Cycling at the 1968 Summer Olympics – Men's track time trial

The men's track time trial at the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City, Mexico, was held on 17 October 1968. There were 32 participants from 32 nations, with each nation limited to one cyclist.[1] The event was won by Pierre Trentin of France, the nation's first victory in the men's track time trial since 1948 and third overall (breaking a tie with Italy and Australia for most-ever in the event). In a sport where competitors rarely competed at more than one Games, Trentin was only the second man to win multiple medals in the track time trial. Niels Fredborg's silver medal was Denmark's first medal in the event since Willy Hansen's win in 1928; Fredborg would go on to be the only man to win three medals in the event. Poland earned its first ever medal in the time trial with Janusz Kierzkowski's bronze. Italy's four-Games medal streak in the event ended as Gianni Sartori took fourth.

Men's track time trial
at the Games of the XIX Olympiad
VenueOlympic Velodrome, Mexico City
Date17 October 1968
Competitors32 from 32 nations
Winning time1:03.91 WR
Medalists
1st place, gold medalist(s) Pierre Trentin
 France
2nd place, silver medalist(s) Niels Fredborg
 Denmark
3rd place, bronze medalist(s) Janusz Kierzkowski
 Poland
← 1964
1972 →

Background

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This was the 10th 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. The returning cyclists from the 1964 Games were bronze medalist Pierre Trentin of France, eighth-place finisher Roger Gibbon of Trinidad and Tobago, and thirteenth-place finisher José Mercado of Mexico. The two-time reigning world champion, and favorite in this race, was Niels Fredborg of Denmark. Gianni Sartori, the amateur world record holder, and Trentin were also significant contenders.[2]

Barbados, Lebanon, the Philippines, Puerto Rico, and South Korea each made their debut in the men's track time trial; East and West Germany competed separately for the first time. France and Great Britain each made their 10th appearance, having competed at every appearance of the event.

Competition format

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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.[2][3]

Records

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

World record   Gianni Sartori (ITA) 1:04.61 Mexico City, Mexico 21 October 1967
Olympic record   Sante Gaiardoni (ITA) 1:07.27 Rome, Italy 26 August 1960

The track was fast, and at altitude, and 17 of the 32 cyclists beat the old Olympic record. The first one to do so was Gianni Sartori (the world record holder), who set a time of 1:04.65. He was immediately followed by Niels Fredborg, who matched Sartori's world record of 1:04.61. That Olympic mark held until rider #24, Pierre Trentin, who broke the world record at 1:03.91.

Schedule

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All times are Central Standard Time (UTC-6)

Date Time Round
Thursday, 17 October 1968 14:00 Final

Results

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Rank Cyclist Nation 200 m 400 m 600 m 800 m Time Notes
  Pierre Trentin   France 16.00 27.80 39.80 52.00 1:03.91 WR
  Niels Fredborg   Denmark 16.80 28.50 40.20 52.70 1:04.61
  Janusz Kierzkowski   Poland 15.90 27.20 39.40 51.50 1:04.63
4 Gianni Sartori   Italy 16.60 28.20 40.10 52.40 1:04.65
5 Roger Gibbon   Trinidad and Tobago 15.70 27.20 39.20 52.00 1:04.66
6 Leijn Loevesijn   Netherlands 17.10 28.50 40.20 52.70 1:04.84
7 Jocelyn Lovell   Canada 16.00 27.50 39.90 52.50 1:05.18
8 Serhiy Kravtsov   Soviet Union 16.80 28.20 40.10 52.60 1:05.21
9 José Pittaro   Argentina 16.00 27.60 39.70 52.40 1:05.57
10 Heinz Richter   East Germany 16.30 28.10 39.90 52.70 1:05.61
11 Herbert Honz   West Germany 16.90 27.30 40.40 52.80 1:05.61
12 Jackie Simes   United States 16.40 28.10 39.80 52.20 1:05.67
13 Luis Barruffa   Uruguay 15.90 29.10 40.70 53.30 1:06.27
14 Hilton Clarke   Australia 16.80 28.60 40.60 53.60 1:06.45
15 Miloš Jelínek   Czechoslovakia 16.00 27.90 40.00 53.60 1:06.52
16 Brendan McKeown   Great Britain 17.60 29.30 41.40 54.00 1:06.56
17 Tibor Lendvai   Hungary 16.30 28.30 40.60 53.50 1:06.65
18 Dirk Baert   Belgium 16.80 28.70 40.80 54.00 1:07.34
19 Sanji Inoue   Japan 16.50 28.70 40.90 54.40 1:07.54
20 Edwin Torres   Puerto Rico 17.20 29.10 41.10 54.70 1:07.65
21 José Mercado   Mexico 16.80 28.80 41.50 54.80 1:07.97
22 Jupp Ripfel   Sweden 17.30 29.30 41.90 55.10 1:08.65
23 Raimo Suikkanen   Finland 17.50 29.80 42.90 56.10 1:08.92
24 Raúl Marcelo Vázquez   Cuba 17.90 30.20 42.70 54.20 1:08.96
25 Jorge Hernández   Colombia 16.80 29.00 41.80 55.00 1:09.24
26 Kim Gwang-seon   South Korea 16.50 28.90 41.90 55.20 1:09.40
27 Kensley Reece   Barbados 17.20 29.10 41.70 55.60 1:09.90
28 Rolando Guaves   Philippines 17.20 29.50 42.50 56.20 1:10.02
29 Pakanit Boriharnvanakhet   Thailand 17.30 29.70 42.80 56.60 1:10.66
30 Fan Yue-tao   Taiwan 16.70 28.80 42.10 56.70 1:11.13
31 Aubrey Bryce   Guyana 18.20 30.30 43.70 57.60 1:12.73
32 Tarek Abou Al Dahab   Lebanon 19.70 33.40 47.60 1:02.40 1:16.18

References

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  1. ^ "Cycling at the 1968 Mexico City Summer Games: Men's 1000m Time Trial". sports-reference.com. Archived from the original on 17 April 2020. Retrieved 6 September 2014.
  2. ^ a b "1,000 metres Time Trial, Men". Olympedia. Retrieved 11 November 2020.
  3. ^ Official Report, vol. 3, p. 623.