Olympic medal began in 1896 medals started to be given to successful olympian competitors. However, gold medals were not awarded at the inaugural Olympics in 1896 in Athens, Greece. The winners were instead given a silver medal and an olive branch, while runners-up received a laurel branch and a copper or bronze medal. In 1900, most winners received cups or trophies instead of medals. The custom of the sequence of gold, silver, and bronze for the first three places dates from the 1904 Summer Olympics in St. Louis, Missouri in the United States. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has retroactively assigned gold,
Namibia at the 2004 Summer Olympics Namibia at the 2004 Summer Olympics Namibia competed at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece, from 13 to 29 August 2004. This was the nation's fourth consecutive appearance at the Olympics. Namibian National Olympic Committee sent a total of eight athletes to the Games, seven men and one woman, to compete in 5 sports. Three of them had previously competed in Sydney, including pistol shooter Friedhelm Sack and mountain biker Mannie Heymans. Sprinter and four-time Olympic silver medalist Frankie Fredericks sought his official comeback to the Games after an eight-year absence with the hopes of adding another medal to