Cycling at the 1948 Summer Olympics – Men's track time trial

The men's track time trial cycling event at the 1948 Summer Olympics took place on 11 August and was one of six events at the 1948 Olympics.[1] Twenty-one cyclists from 21 nations competed, with each nation limited to one competitor.[2][3] The event was won by Jacques Dupont of France, the nation's first victory in the event since 1896 and third consecutive podium appearance. Pierre Nihant earned Belgium's first medal in the men's track time trial with his silver; Tommy Godwin similarly took Great Britain's first medal in the event with his bronze.

Cycling - Men's track time trial
at the Games of the XIV Olympiad
Jacques Dupont
VenueHerne Hill Velodrome, London
Date11 August 1948
Competitors21 from 21 nations
Winning time1:13.5
Medalists
1st place, gold medalist(s) Jacques Dupont
 France
2nd place, silver medalist(s) Pierre Nihant
 Belgium
3rd place, bronze medalist(s) Tommy Godwin
 Great Britain
← 1936
1952 →

Background edit

This was the fifth appearance of the event, which had previously been held in 1896 and every Games since 1928. It would be held every Games until being dropped from the programme after 2004. None of the cyclists from 1936 returned. Jacques Dupont of France was the French champion and had set an unofficial world record of 1:08.6.[2]

Cuba, Guyana, India, Pakistan, Trinidad and Tobago, Uruguay, and Venezuela each made their debut in the men's track time trial. France and Great Britain each made their fifth appearance, having competed at every appearance of the event.

Competition format edit

The event was a time trial on the track, with each cyclist competing separately to attempt to achieve the fastest time. Each cyclist raced one kilometre from a standing start. The track's asphalt surface led to slow times.[2][3]

Records edit

The following were the world and Olympic records prior to the competition.

World record   Fabio Battesini (ITA) 1:10.0 Milan, Italy 1938
Olympic record   Arie van Vliet (NED) 1:12.0 Berlin, Germany 1 August 1936

No new world or Olympic records were set during the competition.

Schedule edit

All times are British Summer Time (UTC+1)

Date Time Round
Wednesday, 11 August 1948 17:00 Final

Results edit

Rank Cyclist Nation Time
  Jacques Dupont   France 1:13.5
  Pierre Nihant   Belgium 1:14.5
  Tommy Godwin   Great Britain 1:15.0
4 Hans Flückiger   Switzerland 1:15.3
5 Axel Schandorff   Denmark 1:15.5
6 Sid Patterson   Australia 1:15.7
7 Jack Heid   United States 1:16.2
8 Walter Freitag   Austria 1:16.8
9 Gino Guerra   Italy 1:17.1
10 Onni Kasslin   Finland 1:17.4
11 Carlos Tramutolo   Uruguay 1:17.5
12 Theo Blankenaauw   Netherlands 1:17.7
13 Jorge Sobrevila   Argentina 1:17.9
14 Julio César León   Venezuela 1:18.1
15 Lorne Atkinson   Canada 1:20.2
16 Compton Gonsalves   Trinidad and Tobago 1:21.5
Reinaldo Paseiro   Cuba 1:21.5
18 Adolfo Romero   Mexico 1:22.7
19 Rohinton Noble   India 1:22.9
20 Wazir Ali   Pakistan 1:24.8
21 Laddie Lewis   Guyana 1:25.0

References edit

  1. ^ "Cycling at the 1948 London Summer Games: Men's 1,000 metres Time Trial". sports-reference.com. Archived from the original on 18 April 2020. Retrieved 16 July 2014.
  2. ^ a b c "1,000 metres Time Trial, Men". Olympedia. Retrieved 10 November 2020.
  3. ^ a b Official Report, p. 325.