Paraguay at the 2004 Summer Olympics

Paraguay competed at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece, from 13 to 29 August 2004. This was the nation's ninth appearance at the Olympics, except the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow because of its partial support to the United States boycott.

Paraguay at the 2004 Summer Olympics
IOC code	PAR
NOC	Comité Olímpico Paraguayo
Website	www.cop.org.py (in Spanish)
in Athens
Competitors	23 in 4 sports
Flag bearer	Rocio Rivarola[1]
Medals Ranked 65th	Gold 0 Silver 1 Bronze 0 Total 1
Summer Olympics appearances (overview)
1968 1972 1976 1980 1984 1988 1992 1996 2000 2004 2008 2012 2016 2020 2024

Comité Olímpico Paraguayo sent the nation's largest delegation to the Games since the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona due to the presence of the men's football team. A total of 23 athletes, 21 men and 2 women, competed only in athletics, football, rowing, and swimming. The Paraguayan team featured two notable female athletes: javelin thrower Leryn Franco, who aspired to be one of the most beautiful women to compete at the Olympics because of her professional career as a model and beauty contestant, and single sculls rower Rocio Rivarola, aged seventeen, who later became the nation's first ever female flag bearer in the opening ceremony.^[1]

Paraguay left Athens with its first Olympic silver medal from the men's football team, following its defeat against Argentina with a score of 0–1 in the final match of the tournament.^[2]

Medalists

Further information: 2004 Summer Olympics medal table and List of 2004 Summer Olympics medal winners

Medal	Name	Sport	Event	Date
Silver	Paraguay national football team Fredy Barreiro Diego Barreto Edgar Barreto Pedro Benitez José Cardozo Ernesto Cristaldo José Devaca Osvaldo Diaz Julio César Enciso Celso Esquivel Diego Figueredo Carlos Gamarra Pablo Giménez Julio González Julio Manzur Emilio Martinez Rodrigo Romero Aureliano Torres	Football	Men's tournament	August 28

Athletics

Main article: Athletics at the 2004 Summer Olympics

Paraguayan 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		Quarterfinal		Semifinal		Final
		Result	Rank	Result	Rank	Result	Rank	Result	Rank
Diego Ferreira	100 m	10.50 NR	5	did not advance

Women

Field events

Athlete	Event	Qualification		Final
		Distance	Position	Distance	Position
Leryn Franco	Javelin throw	50.37	42	did not advance

Football

Main article: Football at the 2004 Summer Olympics

Men's tournament

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

Paraguay national football team faced a stiff test in order to qualify for the Athens Games, getting two goals in the last ten minutes to beat Chile, and edging Brazil to qualify out of South America, along with Argentina.^[5] On 4 August, before the Summer Olympics began, Paraguay measured against the Portugal of Cristiano Ronaldo in the city of Algarve, resulting in a 5–0 defeat.^[6][7][8][9]

Roster

The following is the Paraguayan squad in the men's football tournament of the 2004 Summer Olympics.^[10]

Head coach: Carlos Jara Saguier

No.	Pos.	Player	Date of birth (age)	Caps	Goals	2004 club
1	1GK	Rodrigo Romero	(1982-11-08)8 November 1982 (aged 21)	0	0	Nacional Asunción
2	2DF	Emilio Martinez	(1981-04-10)10 April 1981 (aged 23)	8	0	Libertad
3	2DF	Julio Manzur	(1981-06-22)22 June 1981 (aged 23)	8	0	Guaraní
4	2DF	Carlos Gamarra*	(1971-02-17)17 February 1971 (aged 33)	11	5	Inter Milan
5	2DF	José Devaca	(1982-09-18)18 September 1982 (aged 21)	8	1	Cerro Porteño
6	2DF	Celso Esquivel	(1981-03-20)20 March 1981 (aged 23)	0	0	San Lorenzo
7	4FW	Pablo Giménez	(1981-06-29)29 June 1981 (aged 23)	8	1	Guaraní
8	3MF	Edgar Barreto	(1984-07-15)15 July 1984 (aged 20)	8	0	NEC Nijmegen
9	4FW	Fredy Barreiro	(1982-03-27)27 March 1982 (aged 22)	8	2	Libertad
10	3MF	Diego Figueredo	(1982-04-28)28 April 1982 (aged 22)	8	2	Real Valladolid
11	2DF	Aureliano Torres	(1982-06-16)16 June 1982 (aged 22)	8	1	Guaraní
12	2DF	Pedro Benitez	(1981-03-23)23 March 1981 (aged 23)	0	0	Cerro Porteño
13	3MF	Julio César Enciso*	(1974-08-05)5 August 1974 (aged 30)	0	0	Olimpia Asunción
14	4FW	Julio González	(1981-08-26)26 August 1981 (aged 22)	8	2	Nacional Asunción
15	2DF	Ernesto Cristaldo	(1984-03-16)16 March 1984 (aged 20)	0	0	Cerro Porteño
16	3MF	Osvaldo Diaz	(1981-12-22)22 December 1981 (aged 22)	8	1	Guaraní
17	4FW	José Cardozo*	(1971-03-14)14 March 1971 (aged 33)	6	2	Toluca
18	1GK	Diego Barreto	(1981-07-16)16 July 1981 (aged 23)	8	0	Cerro Porteño

* Over-aged player.

Group play

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Paraguay	3	2	0	1	6	5	+1	6	Qualified for the quarterfinals
2	Italy	3	1	1	1	5	5	0	4
3	Ghana	3	1	1	1	4	4	0	4
4	Japan	3	1	0	2	6	7	−1	3

Source: ^{[citation needed]}

12 August 2004

20:30

Paraguay	4 – 3	Japan
Giménez 5' Cardozo 26', 37' Torres 62'	Report	Ono 22' (pen.), 53' (pen.) Okubo 81'

Kaftanzoglio Stadium, Thessaloniki

Attendance: 5,381

Referee: Essam Abd El Fatah (Egypt)

---

15 August 2004

20:30

Paraguay	1 – 2	Ghana
Gamarra 76'	Report	Tiero 81' Appiah 84'

Kaftanzoglio Stadium, Thessaloniki

Attendance: 1,119

Referee: Benito Archundia (Mexico)

---

18 August 2004

20:30

Paraguay	1 – 0	Italy
Bareiro 14'	Report

Karaiskaki Stadium, Piraeus

Attendance: 24,160

Referee: Claus Bo Larsen (Denmark)

Quarterfinals

21 August 2004

21:00

Paraguay	3 – 2	South Korea
Bareiro 19', 71' Cardozo 61'	Report	Lee C.S. 74', 79' (pen.)

Kaftanzoglio Stadium, Thessaloniki

Attendance: 4,080

Referee: Massimo De Santis (Italy)

Semifinals

24 August 2004

21:00

Iraq	1 – 3	Paraguay
Farhan 83'	Report	Cardozo 17', 34' Bareiro 68'

Kaftanzoglio Stadium, Thessaloniki

Attendance: 6,213

Referee: Éric Poulat (France)

Gold medal match

28 August 2004

10:00

Argentina	1 – 0	Paraguay
Tevez 18'	Report

Olympic Stadium, Athens

Attendance: 41,116

Referee: Kyros Vassaras (Greece)

Won silver medal

Rowing

Main article: Rowing at the 2004 Summer Olympics

Paraguayan rowers qualified the following boats:

Men

Athlete	Event	Heats		Repechage		Semifinals		Final
		Time	Rank	Time	Rank	Time	Rank	Time	Rank
Daniel Sosa	Single sculls	7:52.50	5 R	7:21.03	4 SD/E	7:36.87	4 FE	7:13.49	26

Women

Athlete	Event	Heats		Repechage		Semifinals		Final
		Time	Rank	Time	Rank	Time	Rank	Time	Rank
Rocio Rivarola	Single sculls	8:03.85	4 R	7:57.77	4 SC/D	8:05.92	5 FD	7:57.36	21

Qualification Legend: FA=Final A (medal); FB=Final B (non-medal); FC=Final C (non-medal); FD=Final D (non-medal); FE=Final E (non-medal); FF=Final F (non-medal); SA/B=Semifinals A/B; SC/D=Semifinals C/D; SE/F=Semifinals E/F; R=Repechage

Swimming

Main article: Swimming at the 2004 Summer Olympics

Men

Athlete	Event	Heat		Semifinal		Final
		Time	Rank	Time	Rank	Time	Rank
Sergio Cabrera	200 m butterfly	2:06.15	35	did not advance

See also

• Paraguay at the 2003 Pan American Games