Puerto Rico at the 2004 Summer Olympics

Puerto Rico competed at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece, from 13 to 29 August 2004. This was the nation's fifteenth consecutive appearance at the Olympics.

Puerto Rico at the 2004 Summer Olympics
IOC code	PUR
NOC	Puerto Rico Olympic Committee
Website	www.copur.pr (in Spanish)
in Athens
Competitors	43 in 15 sports
Flag bearer	Carlos Arroyo[1]
Medals	Gold 0 Silver 0 Bronze 0 Total 0
Summer Olympics appearances (overview)
1948 1952 1956 1960 1964 1968 1972 1976 1980 1984 1988 1992 1996 2000 2004 2008 2012 2016 2020 2024

Puerto Rico Olympic Committee sent the nation's largest delegation to the Games since 1992 due to the presence of the men's basketball team. A total of 43 athletes, 32 men and 11 women, had competed in 15 sports, roughly larger by two thirds of the nation's team size from the previous Games. Five Puerto Rican athletes had previously competed in Sydney, including four-time Olympian and Tornado sailor Enrique Figueroa and freestyle swimmer and two-time Olympic finalist Ricardo Busquets. Men's basketball was the only team-based sport in which Puerto Rico had its representation at these Games. Because of the nation's emerging presence to the team sport, team captain and NBA's Utah Jazz player Carlos Arroyo was appointed by the committee to carry the Puerto Rican flag in the opening ceremony.^[1] Puerto Rico also marked its Olympic debut in synchronized swimming and taekwondo.

Puerto Rico left Athens without receiving a single Olympic medal for the second consecutive time. Figueroa and his new partner Jorge Hernández achieved the nation's highest placement at these Games after finishing seventh in the Tornado class. Meanwhile, Mabel Fonseca originally claimed the fifth position in women's wrestling, but she committed an anti-doping violation, as she was tested positive for the steroid stanozolol.^[2] Despite not winning a medal, the men's basketball team secured a notable victory against the United States. The Puerto Ricans' convincing 92-73 win against the three-time defending gold medalists was the United States team's first Olympic loss since it began including NBA players in 1992, only its third Olympic loss overall, and as of 2021, its most lopsided Olympic loss ever.

Athletics

Main article: Athletics at the 2004 Summer Olympics

Puerto Rican athletes have so far achieved qualifying standards in the following athletics events (up to a maximum of 3 athletes in each event at the 'A' Standard, and 1 at the 'B' Standard).^[3][4]

Key

• Note–Ranks given for track events are within the athlete's heat only
• Q = Qualified for the next round
• q = Qualified for the next round as a fastest loser or, in field events, by position without achieving the qualifying target
• NR = National record
• N/A = Round not applicable for the event
• Bye = Athlete not required to compete in round

Men

Track & road events

Athlete	Event	Heat		Final
		Result	Rank	Result	Rank
Alexander Greaux	3000 m steeplechase	8:33.62	9	Did not advance

Combined events – Decathlon

Athlete	Event	100 m	LJ	SP	HJ	400 m	110H	DT	PV	JT	1500 m	Final	Rank
Luiggy Llanos	Result	10.94	7.43	13.77	1.91	49.28	14.13	41.82	NM	DNS	—	DNF
	Points	874	918	714	723	848	958	702	0	0	—

Women

Track & road events

Athlete	Event	Heat		Semifinal		Final
		Result	Rank	Result	Rank	Result	Rank
Yvonne Harrison	400 m hurdles	55.84	5	Did not advance

Basketball

Main article: Basketball at the 2004 Summer Olympics

Men's tournament

Main article: Basketball at the 2004 Summer Olympics – Men's tournament

Roster

The following is the Puerto Rico roster in the men's basketball tournament of the 2004 Summer Olympics.^[5]

Puerto Rico men's national basketball team – 2004 Summer Olympics roster
Players	Coaches
Pos. No. Name Age – Date of birth Height Club Ctr. C 4 José Ortiz (C) 40 – (1963-10-23)23 October 1963 2.11 m (6 ft 11 in) Cangrejeros de Santurce G/F 5 Eddie Casiano 31 – (1972-09-20)20 September 1972 1.92 m (6 ft 4 in) Leones de Ponce G 6 Roberto Hatton 27 – (1976-10-11)11 October 1976 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in) Leones de Ponce G 7 Carlos Arroyo 25 – (1979-07-30)30 July 1979 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in) Utah Jazz G/F 8 Rick Apodaca 24 – (1980-07-01)1 July 1980 1.95 m (6 ft 5 in) Huntsville Flight G 9 Christian Dalmau 28 – (1975-08-29)29 August 1975 1.92 m (6 ft 4 in) Atléticos de San Germán G 10 Elias Ayuso 27 – (1977-03-27)27 March 1977 1.92 m (6 ft 4 in) Beşiktaş C 11 Peter John Ramos 19 – (1985-05-23)23 May 1985 2.19 m (7 ft 2 in) Criollos de Caguas F 12 Rolando Hourruitiner 29 – (1975-05-28)28 May 1975 2.04 m (6 ft 8 in) Cangrejeros de Santurce F 13 Sharif Fajardo 28 – (1976-06-09)9 June 1976 2.10 m (6 ft 11 in) Acegas Trieste F 14 Jorge Rivera 30 – (1973-12-09)9 December 1973 2.01 m (6 ft 7 in) Vaqueros de Bayamón C 15 Daniel Santiago 28 – (1976-06-24)24 June 1976 2.13 m (7 ft 0 in) Milwaukee Bucks	Head coach Julio Toro Assistant coach(es) Flor Meléndez Manolo Cintron Legend (C) Team captain nat field describes country of last club before the tournament Age as of August 13, 2004

Group play

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	L	PF	PA	PD	Pts	Qualification
1	Lithuania	5	5	0	468	414	+54	10	Quarterfinals
2	Greece	5	3	2	389	343	+46	8[lower-alpha 1]
3	Puerto Rico	5	3	2	410	411	−1	8[lower-alpha 1]
4	United States	5	3	2	418	389	+29	8[lower-alpha 1]
5	Australia	5	1	4	383	411	−28	6	9th place playoff
6	Angola	5	0	5	321	421	−100	5	11th place playoff

Source: FIBA archive
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) head-to-head points; 3) head-to-head goal average; 4) head-to-head number of points scored.
Notes:

1. Head-to-head record: Greece 1–1 (1.10 GAvg), Puerto Rico 1–1 (0.99), United States 1–1 (0.92)

15 August 2004 20:00

Boxscore[6]

Puerto Rico	92–73	United States
Scoring by quarter: 21–20, 28–7, 16–21, 27–25
Pts: Arroyo 24 Rebs: Ortiz 6 Asts: Arroyo 7		Pts: Duncan, Iverson 15 each Rebs: Duncan 16 Asts: Duncan 4

Helliniko Indoor Arena, Athens Attendance: 11,560 Referees: Zoran Šutulović (Serbia and Montenegro) Vicente Bulto (Spain)

---

17 August 2004 14:30

Lithuania	98–90	Puerto Rico
Scoring by quarter: 26–32, 23–12, 22–22, 27–24
Pts: Šiškauskas 23 Rebs: E. Žukauskas 8 Asts: Jasikevičius 7		Pts: Arroyo, Ayuso 25 each Rebs: Hourruitiner 6 Asts: Arroyo, Ayuso 2 each

Helliniko Indoor Arena, Athens Attendance: 12,500 Referees: Pablo Estevez (Argentina) Zoran Šutulović (Serbia and Montenegro)

---

19 August 2004 16:45

Puerto Rico	83–80	Angola
Scoring by quarter: 19–17, 18–15, 26–34, 20–14
Pts: Ayuso 17 Rebs: Santiago 10 Asts: Arroyo 6		Pts: de Carvalho 14 Rebs: Moussa 6 Asts: Costa 7

Helliniko Indoor Arena, Athens Attendance: 12,000 Referees: Reynaldo Sanchez (DOM), Ma Li Jun (CHN)

---

21 August 2004 9:00

Australia	82–87	Puerto Rico
Scoring by quarter: 23–13, 28–28, 17–24, 14–22
Pts: Nielsen 20 Rebs: Bogut 11 Asts: Heal 6		Pts: Santiago 20 Rebs: Ortiz 6 Asts: Arroyo 7

Helliniko Indoor Arena, Athens Attendance: 6,500 Referees: Vicente Bulto (ESP), Pablo Estevez (ARG)

---

23 August 2004 22:15

Greece	78–58	Puerto Rico
Scoring by quarter: 20–22, 20–6, 16–18, 22–12
Pts: Kakiouzis 16 Rebs: Dikoudis 8 Asts: Papaloukas 4		Pts: Ayuso 11 Rebs: Fajardo 9 Asts: Arroyo 4

Helliniko Indoor Arena, Athens Attendance: 12,000 Referees: José Ronfini (Mexico) Scott Buttler (Australia)

Quarterfinals

26 August 2004 20:00

Italy	83–70	Puerto Rico
Scoring by quarter: 23–20, 18–15, 19–17, 23–18
Pts: Bulleri 20 Rebs: Marconato 12 Asts: Pozzecco 6		Pts: Ayuso 24 Rebs: Ortiz 8 Asts: Arroyo 5

Olympic Indoor Hall, Athens Attendance: 14,500 Referees: Vicente Bulto (Spain) Alejandro Chiti (Argentina)

Classification match (5th–6th place)

28 August 2004 11:15

5th place

Puerto Rico	75–85	Greece
Scoring by quarter: 15–25, 21–19, 20–22, 19–19
Pts: Ayuso 14 Rebs: Santiago 9 Asts: Arroyo 4		Pts: Kakiouzis 20 Rebs: Diamantidis 8 Asts: 3 players, 3 each

Olympic Indoor Hall, Athens Attendance: 14,500 Referees: Mike Homsy (Canada) Michael Aylen (Australia)

Boxing

Main article: Boxing at the 2004 Summer Olympics

Puerto Rico sent five boxers to Athens.

Athlete	Event	Round of 32	Round of 16	Quarterfinals	Semifinals	Final
		Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Rank
Joseph Serrano	Flyweight	Rakhimzhanov (KAZ) L 23–42	Did not advance
Juan Manuel López	Bantamweight	Khatsigov (BLR) L 19–27	Did not advance
Carlos Velasquez	Featherweight	Oliveira (BRA) L 43–43+	Did not advance
Alex de Jesús	Lightweight	Carvalho (BRA) W 39–24	Rukundo (UGA) L 22–24	Did not advance
Victor Bisbal	Super heavyweight	—	Jakšto (LTU) L 17–26	Did not advance

Christian Rosario

Diving

Main article: Diving at the 2004 Summer Olympics

Women

Athlete	Event	Preliminaries		Semifinals		Final
		Points	Rank	Points	Rank	Points	Rank
Angelique Rodríguez	3 m springboard	239.19	25	Did not advance
	10 m platform	316.08	11 Q	455.94	18	Did not advance

Equestrian

Main article: Equestrian at the 2004 Summer Olympics

Show jumping

Athlete	Horse	Event	Qualification								Final					Total
			Round 1		Round 2			Round 3			Round A		Round B
			Penalties	Rank	Penalties	Total	Rank	Penalties	Total	Rank	Penalties	Rank	Penalties	Total	Rank	Penalties	Rank
Mark Watring	Sapphire	Individual	25	73	39	64	68 Q	Retired			Did not advance

Gymnastics

Main article: Gymnastics at the 2004 Summer Olympics

Artistic

Men

Athlete	Event	Qualification								Final
		Apparatus						Total	Rank	Apparatus						Total	Rank
		F	PH	R	V	PB	HB			F	PH	R	V	PB	HB
Luis Vargas	All-around	9.037	9.675	9.500	9.425	9.325	9.625	56.587	16 Q	8.337	9.612	9.500	9.462	9.562	9.662	56.135	15

Judo

Main article: Judo at the 2004 Summer Olympics

Three Puerto Rican judoka (two men and one woman) qualified for the 2004 Summer Olympics.

Athlete	Event	Round of 32	Round of 16	Quarterfinals	Semifinals	Repechage 1	Repechage 2	Repechage 3	Final / BM
		Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Rank
Melvin Méndez	Men's −66 kg	Peñas (ESP) L 0000–1000	Did not advance
Ramón Ayala	Men's −100 kg	Belgroun (ALG) L 0000–1010	Did not advance
Jessica García	Women's −57 kg	Bye	Bönisch (GER) L 0011–0121	Did not advance		Fernández (ESP) L 0000–1011	Did not advance

Sailing

Main article: Sailing at the 2004 Summer Olympics

Puerto Rican sailors have qualified one boat for each of the following events.

Women

Athlete	Event	Race											Net points	Final rank
		1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	M*
Karla Barrera	Mistral	26	24	25	26	23	25	26	26	26	25	24	250	26

Open

Athlete	Event	Race											Net points	Final rank
		1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	M*
Enrique Figueroa Jorge Hernández	Tornado	9	7	12	11	1	2	3	4	12	1	14	72	7

M = Medal race; OCS = On course side of the starting line; DSQ = Disqualified; DNF = Did not finish; DNS= Did not start; RDG = Redress given

Shooting

Main article: Shooting at the 2004 Summer Olympics

Men

Athlete	Event	Qualification		Final
		Points	Rank	Points	Rank
Lucas Rafael Bennazar Ortiz	Trap	112	=27	Did not advance
	Double trap	122	23	Did not advance

Swimming

Main article: Swimming at the 2004 Summer Olympics

Puerto Rican swimmers earned qualifying standards in the following events (up to a maximum of 2 swimmers in each event at the A-standard time, and 1 at the B-standard time):

Men

Athlete	Event	Heat		Semifinal		Final
		Time	Rank	Time	Rank	Time	Rank
Ricardo Busquets	50 m freestyle	22.45	12 Q	22.52	15	Did not advance
Andrew Livingston	200 m butterfly	1:59.42	=21	Did not advance
Arsenio López	100 m breaststroke	1:03.99	=36	Did not advance
Jorge Oliver	200 m individual medley	2:08.84	=45	Did not advance

Women

Athlete	Event	Heat		Semifinal		Final
		Time	Rank	Time	Rank	Time	Rank
Vanessa García	50 m freestyle	26.26	=28	Did not advance
	100 m freestyle	57.38	35	Did not advance
Gretchen Gotay Cordero	200 m backstroke	2:23.39	31	Did not advance

Synchronized swimming

Main article: Synchronized swimming at the 2004 Summer Olympics

Two Puerto Rican synchronized swimmers qualified a spot in the women's duet.

Athlete	Event	Technical routine		Free routine (preliminary)			Free routine (final)
		Points	Rank	Points	Total (technical + free)	Rank	Points	Total (technical + free)	Rank
Luña del Mar Aguiliú Leilani Torres	Duet	39.667	23	39.917	79.584	23	Did not advance

Taekwondo

Main article: Taekwondo at the 2004 Summer Olympics

Puerto Rico has qualified a single taekwondo jin.

Athlete	Event	Round of 16	Quarterfinals	Semifinals	Repechage 1	Repechage 2	Final / BM
		Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Rank
Ineabelle Díaz	Women's −67 kg	Bye	Benabderassoul (MAR) W 4–4 SUP	Luo W (CHN) L 3–5	Bye	Juárez (GUA) L 2–5	Did not advance	5

Tennis

Main article: Tennis at the 2004 Summer Olympics

Puerto Rico nominated a female tennis player to compete in the tournament.

Athlete	Event	Round of 64	Round of 32	Round of 16	Quarterfinals	Semifinals	Final / BM
		Opposition Score	Opposition Score	Opposition Score	Opposition Score	Opposition Score	Opposition Score	Rank
Kristina Brandi	Women's singles	Kostanić (CRO) W 7–5, 6–1	Myskina (RUS) L 2–6, 6–3, 4–6	Did not advance

Volleyball

Main article: Volleyball at the 2004 Summer Olympics

Beach

See also: Beach volleyball at the 2004 Summer Olympics

Athlete	Event	Preliminary round	Standing	Round of 16	Quarterfinals	Semifinals	Final
		Opposition Score		Opposition Score	Opposition Score	Opposition Score	Opposition Score	Rank
Ramón Hernández Raúl Papaleo	Men's	Pool D  Dieckmann – Reckermann (GER) L 0 – 2 (14–21, 13–21)  Høidalen – Kjemperud (NOR) L 1 – 2 (21–18, 19–21, 10–15)  Berg – Dahl (SWE) L 1 – 2 (21–19, 16–21, 16–18)	4	Did not advance

Wrestling

Main article: Wrestling at the 2004 Summer Olympics

Key:

• VT - Victory by Fall.
• PP - Decision by Points - the loser with technical points.
• PO - Decision by Points - the loser without technical points.

Women's freestyle

Athlete	Event	Elimination Pool			Classification	Semifinal	Final / BM
		Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Rank	Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Rank
Mabel Fonseca	−55 kg	Lazareva (UKR) W 5–0 VT	Karlsson (SWE) L 0–5 VT	2	O'Donnell (USA) W 3–1 PP	Bye	Sun Dm (CHN) W 3–1 PP	DSQ[2]

See also

• Puerto Rico portal
• Olympics portal

• Puerto Rico at the 2003 Pan American Games
• Puerto Rico at the 2004 Summer Paralympics

References

1. "Jugador Carlos Arroyo será el abanderado en Juegos Olímpicos" [Player Carlos Arroyo will be the flag bearer at the Olympics] (in Spanish). Terra Networks. 1 July 2004. Retrieved 5 May 2014.
2. "IOC sanctions wrestler Mabel Fonseca and weightlifter Ferenc Gyurkovics". Olympics. 28 August 2004. Retrieved 5 May 2014.
3. "iaaf.org – Top Lists". IAAF. Retrieved June 4, 2011.
4. "IAAF Games of the XXX Olympiad – Athens 2004 Entry Standards". IAAF. Retrieved 4 June 2011.
5. "Men's Basketball Team Roster – Puerto Rico (PUR)" (PDF). 2004 Athens. LA84 Foundation. 5 May 2014. p. 86.
6. "Puerto Rico 92, USA 73". Usabasketball.com. Archived from the original on November 1, 2011. Retrieved December 18, 2011.

External links

• Official Report of the XXVIII Olympiad
• Puerto Rico Olympic Committee (in Spanish)