New Zealand at the 2004 Summer Olympics
New Zealand competed at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece, from 13 to 29 August 2004. This was the nation's twenty-second appearance at the Olympics since its debut in 1908 as part of Australasia. The New Zealand Olympic Committee sent a total of 148 athletes, 81 men, and 67 women to the Games to compete in 18 sports, surpassing a single athlete short of the record from Sydney four years earlier. Basketball and field hockey were the only team-based sports in which New Zealand had its representation at these Olympic Games. There was only a single competitor in archery, boxing, and fencing.
Thirty-four athletes from the New Zealand team had previously competed in Sydney, including Olympic bronze medallist Barbara Kendall in women's Mistral windsurfing, equestrian eventing rider Blyth Tait, sprint kayaker and former breaststroke swimmer Steven Ferguson, table tennis sisters Chunli and Karen Li, and discus thrower Beatrice Faumuina, who was appointed by the committee to carry the New Zealand flag in the opening ceremony. Tait's compatriot Andrew Nicholson participated in his fifth Olympic appearance since the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, as the most experienced athlete. While Tait shared the same age with Nicholson at 43, and served as the oldest member of the team by a month difference, breaststroke swimmer Annabelle Carey, aged 15, was the youngest ever New Zealand athlete to compete at the Olympics since 1976.
New Zealand left Athens with a total of five Olympic medals, three golds and two silver, finishing twenty-fourth in the overall medal count. Four New Zealand athletes won Olympic gold medals for the first time in history: Hamish Carter in men's triathlon,
track cyclist Sarah Ulmer in women's individual pursuit, and twin sisters and rowers Caroline and Georgina Evers-Swindell in women's double sculls.
Medallists
| Medal | Name | Sport | Event | Date |
| Rowing | Women's double sculls | |||
| Cycling | Women's individual pursuit | |||
| Triathlon | Men's event | |||
| Triathlon | Men's event | |||
| Canoeing | Men's K-1 1000 m |
Archery
One New Zealand archer qualified for the men's individual archery through the 2004 Open New Zealand Championships.Athletics
New Zealand athletes have so far achieved qualifying standards in the following athletics events.;Men
;Track & road events
;Field events
;Women
;Track & road events
;Field events
;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
Badminton
Basketball
Men's tournament
;Roster;Group play
;Classification match
Women's tournament
;Roster;Group play
;Quarterfinals
;Classification match
Boxing
New Zealand sent a single boxer to Athens.Canoeing
Sprint
Qualification Legend: Q = Qualify to final; q = Qualify to semifinalCycling
Road
;Men;Women
Track
;Pursuit;Omnium
| Athlete | Event | Points | Laps | Rank |
| Greg Henderson | Men's points race | 68 | 3 | 4 |
| Sarah Ulmer | Women's points race | 8 | 0 | 6 |
| Greg Henderson Hayden Roulston | Men's madison | 2 | 0 | 7 |
Mountain biking
Equestrian
Dressage
Eventing
"#" indicates that the score of this rider does not count in the team competition, since only the best three results of a team are counted.Show jumping
Fencing
;WomenField hockey
New Zealand qualified a men's and a women's team. Each team had 16 athletes with two reserves.Men's tournament
;Roster;Group play
----
----
----
----
;5th–8th place semifinal
;5th place final
Women's tournament
;Roster;Group play
----
----
----
;5th–8th place semifinal
;5th place final
Judo
Rowing
New Zealand rowers qualified the following boats:;Men
;Women
Qualification Legend: FA=Final A ; FB=Final B ; FC=Final C ; FD=Final D ; FE=Final E ; FF=Final F ; SA/B=Semifinals A/B; SC/D=Semifinals C/D; SE/F=Semifinals E/F; R=Repechage
Sailing
New Zealand sailors have qualified one boat for each of the following events.;Men
;Women
;Open
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
Two New Zealand shooters qualified to compete in the following events:;Men
;Women
Swimming
New Zealand swimmers earned qualifying standards in the following events :;Men
;Women
Table tennis
Two New Zealand table tennis players qualified for the following events.Taekwondo
New Zealand has qualified a single taekwondo jin.Triathlon
Three New Zealand triathletes qualified for the following events.| Athlete | Event | Swim | Trans 1 | Bike | Trans 2 | Run | Total Time | Rank |
| Hamish Carter | Men's | 18:19 | 0:20 | 1:00:44 | 0:18 | 32:04 | 1:51:07.73 | |
| Bevan Docherty | Men's | 18:13 | 0:19 | 1:00:51 | 0:20 | 32:11 | 1:51:15.60 | |
| Nathan Richmond | Men's | 18:04 | 0:20 | 1:02:51 | 0:19 | 37:06 | 1:58:01.94 | 33 |
| Samantha Warriner | Women's | 19:42 | 0:20 | 1:10:45 | 0:20 | 38:15 | 2:08:42.07 | 18 |