# 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 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. 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. 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

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).

### 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

### Track & road events

| Athlete | Event | Heat | Heat | Final | Final |
| Athlete | Event | Result | Rank | Result | Rank |
| Alexander Greaux | 3000 m steeplechase | 8:33.62 | 9 | Did not advance | 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 | DNF |
| Luiggy Llanos | Points | 874 | 918 | 714 | 723 | 848 | 958 | 702 | 0 | 0 | — | DNF | DNF |

### Track & road events

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

## Basketball
### Men's tournament
#### Roster

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

#### Group play

| Pos | Teamvte | 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 | Quarterfinals |
| 3 | Puerto Rico | 5 | 3 | 2 | 410 | 411 | −1 | 8 | Quarterfinals |
| 4 | United States | 5 | 3 | 2 | 418 | 389 | +29 | 8 | Quarterfinals |
| 5 | Australia | 5 | 1 | 4 | 383 | 411 | −28 | 6 | 9th place playoff |
| 6 | Angola | 5 | 0 | 5 | 321 | 421 | −100 | 5 | 11th place playoff |
* 1 2 3 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
| 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

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

## Diving
### Women

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

## Equestrian
### Show jumping

| Athlete | Horse | Event | Qualification | Qualification | Qualification | Qualification | Qualification | Qualification | Qualification | Qualification | Final | Final | Final | Final | Final | Total | Total |
| Athlete | Horse | Event | Round 1 | Round 1 | Round 2 | Round 2 | Round 2 | Round 3 | Round 3 | Round 3 | Round A | Round A | Round B | Round B | Round B | | | Total | Total |
| Athlete | Horse | Event | 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 | Retired | Retired | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |

## Gymnastics
### Artistic
#### Men

| Athlete | Event | Qualification | Qualification | Qualification | Qualification | Qualification | Qualification | Qualification | Qualification | Final | Final | Final | Final | Final | Final | Final | Final |
| Athlete | Event | Apparatus | Apparatus | Apparatus | Apparatus | Apparatus | Apparatus | Total | Rank | Apparatus | Apparatus | Apparatus | Apparatus | Apparatus | Apparatus | Total | Rank |
| Athlete | Event | F | PH | R | V | PB | HB | Total | Rank | F | PH | R | V | PB | HB | Total | Rank |
| 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

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 | Final / BM |
| Athlete | Event | 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 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| Ramón Ayala | Men's −100 kg | Belgroun (ALG) L 0000–1010 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| Jessica García | Women's −57 kg | Bye | Bönisch (GER) L 0011–0121 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Fernández (ESP) L 0000–1011 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |

## Sailing

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

### Women

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

### Open

| Athlete | Event | Race | Race | Race | Race | Race | Race | Race | Race | Race | Race | Race | Net points | Final rank |
| Athlete | Event | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | M* | Net points | Final rank |
| 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
### Men

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

## Swimming

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

### Women

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

## Synchronized swimming

Two Puerto Rican synchronized swimmers qualified a spot in the women's duet.
| Athlete | Event | Technical routine | Technical routine | Free routine (preliminary) | Free routine (preliminary) | Free routine (preliminary) | Free routine (final) | Free routine (final) | Free routine (final) |
| Athlete | Event | 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 | Did not advance | Did not advance |

## Taekwondo

Puerto Rico has qualified a single taekwondo jin.
| Athlete | Event | Round of 16 | Quarterfinals | Semifinals | Repechage 1 | Repechage 2 | Final / BM | Final / BM |
| Athlete | Event | 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

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 | Final / BM |
| Athlete | Event | 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 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |

## Volleyball
### Beach

| Athlete | Event | Preliminary round | Standing | Round of 16 | Quarterfinals | Semifinals | Final | Final |
| Athlete | Event | Opposition Score | Standing | 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 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |

## Wrestling

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 | Elimination Pool | Elimination Pool | Classification | Semifinal | Final / BM | Final / BM |
| Athlete | Event | 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 |