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,
Russia at the 2004 Summer Olympics Russia at the 2004 Summer Olympics Russia competed at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece, from 13 to 29 August 2004. This was the nation's third consecutive appearance at the Summer Olympics as an independent nation. The Russian Olympic Committee sent a total of 446 athletes to the Games, 244 men and 202 women, to compete in all sports, except baseball, field hockey, football, and softball. Russia left Athens with a total of 90 Olympic medals – 28 golds, 26 silver, and 36 bronze – finishing second only to the United States in the overall medal standings, and third