The men's sprint was a track cycling event held as part of the Cycling at the 1964 Summer Olympics programme. It was held on 17 and 18 October 1964 at the Hachioji Velodrome. 39 cyclists from 22 nations competed. Nations were limited to two cyclists each. The event was won by Giovanni Pettenella of Italy, the nation's second consecutive and fourth overall victory in the men's sprint (trailing only France's five gold medals all-time). Sergio Bianchetto took silver, making it the second consecutive Games in which Italy had two men on the podium in the event. It was also the fifth straight Games with Italy taking at least silver. Daniel Morelon of France took bronze, the first of his record four medals in the event.
Background
This was the 13th appearance of the event, which has been held at every Summer Olympics except 1904 and 1912. None of the quarterfinalists from 1960 returned. Italy and France, which had combined for 8 of the 12 previous gold medals, had strong teams. France was favored, with Pierre Trentin and Daniel Morelon the top two at the 1964 World Championship. Third place had gone to Italian Sergio Bianchetto, who had also won Olympic gold in the tandem in 1960. The other Italian, Giovanni Pettenella, was less well-known but had taken silver in the track time trial earlier in the Games. Belgium also had a strong contender, with 1963 World Champion Patrick Sercu.
Cambodia made its debut in the men's sprint. France made its 13th appearance, the only nation to have competed at every appearance of the event.
Competition format
Sprint cycling involves a series of head-to-head matches. The 1964 competition involved nine rounds: heats, a two-round repechage, 1/8 finals, another two-round repechage, quarterfinals, semifinals, and finals.Official Report, vol. 2, p. 270
Heats: The 39 competitors were divided into 13 heats of 3 cyclists each. The winner of each heat advanced directly to the 1/8 finals (13 cyclists), while all other cyclists who competed were sent to the first repechage (26 cyclists). Repechage 1: This was a two-round repechage. The first round consisted of 10 heats of 2 or 3 cyclists each. The winners advanced to the second round of the repechage, while the losers were eliminated. The second round had 5 heats of 2 cyclists each; the winner of each heat joined the main competition again at the 1/8 finals (5 cyclists) while the loser was eliminated. 1/8 finals: The 18 cyclists who advanced through the heats or the first repechage 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 other 2 in each heat went to the second repechage (12 cyclists). Repechage 2: This was another two-round repechage. This repechage began with 4 heats of 3 cyclists each. The top cyclist in each heat advanced to the second round, while the other 2 cyclists in each heat were eliminated. The second round of this repechage featured 2 heats of 2 cyclists each, with the winners advancing to the quarterfinals and the losers 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 eliminated. 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.
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.
No new world or Olympic records were set during the competition.
Schedule
All times are Japan Standard Time (UTC+9)
Date Time Round Saturday, 17 October 1964 10:00 14:00 Round 1First repechage semifinalsFirst repechage finals1/8 finalsSecond repechage semifinalsSecond repechage finals Sunday, 18 October 1964 10:0014:00 QuarterfinalsSemifinalsFinals
Results
Round 1
In the first round of heats, the 39 cyclists were divided into 13 heats of 3 cyclists each. The winner of each heat advanced to the 1/8 finals, while the 26 remaining cyclists were relegated to the first round of repechages.
Heat 1
Rank Cyclist Nation Time200 m Notes 1 Pierre Trentin 12.77 2 Nguyễn Văn Châu 3 Jose Tellez
Heat 2
Rank Cyclist Nation Time200 m Notes 1 Daniel Morelon 12.84 2 Eduardo Bustos 3 Tan Thol
Heat 3
Rank Cyclist Nation Time200 m Notes 1 Sergio Bianchetto 11.58 2 Muhammad Hafeez 3 Suchha Singh
Heat 4
Rank Cyclist Nation Time200 m Notes 1 Patrick Sercu 11.67 2 Oscar García 3 Amar Singh Billing
Heat 5
Rank Cyclist Nation Time200 m Notes 1 Ivan Kučírek 11.60 2 Roger Gibbon 3 Alan Grieco
Heat 6
Rank Cyclist Nation Time200 m Notes 1 Karl Barton 12.68 2 Richárd Bicskey — Carlos Alberto Vázquez
Heat 7
Rank Cyclist Nation Time200 m Notes 1 Giovanni Pettenella 11.40 2 Fitzroy Hoyte 3 Tim Phivana
Heat 8
Rank Cyclist Nation Time200 m Notes 1 Omar Pkhak'adze 12.26 2 Willi Fuggerer 3 Peder Pedersen
Heat 9
Rank Cyclist Nation Time200 m Notes 1 Valery Khitrov 11.54 2 Christopher Church 3 Arie de Graaf
Heat 10
Rank Cyclist Nation Time200 m Notes 1 Katsuhiko Sato 11.92 2 José Mercado 3 Jackie Simes
Heat 11
Rank Cyclist Nation Time200 m Notes 1 Thomas Harrison 11.60 2 Pieter van der Touw 3 Ferenc Habony
Heat 12
Rank Cyclist Nation Time200 m Notes 1 Mario Vanegas 12.09 2 Gordon Johnson 3 Zbysław Zając
Heat 13
Rank Cyclist Nation Time200 m Notes 1 Ulrich Schillinger 12.60 2 Niels Fredborg 3 Tsuyoshi Kawachi
First repechage semifinals
All of the competitors who had not qualified for the 1/8 finals in the heats competed in the first round repechage. Ten heats, each with 2 or 3 cyclists, were held. The winner of each heat moved on to the first round repechage finals, all others (16 in all) were eliminated.
First repechage semifinal 1
Rank Cyclist Nation Time200 m Notes 1 Oscar Garcia 12.16 2 Fitzroy Hoyte 3 Jose Tellez
First repechage semifinal 2
Rank Cyclist Nation Time200 m Notes 1 Roger Gibbon 11.65 2 Tsuyoshi Kawachi 3 Tim Phivana
First repechage semifinal 3
Rank Cyclist Nation Time200 m Notes 1 Zbysław Zając 12.31 2 Nguyễn Văn Châu 3 Amar Singh Billing
First repechage semifinal 4
Rank Cyclist Nation Time200 m Notes 1 Tan Thol 13.00 2 Richárd Bicskey 3 Christopher Church
First repechage semifinal 5
Rank Cyclist Nation Time200 m Notes 1 Niels Fredborg 12.31 2 Alan Grieco 3 José Mercado
First repechage semifinal 6
Rank Cyclist Nation Time200 m Notes 1 Willi Fuggerer 12.69 2 Jackie Simes
First repechage semifinal 7
Rank Cyclist Nation Time200 m Notes 1 Peder Pedersen 11.61 2 Muhammad Hafeez
First repechage semifinal 8
Rank Cyclist Nation Time200 m Notes 1 Arie de Graaf 12.21 2 Suchha Singh
First repechage semifinal 9
Rank Cyclist Nation Time200 m Notes 1 Pieter van der Touw 12.48 2 Eduardo Bustos
First repechage semifinal 10
Rank Cyclist Nation Time200 m Notes 1 Gordon Johnson 12.20 2 Ferenc Habony
First repechage finals
The winners of the 10 heats of the elimination round of the first repechage competed against each other in 5 heats of repechage finals. The winners of the five heats advanced to the 1/8 finals, the losers were eliminated.
First repechage final 1
Rank Cyclist Nation Time200 m Notes 1 Zbysław Zając 12.09 2 Oscar Garcia
First repechage final 2
Rank Cyclist Nation Time200 m Notes 1 Niels Fredborg 12.25 2 Tan Thol
First repechage final 3
Rank Cyclist Nation Time200 m Notes 1 Peder Pedersen 11.91 2 Pieter van der Touw
First repechage final 4
Rank Cyclist Nation Time200 m Notes 1 Roger Gibbon 11.35 2 Arie de Graaf
First repechage final 5
Rank Cyclist Nation Time200 m Notes 1 Willi Fuggerer 11.52 2 Gordon Johnson
1/8 finals
The 18 remaining cyclists competed in 6 heats of 3 cyclists in the 1/8 finals. The winner of each heat advanced to the quarterfinals, with the 2 defeated cyclists in each heat relegated to the second round of repechages.
1/8 final 1
Rank Cyclist Nation Time200 m Notes 1 Mario Vanegas 12.07 2 Omar Pkhak'adze 3 Pierre Trentin
1/8 final 2
Rank Cyclist Nation Time200 m Notes 1 Daniel Morelon 11.93 2 Niels Fredborg 3 Karl Barton
1/8 final 3
Rank Cyclist Nation Time200 m Notes 1 Sergio Bianchetto 11.83 2 Ulrich Schillinger 3 Peder Pedersen
1/8 final 4
Rank Cyclist Nation Time200 m Notes 1 Patrick Sercu 11.43 2 Thomas Harrison 3 Roger Gibbon
1/8 final 5
Rank Cyclist Nation Time200 m Notes 1 Zbysław Zając 12.06 2 Valery Khitrov 3 Giovanni Pettenella
1/8 final 6
Rank Cyclist Nation Time200 m Notes 1 Willi Fuggerer 12.15 2 Ivan Kučírek 3 Katsuhiko Sato
Second repechage semifinals
Four heats of three cyclists each were held, with the winner of each moving to the finals of the second repechage while the other 8 cyclists were eliminated.
Second repechage semifinal 1
Rank Cyclist Nation Time200 m Notes 1 Pierre Trentin 12.81 2 Karl Barton 3 Roger Gibbon
Second repechage semifinal 2
Rank Cyclist Nation Time200 m Notes 1 Giovanni Pettenella 12.06 2 Ulrich Schillinger 3 Niels Fredborg
Second repechage semifinal 3
Rank Cyclist Nation Time200 m Notes 1 Omar Pkhak'adze 11.70 2 Thomas Harrison 3 Katsuhiko Sato
Second repechage semifinal 4
Rank Cyclist Nation Time200 m Notes 1 Valery Khitrov 11.45 2 Ivan Kučírek 3 Peder Pedersen
Second repechage finals
The four winners of the eliminations of the second repechage faced off in two heats of finals for the repechage. The winner in each heat moved on to the semifinals, the loser was eliminated.
Second repechage final 1
Rank Cyclist Nation Time200 m Notes 1 Pierre Trentin 11.88 2 Valery Khitrov
Second repechage final 2
Rank Cyclist Nation Time200 m Notes 1 Giovanni Pettenella 11.71 2 Omar Pkhak'adze
Quarterfinals
The quarterfinals, which began the day of 19 October, were the first round of direct elimination. The 8 remaining cyclists were paired off into four heats. The winner of each match, which was in a best-of-three format, advanced, the loser was eliminated.
Quarterfinal 1
Rank Cyclist Nation Race 1 Race 2 Race 3 Notes 1 Daniel Morelon 12.07 12.18 2 Zbysław Zając
Quarterfinal 2
Rank Cyclist Nation Race 1 Race 2 Race 3 Notes 1 Sergio Bianchetto 13.00 12.31 2 Mario Vanegas
Quarterfinal 3
Rank Cyclist Nation Race 1 Race 2 Race 3 Notes 1 Giovanni Pettenella 12.03 11.57 2 Patrick Sercu
Quarterfinal 4
Rank Cyclist Nation Race 1 Race 2 Race 3 Notes 1 Pierre Trentin 12.58 12.72 2 Willi Fuggerer 12.52
Semifinals
The semifinals were also raced in a best-of-three format. The winner of each semifinal advanced to the gold medal match, while the loser was sent to the bronze medal match.
Semifinal 1
Trentin was penalized for interference in the second race.
Rank Cyclist Nation Race 1 Race 2 Race 3 Notes 1 Giovanni Pettenella 12.74 2 Pierre Trentin 12.89
Semifinal 2
During their semifinal, Pettenella and Trentin set an Olympic record by standing still for 21 minutes and 57 seconds.
Rank Cyclist Nation Race 1 Race 2 Race 3 Notes 1 Sergio Bianchetto 12.52 12.91 2 Daniel Morelon 11.83
Finals
The two finals each pitted a pair of countrymen against each other; Italians in the gold medal match and Frenchmen in the bronze. Again the format was best-of-three.
Bronze medal match
Rank Cyclist Nation Race 1 Race 2 Race 3 Daniel Morelon 11.58 13.85 4 Pierre Trentin 11.42
Final
Rank Cyclist Nation Race 1 Race 2 Race 3 Giovanni Pettenella 13.85 13.69 Sergio Bianchetto
Sources
References