Moldova at the 2004 Summer Olympics
Moldova competed at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, from 13 to 29 August 2004. This was the nation's third consecutive appearance at the Summer Olympics in the post-Soviet era. Moldova sent a total of 33 athletes (26 men and 7 women), competing in eight various sports. Fourteen of them had competed previously in Sydney, including two Olympic bronze medalists: welterweight boxer Vitalie Gruşac and running target shooter and four-time Olympian Oleg Moldovan. Being the oldest and most sophisticated athlete (aged 37), Moldovan was appointed by the National Olympic Committee of  the Republic of Moldova to carry the nation's flag in the opening ceremony. For the first time since the nation's Summer Olympic debut in 1996, the Moldovans failed to claim a single medal at these Games. Weightlifter Alexandru Bratan narrowly missed the podium with a fourth-place finish in the men's heavyweight class. Athletics. Moldovan 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). Boxing. Moldova has so far qualified boxers for the following  events: Judo. Moldova has qualified one judoka. Shooting. Moldova's only shooter in Athens failed to advance to the final in the 10 metre running target event. Swimming. Moldovan 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): Weightlifting. Moldova has qualified three places in weightlifting.