paralympic gold medal, in the shot put, and Ukrainians also won four silver medals and two bronze. Ukrainians had previously participated within the Soviet Union's delegation in 1988, and as part of the Unified Team in 1992. Ukraine, following its independence from the Soviet Union, missed out on the 1994 Winter Games, but made its Winter Paralympics début at the 1998 Winter Games in Nagano. Ukraine has competed at every edition of the Summer and Winter Games since then and have done so with remarkable success.
Benin competed at the 2004 Summer Paralympics in Athens, Greece. Their delegation included two sportspeople, neither of whom medaled.
Belgium competed at the 2004 Summer Paralympics in Athens, Greece. The team included 25 athletes, 24 men and one woman. Competitors from Belgium won 7 medals, including 3 gold, 2 silver and 2 bronze to finish 36th in the medal table.
Palestine sent a delegation to compete at the 2016 Summer Paralympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from 7–18 September 2016. This was the fifth time they had taken part in a Paralympic Games after its debut sixteen years prior at the 2000 Summer Paralympics. Palestine sent one athlete to Rio de Janeiro shot put thrower Husam Azzam, who was the flag bearer for Palestine at the parade of nations during the opening ceremony. He did not win his third Paralympic medal because he ranked eighth out of ten athletes with a throw of 6.34 metres in the men's shot put F53 competition.
The Faroe Islands sent a delegation to compete at the 2016 Summer Paralympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from 7–18 September 2016. They sent one participant, Krista Mørkøre, who participated in three events in swimming. Her top finish was 10th in women's 400 m freestyle S10, and she did not qualify for the finals of any of her three events.
