| | Event type
Lightweight (≤73 kilograms), Men
| Date | 16 August 2004 | |
|---|---|---|
| Status | Olympic | |
| Location | Olympiako Gymnastirio Ano Liosion, Ano Liossia | |
| Participants | 33 from 33 countries | |
| Format | Two single-elimination pools, with winner of each pool advanced to the final. All judoka losing to the finalists in each pool advanced to repêchage pools, with the winners of the repêchage pools earning bronze medals. | |
Korea’s Lee Won-Hui had won the 2003 World Championships and won 48 consecutive matches thru 2003. Heavily favored in the pool quarter-final, he faced American Jimmy Pedro, the 1999 World Champion. Pedro had stopped Lee’s winning streak in late 2003 at the Korean Open. But in Athina, Lee used seoi-nage for ippon to win at 3:37. The final matched Lee against the 2001 World Champion, Vitaly Makarov of Russia, and won by ippon with only nine seconds left in the match. Pedro went thru the repêchage to win a bronze medal.
Pool A (16 August 2004)
Round One (16 August 2004)
| Match #1 | Leandro Guilheiro |  BRA | Yuko/Seoi-nage (5:00/1:38) Golden Score | Kiyoshi Uematsu |  ESP |
Round Two (16 August 2004)
| Match #1 | Daniel Fernandes |  FRA | Waza-ari awasete Ippon/Non-Combativity (3:22) | Xie Jianhua |  CHN |
| Match #2 | Yoel Razvozov |  ISR | Ippon/Kuchiki-taoshi (0:09) | Rubert Martínez |  CUB |
| Match #3 | Krzysztof Wiłkomirski |  POL | Ippon/Sumi-gaeshi (2:40) | Andrew Collett |  AUS |
| Match #4 | Leandro Guilheiro | BRA | Ippon/Uchi-mata (1:35) | Ernst Laraque |  HAI |
| Match #5 | Davit Kevkhishvili |  GEO | Waza-ari/Uchi-mata (5:00) | Masahiro Takamatsu |  JPN |
| Match #6 | Vitaly Makarov |  RUS | Ippon/Uchi-mata (1:00) | Lavrentis Alexanidis |  GRE |
| Match #7 | Bernard M'vondo Etoga |  CMR | Yuko/Non-Combativity (5:00) | Egamnazar Akbarov |  UZB |
| Match #8 | Damdiny Süldbayar |  MGL | Ippon/Sumi-otoshi (5:00) | Vsevolods Zeļonijs |  LAT |
Quarter-Finals (16 August 2004)
| Match #1 | Daniel Fernandes | FRA | Ippon/O-uchi-gari (2:13) | Yoel Razvozov | ISR |
| Match #2 | Leandro Guilheiro | BRA | Waza-ari/Non-Combativity (5:00) | Krzysztof Wiłkomirski | POL |
| Match #3 | Vitaly Makarov | RUS | Waza-ari awasete Ippon/Tomoe-nage (2:56) | Davit Kevkhishvili | GEO |
| Match #4 | Damdiny Süldbayar | MGL | Yuko/Sumi-otoshi (5:00) | Bernard M'vondo Etoga | CMR |
Semi-Finals (16 August 2004)
| Match #1 | Daniel Fernandes | FRA | Waza-ari/Non-Combativity (5:00) | Leandro Guilheiro | BRA |
| Match #2 | Vitaly Makarov | RUS | Waza-ari/Non-Combativity (5:00) | Damdiny Süldbayar | MGL |
Final Round (16 August 2004)
| Match #1 | Vitaly Makarov | RUS | Ippon/Go-Outside-Contest-Area (3:48) | Daniel Fernandes | FRA |
Repêchage (16 August 2004)
| Match #1 | Yoel Razvozov | ISR | Ippon/Kuchiki-taoshi (2:33) | Xie Jianhua | CHN |
| Match #2 | Davit Kevkhishvili | GEO | Ippon/Kuchiki-taoshi (2:58) | Lavrentis Alexanidis | GRE |
| Match #3 | Leandro Guilheiro | BRA | Ippon/Okuri-eri-jime (4:14) | Yoel Razvozov | ISR |
| Match #4 | Davit Kevkhishvili | GEO | Yuko/Kata-guruma (5:00) | Damdiny Süldbayar | MGL |
| Match #5 | Leandro Guilheiro | BRA | Koka/Non-Combativity (5:00) | Davit Kevkhishvili | GEO |
| Match 3/4 | Leandro Guilheiro | BRA | Waza-ari awasete Ippon/Seoi-nage (4:35) | Victor Bivol |  MDA |
Pool B (16 August 2004)
Round One (16 August 2004)
| Match #1 | Jimmy Pedro |  USA | Ippon/Kesa-gatame (3:55) | Sagdat Sadykov |  KAZ |
Round Two (16 August 2004)
| Match #1 | Jimmy Pedro | USA | Ippon/Yoko-shiho-gatame (4:16) | Rodrigo Lucenti |  ARG |
| Match #2 | Lee Won-Hui |  KOR | Yuko (2)/Kibisu-gaeshi (5:00) | Anatol Larukou |  BLR |
| Match #3 | Noureddine Yagoubi |  ALG | Ippon/Kuchiki-taoshi (3:07) | Akapei Latu |  TGA |
| Match #4 | Hennadiy Bilodid |  UKR | bye | ||
| Match #5 | Hamed Malekmohammadi |  IRI | Ippon/Uchi-mata-gaeshi (3:28) | Sašo Jereb |  SLO |
| Match #6 | Victor Bivol | MDA | Ippon/O-soto-otoshi (1:24) | Richard León |  VEN |
| Match #7 | João Neto |  POR | Yuko/False-Attack (5:00) | Christos Christodoulidis |  CYP |
| Match #8 | Claudiu Baștea |  ROU | Waza-ari awasete Ippon/Kesa-gatame (3:27) | Bourama Mariko |  MLI |
Quarter-Finals (16 August 2004)
| Match #1 | Lee Won-Hui | KOR | Ippon/Seoi-nage (3:37) | Jimmy Pedro | USA |
| Match #2 | Hennadiy Bilodid | UKR | Ippon/Tomoe-nage (0:32) | Noureddine Yagoubi | ALG |
| Match #3 | Victor Bivol | MDA | Ippon/Kata-guruma (1:50) | Hamed Malekmohammadi | IRI |
| Match #4 | João Neto | POR | Ippon/Kata-gatame (4:50) | Claudiu Baștea | ROU |
Semi-Finals (16 August 2004)
| Match #1 | Lee Won-Hui | KOR | Ippon/Tai-otoshi (0:36) | Hennadiy Bilodid | UKR |
| Match #2 | Victor Bivol | MDA | Ippon/Tai-otoshi (2:01) | João Neto | POR |
Final Round (16 August 2004)
| Match #1 | Lee Won-Hui | KOR | Ippon/Tai-otoshi (1:35) | Victor Bivol | MDA |
Repêchage (16 August 2004)
| Match #1 | Jimmy Pedro | USA | Koka/Danger-Area (5:00/0:43) Golden Score | Anatol Larukou | BLR |
| Match #2 | Hamed Malekmohammadi | IRI | Ippon/Sukui-nage (1:54) | Richard León | VEN |
| Match #3 | Jimmy Pedro | USA | Waza-ari/Non-Combativity (5:00) | Hennadiy Bilodid | UKR |
| Match #4 | João Neto | POR | Ippon/O-uchi-gari (4:50) | Hamed Malekmohammadi | IRI |
| Match #5 | Jimmy Pedro | USA | Ippon/Kesa-gatame (4:27) | João Neto | POR |
| Match 3/4 | Jimmy Pedro | USA | Ippon/Yoko-shiho-gatame (3:38) | Daniel Fernandes | FRA |
Final Round (16 August 2004)
| Match 1/2 | Lee Won-Hui | KOR | Ippon/Ko-uchi-maki-kmoi (4:51) | Vitaly Makarov | RUS |