Cycling at the 1996 Summer Olympics – Men's sprint

The men's sprint at the 1996 Summer Olympics (Cycling) was an event that consisted of cyclists making three laps around the track. Only the time for the last 200 metres of the 750 metres covered was counted as official time. The races were held on July 24 through July 28, 1996 at the Stone Mountain Velodrome.[1] There were 24 competitors from 16 nations, with nations once again being allowed to have up to two cyclists each (the limit had fluctuated between one and two for most of the history of the event). The event was won by Jens Fiedler of Germany, the second man to successfully defend an Olympic sprint title (and third to win two gold medals overall). Curt Harnett of Canada also repeated as bronze medalist; he and Fiedler were the fifth and sixth men to win multiple medals of any color in the event. Marty Nothstein of the United States took silver, the nation's first medal in the event since 1984.

Men's sprint
at the Games of the XXVI Olympiad
Jens Fiedler (2010)
VenueStone Mountain Park Velodrome
Dates24–28 July
Competitors24 from 16 nations
Medalists
1st place, gold medalist(s) Jens Fiedler
 Germany
2nd place, silver medalist(s) Marty Nothstein
 United States
3rd place, bronze medalist(s) Curt Harnett
 Canada
← 1992
2000 →

Background

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This was the 21st appearance of the event, which has been held at every Summer Olympics except 1904 and 1912. Five of the quarterfinalists from 1992 returned: gold medalist Jens Fiedler of Germany, silver medalist Gary Neiwand of Australia, bronze medalist Curt Harnett of Canada, fourth-place finisher Roberto Chiappa of Italy, and eighth-place finisher José Manuel Moreno of Spain. There was no clear favorite. Neither Fiedler nor Harnett had had much success between Games. Neiwand had won the World Championship in 1993; two other recent world champions—American Marty Nothstein (1994) and Australian Darryn Hill (1995) were also competing in Atlanta.[2]

The Czech Republic and Slovakia each made their debut in the men's sprint (after the breakup of Czechoslovakia, which had competed 10 times in the sprint). France made its 21st appearance, the only nation to have competed at every appearance of the event.

Competition format

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This sprint competition involved a series of head-to-head matches along with the new qualifying round of time trials. There were six main match rounds, with three one-round repechages.[2][3]

  • Qualifying round: Each of the 24 competitors completed a 200-metre flying time trial (reaching full speed before timing started for the last 200 metres). The top 24 advanced to the match rounds, seeded based on their time in the qualifying round. With only 24 riders starting, nobody was eliminated.
  • Round 1: The 24 cyclists were seeded into 12 heats of 2 cyclists each. The winner of each heat advanced to round 2 (12 cyclists) while the other cyclists went to the first repechage (12 cyclists).
  • First repechage: The 12 cyclists were divided into 6 heats, each with 2 cyclists. The winner of each heat advanced to round 2 (6 cyclists) while the losers were eliminated (6 cyclists).
  • Round 2: The 18 cyclists were divided into 9 heats, each with 2 cyclists. The winners of each heat advanced to the 1/8 finals (9 cyclists). The loser in each heat went to the second repechage (9 cyclists).
  • Second repechage: The 9 cyclists were divided into 3 heats of 3 cyclists each. The winner of each heat advanced to the 1/8 finals (3 cyclists), while the remaining cyclists were eliminated (6 cyclists).
  • 1/8 finals: The 12 remaining cyclists competed in a 1/8 finals round. There were 6 heats in this round, with 2 cyclists in each. The winner in each heat advanced to the quarterfinals (6 cyclists), while the loser in each heat went to the third repechage (6 cyclists).
  • Third repechage: This round featured 2 heats, with 3 cyclists each. The winner of each heat advanced to the quarterfinals (2 cyclists); the losers were eliminated (4 cyclists).
  • Quarterfinals: Beginning with the quarterfinals, all matches were one-on-one competitions and were held in best-of-three format. There were 4 quarterfinals, with the winner of each advancing to the semifinals and the loser going to the fifth-eighth classification race.
  • Semifinals: The two semifinals provided for advancement to the gold medal final for winners and to the bronze medal final for losers.
  • Finals: Both a gold medal final and a bronze medal final were held, as well as a classification final for fifth through eighth places for quarterfinal losers.

Records

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The records for the sprint are 200 metre flying time trial records, kept for the qualifying round in later Games as well as for the finish of races.

World record   Curt Harnett (CAN) 9.865 Bogotá, Colombia 28 September 1995
Olympic record   Jens Fiedler (GER) 10.252 Barcelona, Spain 28 July 1992

Five men broke the old Olympic record in the qualifying round, though only three held a new record even temporarily. Eyk Pokorny broke it first, with a 10.233 seconds run. Marty Nothstein was next, at 10.176 seconds. Gary Neiwand finished with the record at 10.129 seconds. Curt Harnett and Jens Fiedler also came in under the old record, but not below the record as it stood during their turn for the time trial.

Schedule

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All times are Eastern Daylight Time (UTC−4)

Date Time Round
Wednesday, 24 July 1996 10:00
17:35
18:45
Qualifying round
Round 1
First repechage
Thursday, 25 July 1996 10:55 Round 2
Second repechage
Friday, 26 July 1996 11:40
12:30
1/8 finals
Third repechage
Saturday, 27 July 1996 11:15
13:35
13:45
Quarterfinals
Semifinals
Classification 5–8
Sunday, 28 July 1996 12:15 Bronze medal match
Final

Results

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Qualifying round

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Times and average speeds are listed. All 24 riders advanced to the first round.

Rank Cyclist Nation Time
200 m
Speed
km/h
Notes
1 Gary Neiwand   Australia 10.129 71.08 Q, OR
2 Curt Harnett   Canada 10.175 70.76 Q
3 Marty Nothstein   United States 10.176 70.75 Q
4 Jens Fiedler   Germany 10.232 70.36 Q
5 Eyk Pokorny   Germany 10.233 70.36 Q
6 Darryn Hill   Australia 10.329 69.70 Q
7 Pavel Buráň   Czech Republic 10.389 69.30 Q
8 Florian Rousseau   France 10.397 69.25 Q
9 Viesturs Bērziņš   Latvia 10.463 68.81 Q
10 Roberto Chiappa   Italy 10.473 68.74 Q
11 Jose Moreno   Spain 10.492 68.62 Q
12 William Clay   United States 10.543 68.29 Q
13 George Himonetos   Greece 10.559 68.18 Q
14 Frédéric Magné   France 10.602 67.91 Q
15 José Antonio Escuredo   Spain 10.630 67.73 Q
16 Martin Hrbacek   Slovakia 10.693 67.33 Q
17 Jean-Pierre van Zyl   South Africa 10.695 67.32 Q
18 Lambros Vasilopoulos   Greece 10.726 67.12 Q
19 Yuichiro Kamiyama   Japan 10.772 66.83 Q
20 Peter Bazálik   Slovakia 10.837 66.43 Q
21 Gianluca Capitano   Italy 10.895 66.08 Q
22 Hyeon Byeong-cheol   South Korea 11.001 65.44 Q
23 Darren McKenzie Potter   New Zealand 11.211 64.22 Q
24 Claus Martínez   Bolivia 12.341 58.34 Q

Round 1

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The first round consisted of twelve heats of two riders each. Winners advanced to the next round, losers competed in the repechage.

Round 1 heat 1

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Rank Cyclist Nation Time
200 m
Notes
1 Gary Neiwand   Australia 11.191 Q
2 Claus Martinez Arroyo   Bolivia R

Round 1 heat 2

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Rank Cyclist Nation Time
200 m
Notes
1 Curt Harnett   Canada 11.380 Q
2 Darren McKenzie Potter   New Zealand R

Round 1 heat 3

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Rank Cyclist Nation Time
200 m
Notes
1 Marty Nothstein   United States 11.415 Q
2 Byung Hyun   South Korea R

Round 1 heat 4

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Rank Cyclist Nation Time
200 m
Notes
1 Jens Fiedler   Germany 11.722 Q
2 Gianluca Capitano   Italy R

Round 1 heat 5

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Rank Cyclist Nation Time
200 m
Notes
1 Eyk Pokorny   Germany 10.995 Q
2 Peter Bazálik   Slovakia R

Round 1 heat 6

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Rank Cyclist Nation Time
200 m
Notes
1 Darryn Hill   Australia 11.192 Q
2 Yuichiro Kamiyama   Japan R

Round 1 heat 7

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Rank Cyclist Nation Time
200 m
Notes
1 Pavel Buráň   Czech Republic 11.700 Q
2 Labros Vassilopoulus   Greece R

Round 1 heat 8

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Rank Cyclist Nation Time
200 m
Notes
1 Florian Rousseau   France 11.296 Q
2 Jean-Pierre van Zyl   South Africa R

Round 1 heat 9

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Rank Cyclist Nation Time
200 m
Notes
1 Viesturs Bērziņš   Latvia 11.008 Q
2 Martin Hrbacek   Slovakia R

Round 1 heat 10

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Rank Cyclist Nation Time
200 m
Notes
1 Roberto Chiappa   Italy 10.896 Q
2 José Antonio Escuredo   Spain R

Round 1 heat 11

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Rank Cyclist Nation Time
200 m
Notes
1 Frédéric Magné   France 10.740 Q
2 Jose Moreno   Spain R

Round 1 heat 12

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Rank Cyclist Nation Time
200 m
Notes
1 George Himonetos   Greece 11.182 Q
2 William Clay   United States R

First repechage

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The twelve defeated cyclists from the first round took part in the first round repechage. The winner of each heat rejoined the twelve victors of the first round in advancing to the second round.

First repechage heat 1

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Rank Cyclist Nation Time
200 m
Notes
1 William Clay   United States 11.191 Q
2 Claus Martinez Arroyo   Bolivia

First repechage heat 2

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Rank Cyclist Nation Time
200 m
Notes
1 Jose Moreno   Spain 11.017 Q
2 Darren McKenzie Potter   New Zealand

First repechage heat 3

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Rank Cyclist Nation Time
200 m
Notes
1 José Antonio Escuredo   Spain 11.257 Q
2 Byung Hyun   South Korea

First repechage heat 4

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Rank Cyclist Nation Time
200 m
Notes
1 Martin Hrbacek   Slovakia 11.076 Q
2 Gianluca Capitano   Italy

First repechage heat 5

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Rank Cyclist Nation Time
200 m
Notes
1 Peter Bazálik   Slovakia 11.222 Q
2 Jean-Pierre van Zyl   South Africa

First repechage heat 6

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Rank Cyclist Nation Time
200 m
Notes
1 Labros Vassilopoulus   Greece 11.060 Q
2 Yuichiro Kamiyama   Japan

Round 2

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The second round consisted of nine heats of two riders each. Winners advanced to the 1/8 finals, losers competed in the repechage.

Round 2 heat 1

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Rank Cyclist Nation Time
200 m
Notes
1 Gary Neiwand   Australia 11.249 Q
2 Labros Vassilopoulus   Greece R

Round 2 heat 2

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Rank Cyclist Nation Time
200 m
Notes
1 Curt Harnett   Canada 11.058 Q
2 Peter Bazálik   Slovakia R

Round 2 heat 3

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Rank Cyclist Nation Time
200 m
Notes
1 Marty Nothstein   United States 10.899 Q
2 Martin Hrbacek   Slovakia R

Round 2 heat 4

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Rank Cyclist Nation Time
200 m
Notes
1 Jens Fiedler   Germany 10.597 Q
2 José Antonio Escuredo   Spain R

Round 2 heat 5

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Rank Cyclist Nation Time
200 m
Notes
1 Eyk Pokorny   Germany 10.966 Q
2 Jose Moreno   Spain R

Round 2 heat 6

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Rank Cyclist Nation Time
200 m
Notes
1 Darryn Hill   Australia 10.811 Q
2 William Clay   United States R

Round 2 heat 7

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Rank Cyclist Nation Time
200 m
Notes
1 Pavel Buráň   Czech Republic 11.272 Q
2 George Himonetos   Greece R

Round 2 heat 8

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Rank Cyclist Nation Time
200 m
Notes
1 Florian Rousseau   France 10.745 Q
2 Frédéric Magné   France R

Round 2 heat 9

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Rank Cyclist Nation Time
200 m
Notes
1 Viesturs Bērziņš   Latvia 11.044 Q
2 Roberto Chiappa   Italy R

Second repechage

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The nine defeated cyclists from the second round took part in the second round repechage. The winner of each heat rejoined the nine victors of the second round in advancing to the 1/8 finals.

Second repechage heat 1

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Rank Cyclist Nation Time
200 m
Notes
1 Roberto Chiappa   Italy 11.378 Q
2 Labros Vassilopoulus   Greece
3 William Clay   United States REL

Second repechage heat 2

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Rank Cyclist Nation Time
200 m
Notes
1 Jose Moreno   Spain 11.089 Q
2 George Himonetos   Greece
3 Peter Bazálik   Slovakia

Second repechage heat 3

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Rank Cyclist Nation Time
200 m
Notes
1 Frédéric Magné   France 11.035 Q
2 Gianluca Capitano   Italy
3 José Antonio Escuredo   Spain

1/8 finals

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The 1/8 round consisted of six matches, each pitting two of the twelve remaining cyclists against each other. The winners advanced to the quarterfinals, with the losers getting another chance in the 1/8 repechage.

1/8 final 1

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Rank Cyclist Nation Time
200 m
Notes
1 Gary Neiwand   Australia 11.625 Q
2 Frédéric Magné   France R

1/8 final 2

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Rank Cyclist Nation Time
200 m
Notes
1 Curt Harnett   Canada 10.793 Q
2 Jose Moreno   Spain R

1/8 final 3

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Rank Cyclist Nation Time
200 m
Notes
1 Marty Nothstein   United States 11.047 Q
2 Roberto Chiappa   Italy R

1/8 final 4

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Rank Cyclist Nation Time
200 m
Notes
1 Jens Fiedler   Germany 10.808 Q
2 Viesturs Bērziņš   Latvia R

1/8 final 5

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Rank Cyclist Nation Time
200 m
Notes
1 Florian Rousseau   France 10.828 Q
2 Eyk Pokorny   Germany R

1/8 final 6

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Rank Cyclist Nation Time
200 m
Notes
1 Darryn Hill   Australia 11.008 Q
2 Pavel Buráň   Czech Republic R

Third repechage

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The six cyclists defeated in the 1/8 round competed in the 1/8 repechage. Two heats of three riders were held. Winners rejoined the victors from the 1/8 round and advanced to the quarterfinals.

Third repechage heat 1

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Rank Cyclist Nation Time
200 m
Notes
1 Frédéric Magné   France 10.975 Q
2 Pavel Buráň   Czech Republic
3 Viesturs Bērziņš   Latvia

Third repechage heat 2

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Rank Cyclist Nation Time
200 m
Notes
1 Eyk Pokorny   Germany 10.982 Q
2 Roberto Chiappa   Italy
3 Jose Moreno   Spain

Quarterfinals

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The eight riders that had advanced to the quarterfinals competed pairwise in four matches. Each match consisted of two races, with a potential third race being used as a tie-breaker if each cyclist won one of the first two races. The winners advanced to the semifinals, with the losers racing in a 5-8 placement race.

Quarterfinal 1

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Rank Cyclist Nation Race 1 Race 2 Race 3 Notes
1 Gary Neiwand   Australia 10.794 11.091 Q
2 Eyk Pokorny   Germany C

Quarterfinal 2

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Rank Cyclist Nation Race 1 Race 2 Race 3 Notes
1 Curt Harnett   Canada 11.127 REL 10.712 Q
2 Frédéric Magné   France 11.022 C

Quarterfinal 3

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Rank Cyclist Nation Race 1 Race 2 Race 3 Notes
1 Marty Nothstein   United States 10.950 10.650 Q
2 Darryn Hill   Australia C

Quarterfinal 4

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Rank Cyclist Nation Race 1 Race 2 Race 3 Notes
1 Jens Fiedler   Germany 10.752 10.957 Q
2 Florian Rousseau   France C

Semifinals

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The four riders that had advanced to the semifinals competed pairwise in two matches. Each match consisted of two races, with a potential third race being used as a tie-breaker if each cyclist won one of the first two races. Winners advanced to the finals, losers competed in the bronze medal match.

Semifinal 1

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Rank Cyclist Nation Race 1 Race 2 Race 3 Notes
1 Jens Fiedler   Germany 10.618 10.974 Q
2 Gary Neiwand   Australia B

Semifinal 2

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Rank Cyclist Nation Race 1 Race 2 Race 3 Notes
1 Marty Nothstein   United States 10.731 10.905 Q
2 Curt Harnett   Canada B

Finals

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Classification 5-8

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Held 19 September. The 5-8 classification was a single race with all four riders that had lost in the quarterfinals. The winner of the race received 5th place, with the others taking the three following places in order.

Rank Cyclist Nation Time
200 m
5 Darryn Hill   Australia 11.072
6 Frédéric Magné   France
7 Eyk Pokorny   Germany
8 Florian Rousseau   France

Bronze medal match

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The bronze medal match was contested in a set of three races, with the winner of two races declared the winner.

Rank Cyclist Nation Race 1 Race 2 Race 3
  Curt Harnett   Canada 10.947 10.949
4 Gary Neiwand   Australia

Gold medal match

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The gold medal match was contested in a set of three races, with the winner of two races declared the winner.

Rank Cyclist Nation Race 1 Race 2 Race 3
  Jens Fiedler   Germany 10.664 11.074
  Marty Nothstein   United States

Final classification

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Rank Cyclist Nation
1 Jens Fiedler   Germany
2 Marty Nothstein   United States
3 Curt Harnett   Canada
4 Gary Neiwand   Australia
5 Darryn Hill   Australia
6 Frédéric Magné   France
7 Eyk Pokorny   Germany
8 Florian Rousseau   France
9 Pavel Buráň   Czech Republic
10 Viesturs Bērziņš   Latvia
11 Roberto Chiappa   Italy
12 Jose Moreno   Spain
13 William Clay   United States
14 George Himonetos   Greece
15 José Antonio Escuredo   Spain
16 Labros Vassilopoulus   Greece
17 Peter Bazálik   Slovakia
18 Gianluca Capitano   Italy
19 Jean-Pierre van Zyl   South Africa
20 Yuichiro Kamiyama   Japan
21 Gianluca Capitano   Italy
22 Byung Hyun   South Korea
23 Darren McKenzie Potter   New Zealand
24 Claus Martinez Arroyo   Bolivia

References

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  1. ^ "Cycling at the 1996 Atlanta Summer Games: Men's Sprint". Sports Reference. Archived from the original on 17 April 2020. Retrieved 5 March 2020.
  2. ^ a b "Sprint, Men". Olympedia. Retrieved 17 November 2020.
  3. ^ Official Report, vol. 3, p. 180.
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