# Gymnastics at the 2004 Summer Olympics
Gymnastics at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens comprised three disciplines: artistic gymnastics (14–23 August), rhythmic gymnastics (26–29 August), and trampoline (20–21 August).[1](https://www.olympedia.org/editions/26/sports/GAR) Artistic gymnastics and trampoline were held at the Olympic Indoor Hall (Olympiako Kleisto Gymnastirio) in the OAKA Spiros Loues complex, while rhythmic gymnastics took place at the Galatsi Olympic Hall.[1](https://www.olympedia.org/editions/26/sports/GAR) • [2](https://www.olympedia.org/venues/editions/26) The competition produced strong results for Romania and the United States, but it is remembered chiefly for a series of judging controversies that pushed the sport toward a complete overhaul of its scoring system.[3](https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/sports/2004/08/25/not-normal-routine-for-gymnastics/439ca61c-460d-487d-83fb-c52367916a20/)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Disciplines and dates | Artistic 14–23 August, trampoline 20–21 August, rhythmic 26–29 August 2004[1](https://www.olympedia.org/editions/26/sports/GAR) |
| Venues | Olympic Indoor Hall (OAKA) for artistic and trampoline; Galatsi Olympic Hall for rhythmic[1](https://www.olympedia.org/editions/26/sports/GAR) • [2](https://www.olympedia.org/venues/editions/26) |
| Artistic medal table | Romania first with 4 gold, 3 silver, 3 bronze (10 total); United States second with 2 gold, 6 silver, 1 bronze[1](https://www.olympedia.org/editions/26/sports/GAR) |
| Leading athletes | Cătălina Ponor (Romania) won three gold medals; Carly Patterson (USA) won the women's all-around[1](https://www.olympedia.org/editions/26/sports/GAR) |
| Men's all-around | Paul Hamm (USA) won gold after a judging error cost Yang Tae-Young (South Korea) one tenth of a point on parallel bars; three judges were suspended[4](https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2004/aug/27/athensolympics2004.gymnastics) |
| High-bar final | FIG technical director Adrian Stoica intervened in the scoring of Alexei Nemov's routine; Nemov finished fifth[3](https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/sports/2004/08/25/not-normal-routine-for-gymnastics/439ca61c-460d-487d-83fb-c52367916a20/) |
| Aftermath | The Athens judging disputes contributed to the adoption of the open-ended scoring system used from 2006 onward[5](https://www.gymnastics.sport/site/news/displaynews.php?urlNews=3115469) |
## Program and venues
The artistic program consisted of 14 medal events, eight for men and six for women, all staged at the Olympic Indoor Hall, a venue completed in 1995 that also hosted trampoline and the basketball finals in 2004.[1](https://www.olympedia.org/editions/26/sports/GAR) Participation in artistic gymnastics totaled 196 athletes, 98 men and 98 women, representing 42 nations.[1](https://www.olympedia.org/editions/26/sports/GAR) The men's all-around final advanced 24 gymnasts from team qualifying, with no more than two from any nation.[6](https://www.olympedia.org/results/70829)
## Medal outcomes
**Romania led the artistic medal table** with four golds, three silvers, and three bronzes, all but one of its ten medals won by the women's team.[1](https://www.olympedia.org/editions/26/sports/GAR) Romanian women won four of the six women's events, with the United States and France taking the others.[1](https://www.olympedia.org/editions/26/sports/GAR) [Cătălina Ponor](https://www.edgepedia.org/catalina-ponor) was the individual star, winning gold on floor exercise, balance beam, and in the team competition.[1](https://www.olympedia.org/editions/26/sports/GAR) [Carly Patterson](https://www.edgepedia.org/carly-patterson) of the United States won the women's all-around ahead of Svetlana Khorkina of Russia and Zhang Nan of China.[1](https://www.olympedia.org/editions/26/sports/GAR)
On the men's side, the eight event titles went to eight different nations: [Paul Hamm](https://www.edgepedia.org/paul-hamm) (all-around, USA), Japan (team), [Kyle Shewfelt](https://www.edgepedia.org/kyle-shewfelt) (floor, Canada), Gervasio Deferr (vault, Spain), Valeriy Honcharov (parallel bars, Ukraine), Igor Cassina (horizontal bar, Italy), Dimosthenis Tampakos (rings, Greece), and [Teng Haibin](https://www.edgepedia.org/teng-haibin) (pommel horse, China).[1](https://www.olympedia.org/editions/26/sports/GAR) Japan won the men's team title ahead of the United States and Romania.[1](https://www.olympedia.org/editions/26/sports/GAR) Tampakos's rings gold gave the host nation a gymnastics championship on home soil.[1](https://www.olympedia.org/editions/26/sports/GAR)
## The men's all-around controversy
The defining dispute of the Games centered on Paul Hamm's all-around gold. Hamm claimed the title by scoring 9.837 on his final high bar routine, and South Korea's Yang Tae-Young was originally placed third.[4](https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2004/aug/27/athensolympics2004.gymnastics) It was then revealed that a judging error had cost Yang one tenth of a point on parallel bars, enough to have given him the all-around title.[4](https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2004/aug/27/athensolympics2004.gymnastics) The International Gymnastics Federation (FIG) validated the results as communicated, and three judges were suspended as a result of the controversy.[4](https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2004/aug/27/athensolympics2004.gymnastics) Hamm, who had also fallen badly on vault during the competition, was criticized by South Korean fans and officials even though the result stood under the rules.[7](https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/sports/2004/08/24/gymnastics-closes-with-chorus-of-jeers/3793d742-acef-4377-8538-6f2198c5aeeb/)
## The high-bar final and crowd protest
The final night of gymnastics ended with spectators at the Olympic Indoor Hall jeering a judging panel whose score they rejected.[7](https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/sports/2004/08/24/gymnastics-closes-with-chorus-of-jeers/3793d742-acef-4377-8538-6f2198c5aeeb/) The target was the mark given to Russian gymnast Alexei Nemov for a high-bar routine in the event final. Adrian Stoica, technical director of the FIG, admitted he had intervened, saying he felt the scores of two judges were out of line; the delay while the crowd protested lasted long enough to hold up the competition.[3](https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/sports/2004/08/25/not-normal-routine-for-gymnastics/439ca61c-460d-487d-83fb-c52367916a20/) The intervention did not change the outcome: Nemov still finished fifth, the placing he would have held with his original score.[3](https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/sports/2004/08/25/not-normal-routine-for-gymnastics/439ca61c-460d-487d-83fb-c52367916a20/)
## Legacy for scoring
The Washington Post reported at the time that the pile of protests left by Athens gymnastics could produce a scoring overhaul comparable to the reform of figure skating after the 2002 [Salt Lake City](https://www.edgepedia.org/salt-lake-city) scandal.[3](https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/sports/2004/08/25/not-normal-routine-for-gymnastics/439ca61c-460d-487d-83fb-c52367916a20/) That prediction was borne out: the sport moved to the open-ended scoring system, in which difficulty and execution are scored separately without a ceiling of 10, replacing the code in use at Athens.[5](https://www.gymnastics.sport/site/news/displaynews.php?urlNews=3115469) The 2004 all-around is regularly cited as the trigger for that change.[5](https://www.gymnastics.sport/site/news/displaynews.php?urlNews=3115469)
## References
1. [Artistic Gymnastics at the 2004 Summer Olympics, Olympedia](https://www.olympedia.org/editions/26/sports/GAR)
2. [2004 Summer Olympics venues, Olympedia](https://www.olympedia.org/venues/editions/26)
3. [Not Normal Routine for Gymnastics, The Washington Post (25 August 2004)](https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/sports/2004/08/25/not-normal-routine-for-gymnastics/439ca61c-460d-487d-83fb-c52367916a20/)
4. [Hamm-fisted judging causes gold dispute, The Guardian (27 August 2004)](https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2004/aug/27/athensolympics2004.gymnastics)
5. [Olympic lookback: Athens, 2004, International Gymnastics Federation](https://www.gymnastics.sport/site/news/displaynews.php?urlNews=3115469)
6. [All-Around, Individual, Men, Olympedia](https://www.olympedia.org/results/70829)
7. [Gymnastics Closes With Chorus of Jeers, The Washington Post (24 August 2004)](https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/sports/2004/08/24/gymnastics-closes-with-chorus-of-jeers/3793d742-acef-4377-8538-6f2198c5aeeb/)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Sports, games, and recreation › Olympics and multisport subjects › General sport and multisport institutions › Olympic movement › Olympic Games — overview and editions*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 21, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 21, 2026 · Last review: Oct 21, 2026*
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