AOC Media Centre - 2004 Athens

Shattered Radcliffe missing Olympic medal againRace favourite Paula Radcliffe of Great Britain sits on the curb after pulling out of the women's marathon just a few kilometres from the finish at which point she was in fourth place.

Harrop's Silver Deserved To Be GoldTriathlon champion Loretta Harrop of Australia competes during the 40km cycling event of the women's triathlon. Harrop goes on to take the silver medal in a time of 2:04:50.17. She bravely led the field before being passed with 400m to run.

Acropolis ShowdownMirjam Melchers of the Netherlands lead a group of riders through the centre of Athens, overlooked by the temple of the Parthenon a top the Acropolis, during the women's cycling road race. Australian Sara Carrigan was the eventual winner.

Best of Athens 2004 GalleryThe Games returned to their home in 2004 and the Greeks didn't disappoint. The Australian Team produced their best performance for an away Games to date.

No One Is Tougher Than HackettGrant Hackett of Australia cries after winning the gold medal as bronze medallist Britain's David Davies congratulates him after swimming in the men's 1500m freestyle final. Hackett set an Olympic record of 14:43.40 minutes while swimming with a punctured lung to defend his title from 2000.

Greek Flame 2004 StyleGreek sailor Nicolaos Kakalamanakis holds his Olympic torch that lights the Olympic flame on the modern Olympic cauldron which then rises to a vertical position during the Opening Ceremony.

K-2 SilverClint Robinson and Nathan Baggaley of Australia compete in the men's K-2 class 500m semifinal and finish in second place for the winning the silver medal.

Petria's GoldPetria Thomas of Australia shows her delight at winning gold in the 100 metre butterfly final. Thomas won a total of three gold and one silver medal at these Games.

Rings of FireThe Olympic rings are lit with fire in the middle of a lake during the Opening Ceremony.

Spinning GoldAustralia's Chantelle Newbery spins mid-air during her performance in the women's diving 10-metre platform final and receives the gold medal.

America's Golden BoyAmerican Michael Phelps swims in the men's 200m individual medley and wins the gold medal.

Baseball CelebrationsAustralia celebrates their win over Japan in the baseball semifinal 1-0. Australia went on to the final but were defeated by Cuba 2-6, so finished with the silver medal.

Down to the Wire(Right to left) Justin Gatlin of the USA wins the men's 100m final ahead of Francis Obikwelu of Portugual, Maurice Greene of the USA, Shawn Crawford of the USA, Asafa Powell of Jamaica, Kim Collins of Saint Kitts and Obadele Thompson of Barbados.

Edge of Your Seat ThrillerLauren Jackson #15 of Australia goes to the basket over Lisa Leslie #9 of the United States in the women's basketball gold medal match. The United States won 74-63.

Great Britain GoldKelly Holmes of Great Britain raises her arms in victory after crossing the finish line first in the women's 1,500m final.

Golden Waters(Right to left) Going for gold - James Tomkins and Drew Ginn of Australia compete in the men's pair semifinal and win the gold medal.

Golden RedemptionHicham El Guerrouj from Morocco crosses the finish line to win the men's 1,500m final. A well-deserved victory because in 1996 he tripped and fell on the final lap, finishing last and in 2000, Kenya's Noah Ngeny beat him at the line, winning the gold by 0.15 of a second.

Elation on WheelsGold medal winner Sara Carrigan of Australia celebrates after crossing the finish line in the women's cycling road race at the Athens Olympics in 2004.

Argentinian CelebrationsTeam Argentina walk off the court after they receive the gold medal for men's basketball beating Italy 84-69.

Silver PrideJohn Steffensen, Mark Ormrod, Patrick Dwyer and Clinton Hill of the Australian relay team celebrate their silver medal victory waving the Australian flag and the kangaroo mascot after the men's 4x400m relay final.

Swimmings Golden Girls(L-R standing) Alice Mills, Lisbeth Lenton and Petria Thomas celebrate as Jodie Henry touches the wall in world record time, 3:35.94, to claim victory in the 4x100m freestyle relay final. For Henry and Thomas it was their third gold for the Games.

Sprinting BronzeAustralia's Anna Meares receives her bronze medal after finishing third in the women's track cycling sprint. Meares also won a gold medal in the 500m time trial event.