Cycling at the 1984 Summer Olympics – Men's sprint

The men's sprint cycling event at the 1984 Summer Olympics took place from 31 July to 3 August and was one of eight cycling events at the 1984 Olympics.[1] Once again, the limit on cyclists per nation was raised to 2 (it had been 1 from 1928 to 1956, 2 from 1960 to 1972, and 1 again in 1976 and 1980). The event was won by Mark Gorski of the United States, the nation's first victory in the men's sprint and first medal in the event since John Henry Lake took bronze in 1900. The final was all-American, as Nelson Vails took silver, becoming the first Olympic cycling medalist of African descent.[2] Japan earned its first medal in the men's sprint with Tsutomu Sakamoto's bronze. France's five-Games podium streak in the event ended.

Men's sprint
at the Games of the XXIII Olympiad
German stamp commemorating 1984 Olympic cycling
VenueOlympic Velodrome, Los Angeles
Dates31 July-3 August
Competitors34 from 24 nations
Medalists
1st place, gold medalist(s) Mark Gorski
 United States
2nd place, silver medalist(s) Nelson Vails
 United States
3rd place, bronze medalist(s) Tsutomu Sakamoto
 Japan
← 1980
1988 →

Background

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This was the 18th appearance of the event, which has been held at every Summer Olympics except 1904 and 1912. The two returning quarterfinalists from 1980 were sixth-place finisher Heinz Isler of Switzerland and seventh-place finisher Kenrick Tucker of Australia. The Soviet-led boycott was particularly disruptive in this event, with the East German team dominant at the time. In particular, Lutz Heßlich was the best sprinter in the world for most of the 1980s and would have had a strong opportunity for three straight gold medals if not for the boycott; he had won the 1979 and 1983 World Championships and the 1980 Olympic gold, and would go on to win the 1985 and 1987 World Championships and the 1988 Olympic gold. The 1981 and 1982 World Champion and 1980 Olympic bronze medalist, Soviet Sergei Kopylov, was also kept out due to the boycott. Of the nations that were competing in Los Angeles, the host Americans were favored. Mark Gorski had beaten Kopylov multiple times in 1983. Nelson Vails was also a top contender.[3]

The Cayman Islands and Chinese Taipei each made their debut in the men's sprint. France made its 18th 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. With a larger field due to allowing two cyclists per nation instead of just one, the competition ballooned to 11 rounds: six main rounds and three repechages, two of which were two-round repechages.[3][4]

  • Round 1: The 34 entrants were divided into 12 heats, most with 3 cyclists but a few with 2 (including one heat that was reduced to 2 by a withdrawal). The winner of each heat advanced directly to round 2 (12 cyclists), while all other cyclists who competed were sent to the first repechage semifinals (21 cyclists).
  • First repechage semifinals: The 21 cyclists were divided into 8 heats, each with 2 or 3 cyclists. The winner of each heat advanced to round 2 (8 cyclists), while the remaining cyclists went to the first repechage finals (13 cyclists).
  • First repechage finals: The 13 cyclists were divided into 4 heats, with 3 or 4 cyclists each. The winner of each heat advanced to round 2 (4 cyclists), with all others eliminated (9 cyclists).
  • Round 2: The 24 cyclists were divided into 12 heats of 2 cyclists each. The winner of each heat advanced to the 1/8 finals (12 cyclists) while losers went to the second repechage (12 cyclists).
  • Second repechage: The 12 cyclists competed in 6 heats of 2 cyclists. Winners advanced to the 1/8 finals, losers were eliminated.
  • 1/8 finals: The 18 remaining cyclists competed in a 1/8 finals round. There were 6 heats in this round, with 3 cyclists in each. The top cyclist in each heat advanced to the quarterfinals (6 cyclists), while the remaining two in each heat went to the third repechage semifinals (12 cyclists).
  • Third repechage semifinals: This round featured 4 heats, with 3 cyclists each. The winner of each heat advanced to the third repechage finals (4 cyclists); the others were eliminated (8 cyclists).
  • Third repechage finals: The 4 cyclists advancing to this round were divided into 2 heats of 2 cyclists each. The winners advanced to the quarterfinals while the losers were eliminated.
  • 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   Omar Pkhakadze (URS) 10.61 Mexico City, Mexico 22 October 1967
Olympic record   Sergei Kopylov (URS) 10.47 Moscow, Soviet Union 26 July 1980

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

Schedule

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All times are Pacific Daylight Time (UTC-7)

Date Time Round
Tuesday, 31 July 1984 10:00
12:00
12:15
12:30
12:45
Round 1
First repechage semifinals
First repechage finals
Round 2
Second repechage
Wednesday, 1 August 1984 10:30
11:00
11:30
12:00
1/8 finals
Third repechage semifinals
Third repechage finals
Quarterfinals
Thursday, 2 August 1984 10:00 Semifinals
Friday, 3 August 1984 14:00 Finals

Results

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Round 1

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Round 1 heat 1

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Rank Cyclist Nation Time
200 m
Notes
1 Mark Gorski   United States 10.87 Q
2 Leon Richardson   Antigua and Barbuda R

Round 1 heat 2

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Rank Cyclist Nation Time
200 m
Notes
1 Marcelo Alexandre   Argentina 11.87 Q
2 Tsutomu Sakamoto   Japan R

Round 1 heat 3

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Rank Cyclist Nation Time
200 m
Notes
1 Katsuo Nakatake   Japan 11.92 Q
2 Charles Pile   Barbados R
3 Paulo Jamur   Brazil R

Round 1 heat 4

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Rank Cyclist Nation Time
200 m
Notes
1 Gabriele Sella   Italy 11.54 Q
2 Brian Lyn   Antigua and Barbuda R
3 Murray Steele   New Zealand R

Round 1 heat 5

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Rank Cyclist Nation Time
200 m
Notes
1 Philippe Vernet   France 11.31 Q
2 Claudio Iannone   Argentina R
3 Deogracias Asuncion   Philippines R

Round 1 heat 6

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Rank Cyclist Nation Time
200 m
Notes
1 Gerhard Scheller   West Germany 11.29 Q
2 Ian Stanley   Jamaica R
3 Ernest Moodie   Cayman Islands R

Round 1 heat 7

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Rank Cyclist Nation Time
200 m
Notes
1 Mark Barry   Great Britain 11.84 Q
2 James Joseph   Guyana R
3 Gene Samuel   Trinidad and Tobago R

Round 1 heat 8

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Rank Cyclist Nation Time
200 m
Notes
1 Nelson Vails   United States 11.07 Q
2 José Antonio Urquijo   Chile R
3 Kenrick Tucker   Australia R

Round 1 heat 9

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Rank Cyclist Nation Time
200 m
Notes
1 Franck Dépine   France 11.49 Q
2 Hugo Daya   Colombia R
3 Max Rainsford   Australia R

Round 1 heat 10

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Rank Cyclist Nation Time
200 m
Notes
1 Vincenzo Ceci   Italy 12.01 Q
2 Heinz Isler   Switzerland R
3 Rodolfo Guaves   Philippines R

Round 1 heat 11

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Rank Cyclist Nation Time
200 m
Notes
1 Alex Ongaro   Canada 11.43 Q
2 Lee Fu-hsiang   Chinese Taipei R
Rolf Morgan Hansen   Norway DNS

Round 1 heat 12

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Rank Cyclist Nation Time
200 m
Notes
1 Fredy Schmidtke   West Germany 11.80 Q
2 Frank Orban   Belgium R
3 Rosman Alwi   Malaysia R

First repêchage semifinals

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First repechage semifinal 1

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Rank Cyclist Nation Time
200 m
Notes
1 Tsutomu Sakamoto   Japan 11.35 Q
2 Brian Lyn   Antigua and Barbuda R

First repechage semifinal 2

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Rank Cyclist Nation Time
200 m
Notes
1 Murray Steele   New Zealand 12.09 Q
2 Deogracias Asuncion   Philippines R

First repechage semifinal 3

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Rank Cyclist Nation Time
200 m
Notes
1 Claudio Iannone   Argentina 11.51 Q
2 Leon Richardson   Antigua and Barbuda R

First repechage semifinal 4

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Rank Cyclist Nation Time
200 m
Notes
1 José Antonio Urquijo   Chile 11.64 Q
2 Ian Stanley   Jamaica R
3 Charles Pile   Barbados R

First repechage semifinal 5

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Rank Cyclist Nation Time
200 m
Notes
1 Gene Samuel   Trinidad and Tobago 11.89 Q
2 Paulo Jamur   Brazil R
3 Ernest Moodie   Cayman Islands R

First repechage semifinal 6

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Rank Cyclist Nation Time
200 m
Notes
1 Kenrick Tucker   Australia 11.23 Q
2 Hugo Daya   Colombia R
3 James Joseph   Guyana R

First repechage semifinal 7

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Rank Cyclist Nation Time
200 m
Notes
1 Frank Orban   Belgium 11.53 Q
2 Lee Fu-hsiang   Chinese Taipei R
3 Heinz Isler   Switzerland R

First repechage semifinal 8

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Rank Cyclist Nation Time
200 m
Notes
1 Rosman Alwi   Malaysia 11.58 Q
2 Max Rainsford   Australia R
3 Rodolfo Guaves   Philippines R

First repêchage finals

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First repechage final 1

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Rank Cyclist Nation Time
200 m
Notes
1 Paulo Jamur   Brazil 11.92 Q
2 Brian Lyn   Antigua and Barbuda
3 James Joseph   Guyana

First repechage final 2

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Rank Cyclist Nation Time
200 m
Notes
1 Charles Pile   Barbados 11.51 Q
2 Deogracias Asuncion   Philippines
3 Ernest Moodie   Cayman Islands

First repechage final 3

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Rank Cyclist Nation Time
200 m
Notes
1 Max Rainsford   Australia 11.79 Q
2 Leon Richardson   Antigua and Barbuda
3 Heinz Isler   Switzerland

First repechage final 4

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Rank Cyclist Nation Time
200 m
Notes
1 Lee Fu-hsiang   Chinese Taipei 11.90 Q
2 Hugo Daya   Colombia
3 Rodolfo Guaves   Philippines
4 Ian Stanley   Jamaica

Round 2

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Round 2 heat 1

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Rank Cyclist Nation Time
200 m
Notes
1 Mark Gorski   United States 10.79 Q
2 Paulo Jamur   Brazil R

Round 2 heat 2

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Rank Cyclist Nation Time
200 m
Notes
1 Marcelo Alexandre   Argentina 12.68 Q
2 Max Rainsford   Australia R

Round 2 heat 3

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Rank Cyclist Nation Time
200 m
Notes
1 Katsuo Nakatake   Japan 12.05 Q
2 Lee Fu-hsiang   Chinese Taipei R

Round 2 heat 4

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Rank Cyclist Nation Time
200 m
Notes
1 Gabriele Sella   Italy 11.16 Q
2 Charles Pile   Barbados R

Round 2 heat 5

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Rank Cyclist Nation Time
200 m
Notes
1 Philippe Vernet   France 10.94 Q
2 Rosman Alwi   Malaysia R

Round 2 heat 6

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Rank Cyclist Nation Time
200 m
Notes
1 Fredy Schmidtke   West Germany 11.36 Q
2 Kenrick Tucker   Australia R

Round 2 heat 7

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Rank Cyclist Nation Time
200 m
Notes
1 Frank Orban   Belgium 11.33 Q
2 Mark Barry   Great Britain R

Round 2 heat 8

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Rank Cyclist Nation Time
200 m
Notes
1 Nelson Vails   United States 10.80 Q
2 Gene Samuel   Trinidad and Tobago R

Round 2 heat 9

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Rank Cyclist Nation Time
200 m
Notes
1 Claudio Iannone   Argentina 11.79 Q
2 Franck Dépine   France R

Round 2 heat 10

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Rank Cyclist Nation Time
200 m
Notes
1 Vincenzo Ceci   Italy 11.52 Q
2 José Antonio Urquijo   Chile R

Round 2 heat 11

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Rank Cyclist Nation Time
200 m
Notes
1 Tsutomu Sakamoto   Japan 11.07 Q
2 Alex Ongaro   Canada R

Round 2 heat 12

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Rank Cyclist Nation Time
200 m
Notes
1 Gerhard Scheller   West Germany 11.11 Q
2 Murray Steele   New Zealand R

Second repêchage

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Second repechage heat 1

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Rank Cyclist Nation Time
200 m
Notes
1 Alex Ongaro   Canada 11.23 Q
2 Max Rainsford   Australia

Second repechage heat 2

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Rank Cyclist Nation Time
200 m
Notes
1 Murray Steele   New Zealand 11.92 Q
2 Paulo Jamur   Brazil

Second repechage heat 3

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Rank Cyclist Nation Time
200 m
Notes
1 Lee Fu-hsiang   Chinese Taipei 11.58 Q
2 José Antonio Urquijo   Chile

Second repechage heat 4

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Rank Cyclist Nation Time
200 m
Notes
1 Franck Dépine   France 11.62 Q
2 Charles Pile   Barbados

Second repechage heat 5

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Rank Cyclist Nation Time
200 m
Notes
1 Mark Barry   Great Britain 11.64 Q
2 Rosman Alwi   Malaysia

Second repechage heat 6

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Rank Cyclist Nation Time
200 m
Notes
1 Kenrick Tucker   West Germany 11.46 Q
2 Gene Samuel   New Zealand

1/8 finals

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1/8 final 1

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Rank Cyclist Nation Time
200 m
Notes
1 Mark Gorski   United States 10.89 Q
2 Claudio Iannone   Argentina R
3 Alex Ongaro   Canada R

1/8 final 2

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The second resulted in an appeal that determined all three riders were at fault. Ceci was relegated to the repechage, while Alexandre and Lee re-ran the heat.

Original
Rank Cyclist Nation Time
200 m
Notes
Marcelo Alexandre   Argentina Re-run
Lee Fu-hsiang   Chinese Taipei Re-run
Vincenzo Ceci   Italy R
Re-run
Rank Cyclist Nation Time
200 m
Notes
1 Marcelo Alexandre   Argentina 12.30 Q
2 Lee Fu-hsiang   Chinese Taipei R

1/8 final 3

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Rank Cyclist Nation Time
200 m
Notes
1 Kenrick Tucker   Australia 11.58 Q
2 Gerhard Scheller   West Germany R
3 Katsuo Nakatake   Japan R

1/8 final 4

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Rank Cyclist Nation Time
200 m
Notes
1 Tsutomu Sakamoto   Japan 11.31 Q
2 Gabriele Sella   Italy R
3 Franck Dépine   France R

1/8 final 5

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Rank Cyclist Nation Time
200 m
Notes
1 Philippe Vernet   France 11.33 Q
2 Murray Steele   New Zealand R
3 Frank Orban   Belgium R

1/8 final 6

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Rank Cyclist Nation Time
200 m
Notes
1 Nelson Vails   United States 11.05 Q
2 Fredy Schmidtke   West Germany R
3 Mark Barry   Great Britain R

Third repêchage semifinals

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Third repechage semifinal 1

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Rank Cyclist Nation Time
200 m
Notes
1 Gerhard Scheller   West Germany Q
2 Claudio Iannone   Argentina
3 Murray Steele   New Zealand

Third repechage semifinal 2

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Rank Cyclist Nation Time
200 m
Notes
1 Lee Fu-hsiang   Chinese Taipei 11.67 Q
2 Katsuo Nakatake   Japan
3 Mark Barry   Great Britain

Third repechage semifinal 3

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Rank Cyclist Nation Time
200 m
Notes
1 Gabriele Sella   Italy 11.58 Q
2 Frank Orban   Belgium
3 Alex Ongaro   Canada

Third repechage semifinal 4

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Rank Cyclist Nation Time
200 m
Notes
1 Fredy Schmidtke   West Germany 11.45 Q
2 Franck Dépine   France
3 Vincenzo Ceci   Italy

Third repêchage finals

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Third repechage final 1

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Rank Cyclist Nation Time
200 m
Notes
1 Gerhard Scheller   West Germany 11.52 Q
2 Gabriele Sella   Italy

Third repechage final 2

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Rank Cyclist Nation Time
200 m
Notes
1 Fredy Schmidtke   West Germany 10.96 Q
2 Lee Fu-hsiang   Chinese Taipei

Quarterfinals

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Quarterfinal 1

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Rank Cyclist Nation Race 1 Race 2 Race 3 Notes
1 Mark Gorski   United States 11.65 11.08 Q
2 Gerhard Scheller   West Germany C

Quarterfinal 2

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Rank Cyclist Nation Race 1 Race 2 Race 3 Notes
1 Philippe Vernet   France 11.56 11.17 Q
2 Fredy Schmidtke   West Germany C

Quarterfinal 3

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Rank Cyclist Nation Race 1 Race 2 Race 3 Notes
1 Nelson Vails   United States 11.33 12.07 Q
2 Marcelo Alexandre   Argentina C

Quarterfinal 4

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Rank Cyclist Nation Race 1 Race 2 Race 3 Notes
1 Tsutomu Sakamoto   Japan 11.20 11.26 Q
2 Kenrick Tucker   Australia 11.51 C

Semifinals

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Semifinal 1

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Rank Cyclist Nation Race 1 Race 2 Race 3 Notes
1 Mark Gorski   United States 11.17 10.74 Q
2 Tsutomu Sakamoto   Japan B

Semifinal 2

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Rank Cyclist Nation Race 1 Race 2 Race 3 Notes
1 Nelson Vails   United States 10.93 10.86 Q
2 Philippe Vernet   France B

Finals

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Classification 5–8

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Rank Cyclist Nation Time
200 m
5 Gerhard Scheller   West Germany 11.36
6 Marcelo Alexandre   Argentina
7 Kenrick Tucker   Australia
8 Fredy Schmidtke   West Germany

Bronze medal match

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Rank Cyclist Nation Race 1 Race 2 Race 3
  Tsutomu Sakamoto   Japan 11.06 11.03
4 Philippe Vernet   France

Final

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Rank Cyclist Nation Race 1 Race 2 Race 3
  Mark Gorski   United States 10.49 10.95
  Nelson Vails   United States

References

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  1. ^ "Cycling at the 1984 Summer Games: Men's Sprint". Sports Reference. Archived from the original on 18 April 2020. Retrieved 7 January 2015.
  2. ^ Bowen, Bob. "Nelson Vails | USBHOF". Retrieved 1 August 2021.
  3. ^ a b "Sprint, Men". Olympedia. Retrieved 17 November 2020.
  4. ^ Official Report, vol. 3, p. 376.