These are the results of the men's horizontal bar competition, which is one of eight events for male competitors of the artistic gymnastics discipline contested in the gymnastics at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens. The qualification and final rounds took place on August 14 and August 23 at the Olympic Indoor Hall.
Contents
Qualification
Seventy-nine gymnasts competed in the horizontal bar event in the artistic gymnastics qualification round on August 14. The ten highest scoring gymnasts advanced to the final on August 23.
Controversy
In the men's high bar event final, scores awarded did not seem to match the routines performed. The situation came to a head when spectators in the arena reacted very strongly to a low score given to Russian Alexei Nemov, booing for 15 minutes and prompting the score to be reviewed. The boos subsided only when Nemov returned to the podium and personally appealed for calm so the rest of the competitors could complete their routines. The two judges who had given Nemov the lowest scores subsequently increased their scores without explanation before being ushered out by FIG officials.