Paraguay at the 2004 Summer Olympics

Infobox Olympics Paraguay
games=2004 Summer
competitors=23 (21 men, 2 women)
sports=4
flagbearer=Rocio Rivarola
officials=
gold=0
silver=1
bronze=0
total=1
rank=65

Paraguay competed at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece. Their men's football team reached the tournament final, losing 1-0 to Argentina. In doing so their silver medals were Paraguay's first ever of any colour at the Olympic Games.

Medalists

Results by event

=Athletics=

Neither Paraguayan athlete came close to advancing from their opening round, but Diego Ferreira managed to set a new national record in the 100 metres.

Men's 100 metres:
*Diego Ferreira
**Round 1: 10.50 s (5th in heat 4, did not advance, 49th overall) ("Paraguayan Record")

Women's Javelin Throw:
*Leryn Franco
**Qualification: 50.37 m (21st in Group A, did not advance, 42nd overall)

=Football (Soccer)=

Paraguay 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 [cite news |author= |title=Games of the XXVIII. Olympiad Football Qualifying Tournament record |url=http://rsssf.com/tableso/ol2004q.html |work= Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation|date=March 13, 2005 |accessdate=2008-07-07] . In group play, they managed to hold on in a high-scoring game with Japan, before losing to Ghana and beating the more heralded Italians.

This was enough to finish top of Group B, and earn them a quarterfinal with Korea. The Paraguayans had a 3-0 lead with just 20 minutes to play, but gave up two goals in five minutes to provide a nervous finish. In the semifinal, a brace from José Cardozo put them ahead of the Iraqis, and they held on from there for a 3-1 win. This set up an all-South American final with Argentina, who had not yet given up a goal in the tournament. This did not change in the final, as an 18th minute goal was all that the Argentinians required for the win.

Despite the setback, the silver medal earned by the Paraguayan team was the first in Olympic history for Paraguay. The three over-23 players named to the final roster by coach Carlos Jara were José Cardozo, Julio César Enciso, and Carlos Gamarra, with Cardozo being the team top-scorer, and second highest-scorer in the tournament, scoring five times. The squad was primarily domestically-based, with 13 of the 18 players playing in the Paraguayan league, and three playing in the top levels of leagues in Europe.

Men's Competition:

* Team Roster
**Goalkeepers
***Diego Barreto
***Rodrigo Romero
**Defenders
***Pedro Benitez
***Ernesto Cristaldo
***José Devaca
***Celso Esquivel
***Carlos Gamarra
***Julio Manzur
***Emilio Martinez
***Aureliano Torres
**Midfielders
***Edgar Barreto
***Osvaldo Diaz
***Julio César Enciso
***Diego Figueredo
**Forwards
***Fredy Barreiro
***José Cardozo
***Pablo Gimenez
***Julio González

Paraguay also had four alternate players, who were not counted as part of the official roster.

*Alternates
**Ever Caballero (goalkeeper)
**Nelson Haedo Valdez (forward)
**Victro Mareco (defender)
**Roque Santa Cruz (forward)

* Group B
** Defeated Japan (4 - 3) (Pablo Gimenez 5', Jose Cardozo 26', Jose Cardozo 37', Aureliano Torres 62')
** Lost to Ghana (1 - 2) (Carlos Gamarra 76')
** Defeated Italy (1 - 0) (Fredy Bareiro 41')
*1st in group, "Qualified" (6 points, 6 GF, 5 GA, 1 GD)
*Quarterfinal: Defeated South Korea (3 - 2) (Fredy Bareiro 19', Jose Cardozo 61', Fredy Bareiro 71')
*Semifinal: Defeated Iraq (3 - 1) (Jose Cardozo 17', Jose Cardozo 34', Fredy Bareiro 68')
*Final: Defeated Argentina (0 - 1) (Silver Medal)

=Rowing=

Both Paraguayan rowers finished third-from-last in their events.

Men's Single Sculls:
*Daniel Sosa
** Heat: 7:52.50 (5th in heat 1, advanced to repechage)
** Repechage: 7:21.03 (4th in repechage 3, advanced to semifinal D/E)
** Semifinal D/E: 7:36.87 (4th in semifinal D/E 2, advanced to final E)
** Final E: 7:13.49 (2nd in final E, 26th overall)

Women's Single Sculls:
*Rocio Rivarola
** Heat: 8:03.85 (4th in heat 1, advanced to repechage)
** Repechage: 7:57.77 (4th in repechage 3, advanced to semifinal C/D)
** Semifinal C/D: 8:05.92 (5th in semifinal C/D 1, advanced to final D)
** Final D: 7:57.36 (3rd in final D, 21st overall)

=Swimming=

Paraguay's only swimmer in Athens was more than seven seconds behind the time needed to advance to the semifinals.

Men's 200 metre Butterfly:
*Sergio Cabrera
**Heat: 2:06.15 (35th overall, did not advance)

Officials

*President: N.P. Esc. Ramón Zubizarreta
*Secretary General: N.P. Roberto Escobar

References

* [http://www.la84foundation.org/6oic/OfficialReports/2004/Results/ Official Report of the XXVIII Olympiad]

*cite book
last = Wallechinsky
first = David
authorlink = David Wallechinsky
coauthors = Jamie Loucky
title = The Complete Book of the Olympics : 2008 Edition
publisher = Aurum Press
year = 2008
location = London
pages =
isbn = 978-1845133306