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. 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)
Venue	Stone Mountain Park Velodrome
Dates	24–28 July
Competitors	24 from 16 nations
Medalists
Jens Fiedler  Germany Marty Nothstein  United States Curt Harnett  Canada

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.

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.

• 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.

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

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	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

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	Gary Neiwand	Australia	11.191	Q
2	Claus Martinez Arroyo	Bolivia		R

Round 1 heat 2

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

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

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

Round 1 heat 5

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

Round 1 heat 6

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

Round 1 heat 7

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

Round 1 heat 8

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

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

Round 1 heat 10

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

Round 1 heat 11

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

Round 1 heat 12

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

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	William Clay	United States	11.191	Q
2	Claus Martinez Arroyo	Bolivia

First repechage heat 2

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

First repechage heat 3

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

First repechage heat 4

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

First repechage heat 5

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

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

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	Gary Neiwand	Australia	11.249	Q
2	Labros Vassilopoulus	Greece		R

Round 2 heat 2

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

Round 2 heat 3

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

Round 2 heat 4

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

Round 2 heat 5

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

Round 2 heat 6

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

Round 2 heat 7

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

Round 2 heat 8

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

Round 2 heat 9

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

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	Roberto Chiappa	Italy	11.378	Q
2	Labros Vassilopoulus	Greece
3	William Clay	United States	REL

Second repechage heat 2

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

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

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	Gary Neiwand	Australia	11.625	Q
2	Frédéric Magné	France		R

1/8 final 2

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

1/8 final 3

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

1/8 final 4

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

1/8 final 5

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

1/8 final 6

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

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	Frédéric Magné	France	10.975	Q
2	Pavel Buráň	Czech Republic
3	Viesturs Bērziņš	Latvia

Third repechage heat 2

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

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	Gary Neiwand	Australia	10.794	11.091	—	Q
2	Eyk Pokorny	Germany			—	C

Quarterfinal 2

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

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

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

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	Jens Fiedler	Germany	10.618	10.974	—	Q
2	Gary Neiwand	Australia			—	B

Semifinal 2

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

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	Darryn Hill	Australia	11.072
6	Frédéric Magné	France
7	Eyk Pokorny	Germany
8	Florian Rousseau	France

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
	Curt Harnett	Canada	10.947	10.949	—
4	Gary Neiwand	Australia			—

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
	Jens Fiedler	Germany	10.664	11.074	—
	Marty Nothstein	United States			—

Final classification

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

External links

• Official Olympic Report