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 – Women's 400 metre freestyle fought off a challenge from Romania's Camelia Potec in the final lap to take a bronze by two tenths of a second (0.20), clocking at 4:06.19. Prior to this competition, the existing world and Olympic records were as follows. Swimming at the 2004 Summer Olympics – Women's 400 metre freestyle The women's 400 metre freestyle event at the 2004 Olympic Games was contested at the Olympic Aquatic Centre of the Athens Olympic Sports Complex in Athens, Greece on August 15. France's Laure Manaudou won the gold medal in this event, with a European record time of 4:05.34. The silver medal