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,
Swimming at the 2004 Summer Olympics Swimming at the 2004 Summer Olympics The swimming competitions at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens took place from 14 to 21 August 2004 at the Athens Olympic Aquatic Centre in Marousi. It featured 32 events (16 male, 16 female), a total of 937 swimmers from 152 nations, and the program's changes instituted in the previous Games, including notably the three-phase format (heats, semifinals, and final) for all short-distance races (200 metres and under). Swimmers from the United States continued to dominate the medal tally with a total of 28, earning twelve golds, nine silver, and seven bronze. Australia still