The Men's marathon at the 2004 Summer Olympics took place on August 29 in the streets of Athens, Greece where one hundred and one athletes from 59 nations competed. The event was won by Stefano Baldini of Italy, the nation's first victory in the event since 1988 and second overall. The United States reached the podium in the event for the first time since 1976 with Meb Keflezighi's silver. Vanderlei de Lima took bronze, Brazil's first-ever medal in the men's marathon.
El Salvador competed at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece, from 13 to 29 August 2004. This was the nation's eighth appearance at the Olympics.
The British Virgin Islands competed at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece, from 13 to 29 August 2004. This was the nation's sixth appearance at the Summer Olympics since its debut in the 1984 Summer Olympics. The British Virgin Islands delegation included only one athlete, meaning the country, along with Brunei and Liechtenstein, sent the lowest number of athletes to the 2004 Summer Games. The athlete selected was sprinter Dion Crabbe, an athlete who qualified for the Olympics by meeting the "A" standard time required for his event, the men's 200 meters. Crabbe was also selected as flag bearer for the opening ceremony. He did not progress beyond the heats, meaning the British Virgin Islands won no medals at this Summer Olympics.
São Tomé and Príncipe competed at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece, which was held from 13 to 29 August 2004. The country's participation at Athens marked its third appearance in the Summer Olympics since its debut in the 1996 Summer Olympics.
Saint Kitts and Nevis took part in the 2004 Summer Olympics, which were held in Athens, Greece, from August 13 to 29. The country's participation at Athens marked its third appearance at the Summer Olympics. The delegation included two track and field athletes: Kim Collins in the men's 100 meters, and Tiandra Ponteen in the women's 400 meters.
Brunei, as Brunei Darussalam, competed at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece, which took place between 13 and 29 August 2004. The country's participation in Athens marked its fourth appearance at the Summer Olympics since its debut in the 1988 Summer Olympics.
Vanuatu competed at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece, which was held from 13 to 29 August 2004. The nation's appearance at the 2004 Athens Games marked its fifth appearance at the Summer Olympics since its debut at the 1988 Summer Olympics.
Togo competed at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece, from 13 to 29 August 2004. The country's participation at Athens marked its seventh appearance in the Summer Olympics since its debut at the 1972 Summer Games in Munich, West Germany. The delegation included two track and field athletes and a single canoeist; Jan Sekpona in the men's 800 metres, Sandrine Thiébaud-Kangni in the women's 400 metres, and Benjamin Boukpeti in the men's K-1. Both Sekpona and Thiébaud-Kangni were eliminated in the first round of their competitions, while Boukpeti progressed to the semi-finals.
East Timor (Timor-Leste) competed at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece, which was held from 13 to 29 August. The nation's appearance at the 2004 Athens Games marked its official debut in any Olympic event and also the Summer Olympics.
Saint Lucia competed at the 2000 Summer Olympics which were held in Sydney, Australia from 13 September to 1 October. Saint Lucia sent five athletes to the 2000 Summer Olympics, Ron Promesse, Dominic Johnson, Vernetta Lesforis, Jamie Peterkin, and Sherri Henry. While none of the athletes form Saint Lucia won an Olympic medal at the 2000 Summer Olympics, Jamie Promesse placed first in his heat for the men's 50-metre freestyle.
Djibouti has participated in nine Summer Olympic Games as of the completion of the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo. They have never competed in the Winter Olympic Games. Djibouti debuted at the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, United States of America with three athletes, but did not take home a medal. The highest number of Djiboutian athletes participating in a summer Games is eight in the 1992 games in Barcelona, Spain. Only one Djiboutian athlete has ever won a medal at the Olympics, marathon runner Hussein Ahmed Salah, who won a bronze medal in the 1988 marathon.
East Timor (Timor-Leste) competed at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, China which was held from 8 to 24 August. The country's participation at Beijing marked its second appearance in the Summer Olympics since its debut in the 2004 Summer Olympics. The delegation included Augusto Ramos Soares and Mariana Diaz Ximenez, both of whom were marathoners that qualified via wildcard places as the nation had no athletes that met the "A" or "B" qualifying standards. Ximenez was selected as flag bearer for the opening ceremony. Neither of the two athletes finished their events; Soares did not even start.
Saint Lucia competed at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, from 27 July to 12 August 2012. This was the nation's fifth consecutive appearance at the Olympics.
Cape Verde competed at the 2012 Summer Olympics which were held in London, United Kingdom from 27 July to 12 August 2012. The country's participation at London marked its fifth appearance in the Summer Olympics since its debut in 1996. The delegation included Ruben Sança, a long-distance runner; Lidiane Lopes, a sprinter; and Adysângela Moniz, a judoka. Moniz and Sança were also selected as the flag bearers for the opening and closing ceremonies respectively. Of the three Cape Verdean athletes, only Moniz progressed further than the first round.
Djibouti competed at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, from July 27 to August 12, 2012. This was the nation's seventh appearance at the Olympics.
Natasha Sara Georgeos is a Saint Lucian swimmer, who specialized in butterfly events. Georgeos qualified for the women's 100 m butterfly at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, without posting her entry time.
Two athletes, both men, competed under the Egyptian banner at the 1906 Intercalated Games in Athens, Greece, and took part in five events across three sports. Arthur Marson, a track and field athlete, did not place within the top six in the 5 mile and failed to finish the marathon. Eugenio Colombani competed in cycling and Greco-Roman wrestling, but did not reach the finals of either event. Egypt, therefore, did not win any medals at the Games.
The marathon at the Summer Olympics is the only road running event held at the multi-sport event. The men's marathon has been present on the Olympic athletics programme since the first modern Olympics in 1896. Nearly ninety years later, the women's event was added to the programme at the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles.
Eritrea competed at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from 5 to 21 August 2016. It was the nation's fifth consecutive appearance at the Summer Olympics.
Saint Lucia competed at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Japan. Originally scheduled to take place from 24 July to 9 August 2020, the Games were postponed to 23 July to 8 August 2021, because of the COVID-19 pandemic. It was the nation's seventh consecutive appearance at the Summer Olympics. The nation was seeking its first Olympic medal; Levern Spencer's 6th-place finish in the 2016 high jump was Saint Lucia's best result to date at the time of this Olympics.
