The men's sprint at the 2000 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 Monday, 18 September, Tuesday, 19 September, and Wednesday, 20 September 2000 at the Dunc Gray Velodrome. There were 19 competitors from 14 nations, with each nation limited to two cyclists. The event was won by Marty Nothstein of the United States, the nation's first victory in the men's sprint since 1984 and second overall. Nothstein was the seventh man to win multiple medals in the event. The silver medal went to Florian Rousseau, France's first medal in the event since 1980. Two-time defending champion Jens Fiedler of Germany lost to Nothstein in the semifinals, but won the bronze medal match to become the second man to win three medals in the event (Daniel Morelon won four from 1964 to 1976, still the record).
Background
This was the 22nd appearance of the event, which has been held at every Summer Olympics except 1904 and 1912. Four of the quarterfinalists from 1996 returned: two-time defending champion Jens Fiedler of Germany, silver medalist Marty Nothstein of the United States, fifth-place finisher Darryn Hill of Australia, and eighth-place finisher Florian Rousseau of France. There was no clear favorite, though Fiedler, Nothstein, and Rousseau were among the top cyclists along with Laurent Gané of France. Rousseau had won the world championships in 1997 and 1998; Gané had won in 1999.
For the first time in the history of the event, no nations made their debut in the men's sprint. France made its 22nd 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 five main match rounds, with two one-round repechages.Official Report, Results Book for Track Cycling.
Qualifying round: Each of the 19 competitors completed a 200-metre flying time trial (reaching full speed before timing started for the last 200 metres). The top 18 advanced to the match rounds, seeded based on their time in the qualifying round. With only 19 riders starting, only the slowest cyclist was eliminated. Round 1: The 18 cyclists were seeded into 9 heats of 2 cyclists each. The winner of each heat advanced to the 1/8 finals (9 cyclists) while the other cyclists went to the first repechage (8 cyclists, as one cyclist did not start in round 1). First repechage: The 8 cyclists were divided into 3 heats, each with 3 cyclists (except that one had only 2 cyclists because of the non-starter in round 1). The winner of each heat advanced to the 1/8 finals (3 cyclists) while the losers were eliminated (5 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 second repechage (6 cyclists). Second repechage: This round featured 2 heats, with 3 cyclists each. The winner of each heat advanced to the quarterfinals (2 cyclists); the losers competed in a ninth-twelfth classification race. 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.
No new world or Olympic records were set during the competition.
Schedule
All times are Australian Eastern Standard Time (UTC+10)
Date Time Round Monday, 18 September 2000 10:0018:0018:5019:5520:45 Qualifying roundRound 1First repechage1/8 finalsSecond repechage Tuesday, 19 September 2000 18:3018:50 Classification 9–12Quarterfinals Wednesday, 20 September 2000 18:1019:1019:3019:45 SemifinalsFinalBronze medal matchClassification 5–8
Results
Qualifying round
Held Monday, 18 September. Times and average speeds are listed. The fastest 18 riders advanced to the first round.
Rank Cyclist Nation Time200 m Speedkm/h Notes 1 Marty Nothstein 10.166 70.844 2 Laurent Gane 10.243 70.292 3 Florian Rousseau 10.277 70.059 4 Jens Fiedler 10.287 69.991 5 Viesturs Bērziņš 10.343 69.612 6 Pavel Buráň 10.370 69.431 7 Craig MacLean 10.459 68.840 8 Sean Eadie 10.520 68.441 9 Darryn Hill 10.526 68.402 10 Ján Lepka 10.530 68.378 11 Jan van Eijden 10.540 68.311 12 Jose Villanueva 10.556 68.208 13 Tomohiro Nagatsuka 10.595 67.957 14 Shinichi Ota 10.603 67.905 15 Anthony Peden 10.649 67.612 16 Nikolaos Angelidis 10.745 67.008 17 Julio César Herrera 10.893 66.097 18 Christian Arrue 10.903 66.037 19 Bartlomiej Saczuk 11.106 64.830
Round 1
Held Monday, 18 September. The first round consisted of nine heats of two riders each. Winners advanced to the next round, losers competed in the repechage.
Heat 1
Rank Cyclist Nation Time200 m Speedkm/h Notes 1 Marty Nothstein 10.956 65.717 2 Christian Arrue
Heat 2
Rank Cyclist Nation Time200 m Speedkm/h Notes 1 Laurent Gane 11.054 65.135 2 Julio César Herrera
Heat 3
Rank Cyclist Nation Time200 m Speedkm/h Notes 1 Florian Rousseau 10.865 66.268 2 Nikolaos Angelidis
Heat 4
Rank Cyclist Nation Time200 m Speedkm/h Notes 1 Jens Fiedler 2 Anthony Peden
Heat 5
Rank Cyclist Nation Time200 m Speedkm/h Notes 1 Viesturs Bērziņš 11.008 65.407 2 Shinichi Ota
Heat 6
Rank Cyclist Nation Time200 m Speedkm/h Notes 1 Pavel Buráň 11.102 64.853 2 Tomohiro Nagatsuka
Heat 7
Rank Cyclist Nation Time200 m Speedkm/h Notes 1 Jose Villanueva 2 Craig MacLean
Heat 8
Rank Cyclist Nation Time200 m Speedkm/h Notes 1 Jan van Eijden 2 Sean Eadie
Heat 9
Rank Cyclist Nation Time200 m Speedkm/h Notes 1 Darryn Hill 10.938 65.826 2 Jan Lepka
First repechage
Held Monday, 18 September. The nine defeated cyclists from the first round took part in the 1/16 repechage (reduced to eight because of Peden not starting the first round). They raced in three heats of three riders each (with one heat of two riders, as Peden did not qualify for the repechage). The winner of each heat rejoined the nine victors of the first round in advancing to the 1/8 round.
First repechage heat 1
Rank Cyclist Nation Time200 m Speedkm/h Notes 1 Christian Arrue 11.186 64.366 2 Jan Lepka 3 Tomohiro Nagatsuka
First repechage heat 2
Rank Cyclist Nation Time200 m Speedkm/h Notes 1 Craig MacLean 10.951 65.747 2 Shinichi Ota 3 Julio César Herrera
First repechage heat 3
Rank Cyclist Nation Time200 m Speedkm/h Notes 1 Sean Eadie 11.805 60.991 2 Nikolaos Angelidis
1/8 finals
Held Monday, 18 September. 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 Time200 m Speedkm/h Notes 1 Marty Nothstein 10.799 66.673 2 Sean Eadie
1/8 final 2
Rank Cyclist Nation Time200 m Speedkm/h Notes 1 Laurent Gane 11.049 65.164 2 Craig MacLean
1/8 final 3
Rank Cyclist Nation Time200 m Speedkm/h Notes 1 Florian Rousseau 10.906 66.019 2 Christian Arrue
1/8 final 4
Rank Cyclist Nation Time200 m Speedkm/h Notes 1 Jens Fiedler 10.682 67.403 2 Darryn Hill
1/8 final 5
Rank Cyclist Nation Time200 m Speedkm/h Notes 1 Jan van Eijden 10.682 67.403 2 Viesturs Bērziņš
1/8 final 6
Rank Cyclist Nation Time200 m Speedkm/h Notes 1 Jose Villanueva 11.382 63.236 2 Pavel Buráň
Second repechage
Held Monday, 18 September. 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. The four other riders competed in the 9th through 12th place classification.
Second repechage heat 1
Rank Cyclist Nation Time200 m Speedkm/h Notes 1 Sean Eadie 11.414 63.080 2 Pavel Buráň 3 Darryn Hill
Second repechage heat 2
Rank Cyclist Nation Time200 m Speedkm/h Notes 1 Craig MacLean 11.108 64.818 2 Viesturs Bērziņš 3 Christian Arrue
Quarterfinals
Held Tuesday, 19 September. 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. All four quarterfinals matches were decided without a third race. Winners advanced to the semifinals, losers competed in a 5th to 8th place classification.
Quarterfinal 1
Rank Cyclist Nation Race 1 Race 2 Race 3 Notes 1 Marty Nothstein 10.888 10.973 2 Craig MacLean
Quarterfinal 2
Rank Cyclist Nation Race 1 Race 2 Race 3 Notes 1 Laurent Gane 10.648 10.833 2 Sean Eadie
Quarterfinal 3
Rank Cyclist Nation Race 1 Race 2 Race 3 Notes 1 Florian Rousseau 10.744 10.781 2 José Antonio Villanueva
Quarterfinal 4
Rank Cyclist Nation Race 1 Race 2 Race 3 Notes 1 Jens Fiedler 10.966 10.904 2 Jan van Eijden
Semifinals
Held Wednesday, 20 September. 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 Marty Nothstein 10.930 10.903 2 Jens Fiedler
Semifinal 2
Rank Cyclist Nation Race 1 Race 2 Race 3 Notes 1 Florian Rousseau 10.877 11.536 2 Laurent Gane 10.822
Finals
Held Wednesday, 20 September, except for the classification 9–12.
Classification 9-12
Held 19 September. The 9-12 classification was a single race with all four riders that had lost in the 1/8 repechage taking place. The winner of the race received 9th place, with the others taking the three following places in order.
Rank Cyclist Nation Time200 m Speedkm/h 9 Pavel Buráň 11.078 64.994 10 Viesturs Bērziņš 11 Christian Arrue — Darryn Hill
Classification 5-8
Held Wednesday, 20 September. The 5-8 classification was a single race with all four riders that had lost in the quarterfinals taking place. The winner of the race received 5th place, with the others taking the three following places in order.
Rank Cyclist Nation Time200 m Speedkm/h 5 Jan van Eijden 11.040 65.217 6 Jose Villanueva 7 Sean Eadie 8 Craig MacLean
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 Jens Fiedler 10.732 10.918 4 Laurent Gane
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 Marty Nothstein 10.874 11.066 Florian Rousseau
Final classification
Rank Cyclist Nation Marty Nothstein Florian Rousseau Jens Fiedler 4 Laurent Gane 5 Jan van Eijden 6 Jose Villanueva 7 Sean Eadie 8 Craig MacLean 9 Pavel Buráň 10 Viesturs Bērziņš 11 Christian Arrue 12 Darryn Hill 13 Jan Lepka 14 Tomohiro Nagatsuka 15 Shinichi Ota 16 Nikolaos Angelidis 17 Julio César Herrera 18 Anthony Peden 19 Bartlomiej Saczuk
References
External links Official Olympic Report