The men's sprint at the 2004 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. There were 19 competitors from 13 nations, with each nation limited to two cyclists. The event was won by Ryan Bayley of Australia, the nation's first victory in the men's sprint after three times coming in second (most recently in 1992). Theo Bos of the Netherlands took silver, the Dutch team's first medal in the event since 1936. René Wolff earned bronze, stretching Germany's podium streak to four Games (five if East Germany is included; cyclists from eastern Germany had been on the podium in the event every Games since 1976 except the boycotted 1984 Games).
Australian Ryan Bayley defeated current world champion, Theo Bos from the Netherlands, when the sprinting gold medal was taken to a third decider race. In the race for the bronze René Wolff from Germany defeated Laurent Gané from France.
Background
This was the 23rd appearance of the event, which has been held at every Summer Olympics except 1904 and 1912. Three of the quarterfinalists from 2000 returned: fourth-place finisher Laurent Gané of France, sixth-place finisher José Antonio Villanueva of Spain, and seventh-place finisher Sean Eadie of Australia. Three recent world champions were competing: Gané (2003, also runner-up in 2000, 2001, and 2004), Eadie (2002), and Theo Bos of the Netherlands (2004). René Wolff of Germany and Ryan Bayley of Australia were also significant contenders, each having reached the podium at world championships.
For the second consecutive Games, no nations made their debut in the men's sprint. France made its 23rd 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; however, one of the qualified riders withdrew, and the 19th-placed rider moved up to 18th and qualified. 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 (9 cyclists). First repechage: The 9 cyclists were divided into 3 heats, each with 3 cyclists. The winner of each heat advanced to the 1/8 finals (3 cyclists) while the losers 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 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 Greece Standard Time (UTC+2)
Date Time Round Sunday, 22 August 2004 9:1516:5017:3018:0018:50 Qualifying roundRound 1First repechage1/8 finalsSecond repechage Monday, 23 August 2004 17:05 Quarterfinals Tuesday, 24 August 2004 16:4017:1518:30 18:40 SemifinalsClassification 9–12FinalBronze medal matchClassification 5–8
Results
Qualifying round
Times and average speeds are listed. Q denotes qualification for the next round.
After Tomohiro Nagatsuka dropped out of competition following the round, all of the cyclists following him advanced one position. This allowed Stefan Nimke to compete in the first round despite having originally placed 19th.
Rank Cyclist Nation Time200 m Speedkm/h Notes 1 Ryan Bayley 10.177 70.747 2 Theo Bos 10.214 70.491 3 René Wolff 10.230 70.381 4 Mickaël Bourgain 10.264 70.148 5 Laurent Gané 10.271 70.100 6 Ross Edgar 10.381 69.357 7 Damian Zieliński 10.441 68.958 8 José Antonio Villanueva 10.446 68.925 9 Sean Eadie 10.454 68.873 10 Łukasz Kwiatkowski 10.462 68.820 11 Josiah Ng 10.515 68.473 12 Teun Mulder 10.565 68.149 13 Barry Forde 10.597 67.943 14 Tomohiro Nagatsuka 10.646 67.631 , withdrew 15 Kim Chi-beom 10.673 67.459 16 Jaroslav Jeřábek 10.758 66.926 17 Yang Hui-cheon 10.955 65.723 18 Alois Kaňkovský 10.956 65.717 19 Stefan Nimke 11.338 63.503
Round 1
The first round consisted of nine heats of two riders each. Winners advanced to the next round, losers competed in the 1/16 repechage.
Heat 1
Rank Cyclist Nation Time200 m Notes 1 Ryan Bayley 10.510 2 Stefan Nimke
Heat 2
Rank Cyclist Nation Time200 m Notes 1 Theo Bos 10.799 2 Alois Kaňkovský
Heat 3
Rank Cyclist Nation Time200 m Notes 1 René Wolff 11.104 2 Yang Hee-Chun
Heat 4
Rank Cyclist Nation Time200 m Notes 1 Mickaël Bourgain 10.988 2 Jaroslav Jeřábek
Heat 5
Rank Cyclist Nation Time200 m Notes 1 Laurent Gané 11.166 2 Kim Chi-Bum
Heat 6
Rank Cyclist Nation Time200 m Notes 1 Ross Edgar 10.768 2 Barry Forde
Heat 7
Rank Cyclist Nation Time200 m Notes 1 Damian Zieliński 10.833 2 Teun Mulder
Heat 8
Rank Cyclist Nation Time200 m Notes 1 Jose Villanueva 11.234 2 Josiah Ng
Heat 9
Rank Cyclist Nation Time200 m Notes 1 Sean Eadie 11.025 2 Łukasz Kwiatkowski
First repechage
The nine defeated cyclists from the 1/16 round took part in the 1/16 repechage. They raced in three heats of three riders each. The winner of each heat rejoined the nine victors of the 1/16 round in advancing to the 1/8 round
First repechage heat 1
Rank Cyclist Nation Time200 m Speedkm/h Notes 1 Barry Forde 10.731 67.095 2 Łukasz Kwiatkowski 3 Stefan Nimke
First repechage heat 2
Rank Cyclist Nation Time200 m Speedkm/h Notes 1 Teun Mulder 10.740 67.039 2 Kim Chi-Bum 3 Alois Kaňkovský
First repechage heat 3
Rank Cyclist Nation Time200 m Speedkm/h Notes 1 Josiah Ng 11.006 65.418 2 Yang Hee-Chun 3 Jaroslav Jeřábek
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 Time200 m Notes 1 Ryan Bayley 10.520 2 Josiah Ng
1/8 final 2
Rank Cyclist Nation Time200 m Notes 1 Theo Bos 11.164 2 Teun Mulder
1/8 final 3
Rank Cyclist Nation Time200 m Notes 1 René Wolff 10.548 2 Barry Forde
1/8 final 4
Rank Cyclist Nation Time200 m Notes 1 Mickaël Bourgain 10.936 2 Sean Eadie
1/8 final 5
Rank Cyclist Nation Time200 m Notes 1 Laurent Gané 10.772 2 Jose Villanueva
1/8 final 6
Rank Cyclist Nation Time200 m Notes 1 Damian Zieliński 10.848 2 Ross Edgar
Second 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. 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 Ross Edgar 10.906 66.018 2 Josiah Ng 3 Sean Eadie
Second repechage heat 2
Rank Cyclist Nation Time200 m Speedkm/h Notes 1 Barry Forde 11.294 63.750 2 Teun Mulder 3 Jose Villanueva
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. 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 Ryan Bayley 10.733 10.807 2 Barry Forde
Quarterfinal 2
Rank Cyclist Nation Race 1 Race 2 Race 3 Notes 1 Theo Bos 11.024 10.905 2 Ross Edgar
Quarterfinal 3
Rank Cyclist Nation Race 1 Race 2 Race 3 Notes 1 René Wolff 10.556 10.749 2 Damian Zieliński
Quarterfinal 4
Rank Cyclist Nation Race 1 Race 2 Race 3 Notes 1 Laurent Gané 11.018 10.876 2 Mickaël Bourgain
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. Both semifinals matches were decided without a third race. 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 Ryan Bayley 10.546 10.638 2 Laurent Gané
Semifinal 2
Rank Cyclist Nation Race 1 Race 2 Race 3 Notes 1 Theo Bos 10.502 10.639 2 René Wolff
Finals
Classification 9-12
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 9 Jose Villanueva 11.063 10 Teun Mulder 11 Josiah Ng 12 Sean Eadie
Classification 5-8
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 5 Ross Edgar 11.214 6 Barry Forde 7 Damian Zieliński 8 Mickaël Bourgain
Bronze medal match
The bronze medal match was contested in a set of three races, with the winner of two races declared the winner. Since René Wolff won both of the first two races, the third was not run.
Rank Cyclist Nation Race 1 Race 2 Race 3 René Wolff 10.677 10.612 4 Laurent Gané
Final
The final was a best-of-three match. Bos took a lead in the series when he won the first race, but Bayley defeated him in the second race. The third race was decisive and Bayley came out on top again.
Rank Cyclist Nation Race 1 Race 2 Race 3 Ryan Bayley 10.661 10.743 Theo Bos 10.710
Final classification
Rank Cyclist Nation Ryan Bayley Theo Bos René Wolff 4 Laurent Gané 5 Ross Edgar 6 Barry Forde 7 Damian Zieliński 8 Mickaël Bourgain 9 José Antonio Villanueva 10 Teun Mulder 11 Josiah Ng 12 Sean Eadie 13 Łukasz Kwiatkowski Kim Chi-Bum Yang Hee-Chun 16 Stefan Nimke Alois Kaňkovský Jaroslav Jeřábek — Tomohiro Nagatsuka
References
External links Official Olympic Report