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,
Brazil at the 2004 Summer Olympics Brazil at the 2004 Summer Olympics Brazil competed at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece, from 13 to 29 August 2004. This was the nation's nineteenth appearance at the Summer Olympics, excluding the 1928 Summer Olympics in Amsterdam. The Brazilian Olympic Committee (, "COB") sent the nation's largest ever delegation in history to the Games. A total of 243 athletes, 124 men and 119 women, competed in 24 sports. Brazil left Athens with a total of 10 medals (5 golds, 2 silver, and 3 bronze), the lowest in Summer Olympics since 1992. Although the nation's final medal count could