The men's single sculls competition at the 2004 Summer Olympics took place at Schinias Olympic Rowing and Canoeing Centre, Greece. The event was held from 14 to 21 August and was one of six events for male competitors in Rowing at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens. There were 29 competitors from 29 nations, with each nation limited to a single boat in the event. The event was won by Olaf Tufte of Norway. Silver went to Jüri Jaanson of Estonia, with bronze to Ivo Yanakiev of Bulgaria. It was the first medal in the men's single sculls for all three nations. Marcel Hacker's failure to make the final made this the first men's single sculls race since 1956 without a German rower on the podium; between the United Team of Germany, East Germany, West Germany, and Germany, the German medal streak in the event had been 11 Games long. Background This was the 24th appearance of the event. Rowing had been on the programme in 1896 but was cancelled due to bad weather. The single sculls has been held every time that rowing has been contested, beginning in 1900. Six of the 24 single scullers from the 2000 Games returned: bronze medallist Marcel Hacker of Germany, fifth-place finisher Ivo Yanakiev of Bulgaria, sixth-place finisher Jüri Jaanson of Estonia, eleventh-place finisher Václav Chalupa of the Czech Republic, twelfth-place finisher Ali Ibrahim of Egypt, and thirteenth-place finisher Anderson Nocetti of Brazil. Jaanson, Chalupa, and Ibrahim had also competed in 1996; Chalupa had won a silver medal in 1992, with Jaanson finishing fifth that year. Hacker and Olaf Tufte were favored, with defending champion Rob Waddell of New Zealand and runner-up Xeno Müller of Switzerland retired and Iztok Čop of Slovenia competing only in the double sculls. Hacker, Tufte, Čop, and Chalupa had taken all 12 of the World Championships medals since the last Games, with Tufte winning in 2001 and 2003 and Hacker in 2002. The People's Republic of China, Chinese Taipei, India, Kenya, Paraguay, Peru, and Uzbekistan each made their debut in the event. Great Britain made its 19th appearance, tying the absent United States for most among nations. Competition format This rowing event is a single scull event, meaning that each boat is propelled by a single rower. The "scull" portion means that the rower uses two oars, one on each side of the boat; this contrasts with sweep