| Event: | Wheelchair rugby |
| Games: | 2004 Summer |
| Venue: | Helliniko Indoor Arena |
| Dates: | 19–25 September |
| Gold: | New Zealand |
| Goldnpc: | NZL |
| Silver: | Canada |
| Silvernpc: | CAN |
| Bronze: | United States |
| Bronzenpc: | USA |
| Prev: | 2000 |
| Next: | 2008 |
Wheelchair Rugby at the 2004 Summer Paralympics was staged at the Helliniko Indoor Arena from September 19 to September 25.
Teams from eight countries participated in the competition, with a total of 89 athletes taking part. While wheelchair rugby was designated a mixed sport, with both men and women eligible to participate in the competition, no female athletes took part.
New Zealand's victory in the gold medal game represented the first time that a country from outside North America had won a Paralympics or World Championships title in the sport.
The wheelchair rugby competition in Athens was featured in the 2005 documentary film Murderball.
| Mixed wheelchair rugby | valign=top | Dan Buckingham Stephen Guthrie Bill Oughton Timothy Johnson Geremy Tinker Jai Waite Sholto Taylor Gary McMurray Curtis Palmer | valign=top | Allan Cartrand Fabien Lavoie Jared Funk David Willsie Patrice Simard Mike Bacon Michael Whitehead Daniel Paradis Raymond Lizotte Garett Hickling Ian Chan Allan Semenuik | valign=top | Lynn Nelson Clifton Chunn Wayne Romero Brent Poppen Will Groulx Scott Hogsett Bob Lujano Andy Cohn Norman Lyduch Bryan Kirkland Mark Zupan Sam Gloor |
Wheelchair rugby players were given a classification based on their upper body function. A committee gave each athlete a 7-level score ranging from 0.5 to 3.5, with lower scores corresponding to more severe disability. During the game, the total score of all players on the court for a team cannot exceed 8 points. However, for each female player on court, their team gets an extra 0.5 points over the 8 point limit.
See main article: Wheelchair rugby at the 2004 Summer Paralympics – Rosters. Eight teams took part in this sport. Each team could have up to 12 athletes, but no more than 11 of the team members could be male. Listed below are the eight teams qualified for the Athens Paralympics.
| Qualified teams | |
|---|---|
| 1. | |
| 2. | |
| 3. | |
| 4. | |
| 6. | |
| 5. | |
| 8. | |
| 7. |
The eight teams were divided into two even groups and participated in a single round robin tournament. The top two teams from each group went on to compete for 1st through 4th place, while the last two teams from each group competed for 5th through 8th place.
| width=25 | Rank | width=150 | Team | width=25 | Pld | width=25 | W | width=25 | L | width=70 | G:GA | width=25 | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 138:109 | 6 | ||||||||
| 2 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 120:101 | 5 | ||||||||
| 3 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 117:137 | 4 | ||||||||
| 4 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 121:149 | 3 |
| width=25 | Rank | width=150 | Team | width=25 | Pld | width=25 | W | width=25 | L | width=70 | G:GA | width=25 | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 100:82 | 6 | ||||||||
| 2 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 96:91 | 5 | ||||||||
| 3 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 91:93 | 4 | ||||||||
| 4 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 93:114 | 3 |
Qualified for quarterfinals
| Time | Match | Teams | Final score | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| September 19, 2004 | ||||
| 10:00 | 1 | GBR vs. BEL | 27 - 22 | |
| 12:00 | 2 | CAN vs. GER | 33 - 30 (OT) | |
| 17:00 | 3 | USA vs. JPN | 54 - 39 | |
| 19:00 | 4 | AUS vs. NZL | 31 - 41 | |
| September 20, 2004 | ||||
| 10:00 | 5 | GER vs. BEL | 33 - 40 | |
| 12:00 | 6 | CAN vs. GBR | 30 - 32 (OT) | |
| 17:00 | 7 | AUS vs. JPN | 48 - 47 | |
| 19:00 | 8 | USA vs. NZL | 35 - 32 | |
| September 21, 2004 | ||||
| 10:00 | 9 | GBR vs. GER | 40 - 33 | |
| 12:00 | 10 | CAN vs. BEL | 33 - 29 | |
| 17:00 | 11 | NZL vs. JPN | 47 - 35 | |
| 19:00 | 12 | USA vs. AUS | 49 - 38 | |
Source: Paralympic.org [1]
Source: Paralympic.org [1]
| width=35 | Place | width=185 | Team |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4. | |||
| 5. | |||
| 6. | |||
| 7. | |||
| 8. |