Cycling at the 1996 Summer Olympics – Men's sprint explained

Event:	Men's sprint
Games:	1996 Summer
Venue:	Stone Mountain Park Velodrome
Dates:	24–28 July
Competitors:	24
Nations:	16
Longnames:	yes
Gold:	Jens Fiedler
Goldnoc:	GER
Silver:	Marty Nothstein
Silvernoc:	USA
Bronze:	Curt Harnett
Bronzenoc:	CAN
Prev:	1992
Next:	2000

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.

Background

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

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

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.

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

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

Qualifying round

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			10.129	71.08	,
2			10.175	70.76
3			10.176	70.75
4			10.232	70.36
5			10.233	70.36
6			10.329	69.70
7			10.389	69.30
8			10.397	69.25
9			10.463	68.81
10			10.473	68.74
11			10.492	68.62
12			10.543	68.29
13			10.559	68.18
14			10.602	67.91
15			10.630	67.73
16			10.693	67.33
17			10.695	67.32
18			10.726	67.12
19			10.772	66.83
20			10.837	66.43
21			10.895	66.08
22			11.001	65.44
23			11.211	64.22
24			12.341	58.34

Round 1

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

Rank	Cyclist	Nation	Time 200 m	Notes
1			11.191
2

Round 1 heat 2

Rank	Cyclist	Nation	Time 200 m	Notes
1			11.380
2

Round 1 heat 3

Rank	Cyclist	Nation	Time 200 m	Notes
1			11.415
2

Round 1 heat 4

Rank	Cyclist	Nation	Time 200 m	Notes
1			11.722
2

Round 1 heat 5

Rank	Cyclist	Nation	Time 200 m	Notes
1			10.995
2

Round 1 heat 6

Rank	Cyclist	Nation	Time 200 m	Notes
1			11.192
2

Round 1 heat 7

Rank	Cyclist	Nation	Time 200 m	Notes
1			11.700
2

Round 1 heat 8

Rank	Cyclist	Nation	Time 200 m	Notes
1			11.296
2

Round 1 heat 9

Rank	Cyclist	Nation	Time 200 m	Notes
1			11.008
2

Round 1 heat 10

Rank	Cyclist	Nation	Time 200 m	Notes
1			10.896
2

Round 1 heat 11

Rank	Cyclist	Nation	Time 200 m	Notes
1			10.740
2

Round 1 heat 12

Rank	Cyclist	Nation	Time 200 m	Notes
1			11.182
2

First repechage

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

Rank	Cyclist	Nation	Time 200 m	Notes
1			11.191
2

First repechage heat 2

Rank	Cyclist	Nation	Time 200 m	Notes
1			11.017
2

First repechage heat 3

Rank	Cyclist	Nation	Time 200 m	Notes
1			11.257
2

First repechage heat 4

Rank	Cyclist	Nation	Time 200 m	Notes
1			11.076
2

First repechage heat 5

Rank	Cyclist	Nation	Time 200 m	Notes
1			11.222
2

First repechage heat 6

Rank	Cyclist	Nation	Time 200 m	Notes
1			11.060
2

Round 2

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

Rank	Cyclist	Nation	Time 200 m	Notes
1			11.249
2

Round 2 heat 2

Rank	Cyclist	Nation	Time 200 m	Notes
1			11.058
2

Round 2 heat 3

Rank	Cyclist	Nation	Time 200 m	Notes
1			10.899
2

Round 2 heat 4

Rank	Cyclist	Nation	Time 200 m	Notes
1			10.597
2

Round 2 heat 5

Rank	Cyclist	Nation	Time 200 m	Notes
1			10.966
2

Round 2 heat 6

Rank	Cyclist	Nation	Time 200 m	Notes
1			10.811
2

Round 2 heat 7

Rank	Cyclist	Nation	Time 200 m	Notes
1			11.272
2

Round 2 heat 8

Rank	Cyclist	Nation	Time 200 m	Notes
1			10.745
2

Round 2 heat 9

Rank	Cyclist	Nation	Time 200 m	Notes
1			11.044
2

Second repechage

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

Rank	Cyclist	Nation	Time 200 m	Notes
1			11.378
2
3			REL

Second repechage heat 2

Rank	Cyclist	Nation	Time 200 m	Notes
1			11.089
2
3

Second repechage heat 3

Rank	Cyclist	Nation	Time 200 m	Notes
1			11.035
2
3

1/8 finals

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

Rank	Cyclist	Nation	Time 200 m	Notes
1			11.625
2

1/8 final 2

Rank	Cyclist	Nation	Time 200 m	Notes
1			10.793
2

1/8 final 3

Rank	Cyclist	Nation	Time 200 m	Notes
1			11.047
2

1/8 final 4

Rank	Cyclist	Nation	Time 200 m	Notes
1			10.808
2

1/8 final 5

Rank	Cyclist	Nation	Time 200 m	Notes
1			10.828
2

1/8 final 6

Rank	Cyclist	Nation	Time 200 m	Notes
1			11.008
2

Third repechage

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

Rank	Cyclist	Nation	Time 200 m	Notes
1			10.975
2
3

Third repechage heat 2

Rank	Cyclist	Nation	Time 200 m	Notes
1			10.982
2
3

Quarterfinals

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

Rank	Cyclist	Nation	Race 1	Race 2	Race 3	Notes
1			10.794	11.091
2

Quarterfinal 2

Rank	Cyclist	Nation	Race 1	Race 2	Race 3	Notes
1			11.127	REL	10.712
2				11.022

Quarterfinal 3

Rank	Cyclist	Nation	Race 1	Race 2	Race 3	Notes
1			10.950	10.650
2

Quarterfinal 4

Rank	Cyclist	Nation	Race 1	Race 2	Race 3	Notes
1			10.752	10.957
2

Semifinals

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

Rank	Cyclist	Nation	Race 1	Race 2	Race 3	Notes
1			10.618	10.974
2

Semifinal 2

Rank	Cyclist	Nation	Race 1	Race 2	Race 3	Notes
1			10.731	10.905
2

Finals

Classification 5-8

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			11.072
6
7
8

Bronze medal match

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
			10.947	10.949
4

Gold medal match

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
			10.664	11.074

Final classification

Rank	Cyclist	Nation
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24

External links

Official Olympic Report

Notes and References

Web site: Cycling at the 1996 Atlanta Summer Games: Men's Sprint . https://web.archive.org/web/20200417202841/https://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/summer/1996/CYC/mens-sprint.html . dead . 17 April 2020 . Sports Reference . 5 March 2020.
Web site: Sprint, Men . Olympedia . 17 November 2020.
Official Report, vol. 3, p. 180.