Brunei, as Brunei Darussalam, competed at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece, which took place between 13 and 29 August 2004. The country's participation in Athens marked its fourth appearance at the Summer Olympics since its debut in the 1988 Summer Olympics.
The Brunei delegation included only one track and field athlete, joining British Virgin Islands and Liechtenstein as the countries sending the fewest athletes to the 2004 Summer Games at one. The athlete selected was Jimmy Anak Ahar, a middle-distance runner selected via a wildcard as the nation had no athletes that met the "A" or "B" standards in any event. Ahar was also selected as the flag bearer for the opening ceremony. Ultimately, Ahar did not progress beyond the heats.
Background
Although Brunei first participated in the Summer Olympic in the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, South Korea, it was only represented by one official. It would not be until the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, United States that the country would send athletes to the Games. Since then, it has participated in four Summer Olympics between its debut and the 2004 Summer Olympics. No Brunei athlete had ever won a medal at the Summer Olympics before the 2004 Athens Games. However, since Brunei had no athletes that met either standard, they were allowed to select an athlete as a wildcard. The one athlete that was selected to compete in the Athens Games was Jimmy Anak Ahar in the Men's 1500 meters. Sending only one athlete to the Athens Games meant that the country, along with British Virgin Islands and Liechtenstein, was notable for sending the lowest number of athletes to the 2004 Summer Games. Ahar was flag bearer for the opening ceremony. Among officials, sports official Sofian Ibrahim represented the country. He ranked ahead of Tanzania's Samwel Mwera (who did not start), and behind Guam's Neil Weare (4 minutes, 5.86 seconds), in a heat led by Great Britain's Michael East (3 minutes, 37.37 seconds). Overall, Ahar placed 39th out of the 41 athletes that competed