The 2004 Athens Olympic Games wrapped up with a closing ceremony at the Olympic Stadium in Athens on Sunday evening after 16 days of competition among athletes from 202 nations.
Taiwan came away with a res-pectable haul -- winning two gold medals, two silvers and one bronze to take 31st spot in the overall medal standings. The result was Taiwan's best ever at the Olympics.
Taekwondo athlete Huang Chih-hsiung (黃志雄), who won a silver medal in the men's under-68kg division, led Taiwan's delegation at the closing ceremony.
Addressing the ceremony, International Olympic Committee president Jacques Rogge described the Athens Games as the "unforgettable, dream games." Rogge invited all the world's top athletes to meet again in four years in Beijing for the 29th Olympiad.
A few days earlier, the Athens Olympic Games organizing committee declared Aug. 26 "Chinese Taipei Day" after two Taiwanese athletes won gold medals in taekwondo events on that day.
Chen Shih-hsin (
Shortly afterwards, Chu Mu-yen (
It marked the first time that any country had won two gold medals on a single day in taekwondo since it became an Olympic event 12 years ago.
The head coach of the taekwondo team said the team's performance had become a source of pride for all the people of Taiwan.
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