The men's professional sprint was a track cycling event contested at the 1900 Summer Olympics in Paris. It was an event during the 1900 Summer Olympics, but is classified as a non-medal event. The competition was held from 9 to 13 September 1900 at the Vélodrome de Vincennes. The event was contested by 55 professional cyclists from 14 countries.
The first prize was 15,000 francs, with 6,000 francs awarded for second place and 3,000 francs for third. The unusually large prize purse attracted considerable attention in the French sporting press, while a large crowd attended the competition. Edmond Jacquelin and Harry Meijers were among the pre-race favorites, with Anton Huber, Tom Cooper, and Charles Van den Born also highly regarded.
Nowadays, the professional events are not recognized by the International Olympic Committee as official Olympic medal competitions, as only amateur events are classified as medal events. Before July 2021 the IOC has never officially decided which events were "Olympic" and which were not.
Competition format
The large field required seven rounds of competition. The first round consisted of 12 heats, generally containing four or five riders. The first two finishers in each heat advanced to the quarter-finals.
The quarter-finals consisted of eight heats over 1,500 metres. The winner of each heat advanced directly to the semi-finals. Riders who did not qualify through the quarter-finals could continue through a series of repêchage races. The repêchage system eventually produced Paul Bourillon as the additional semi-finalist.
The semi-finals were held on 13 September over 2,000 metres. The winners of the three semi-final heats advanced to the final.
Results
Round One
Date 9 September 1900 Format First two finishers in each heat advanced to the quarter-finals. Distance: 1,000 metres.
Heat 1
Pos Competitor Nation Time 200 m sprint time Result 1 Harrie Meyers 2:50.0 13.0 Q 2 Pietro Bixio at 2 lengths – Q 3 Charles Jue – –
Heat 2
Pos Competitor Nation Time 200 m sprint time Result 1 Edmond Jacquelin 1:38.8 12.0 Q 2 at 3 lengths – Q AC – – AC – –
Heat 3
Pos Competitor Nation Time 200 m sprint time Result 1 Willy Arend 1:58.4 12.6 Q 2 Giuseppe Singrossi at 1 length – Q AC Lucien Grognet – – AC Antonio Oliveira – –
Heat 4
Pos Competitor Nation Time 200 m sprint time Result 1 Henri Mayer 1:57.6 12.6 Q 2 at 10 cm – Q AC – – AC Virginio Minozzi – – AC Etienne Balajat – –
Heat 5
Pos Competitor Nation Time 200 m sprint time Result 1 Floyd McFarland 2:12.4 13.0 Q 2 Jean-Baptiste Louvet - – Q AC Leclercq – – AC Léonce Ehrmann – –
Heat 6
Pos Competitor Nation Time 200 m sprint time Result 1 1:41.4 12.6 Q 2 Robert Protin - – Q AC Gentel – – AC Van Vught – – AC Eugène Dirheimer – –
Heat 7
Pos Competitor Nation Time 200 m sprint time Result 1 2:04.4 13.0 Q 2 Guus Schilling – – Q 3 – – 4 Bonnevie – –
Heat 8
Pos Competitor Nation Time 200 m sprint time Result 1 Anton Huber 1:58.2 12.8 Q 2 Mathieu Cordang - – Q AC Jaap Eden – – AC – – AC Van Ackert – –
Heat 9
Pos Competitor Nation Time 200 m sprint time Result 1 Paul Bourillon 1:45.6 12.2 Q 2 N. Otterbein at 1 length – Q 3 Karl Käser at 20 metres – 4 Arthur Deleu – –
Heat 10
Pos Competitor Nation Time 200 m sprint time Result 1 Tom Cooper 1:45.0 12.8 Q 2 Jean Broka - – Q AC Diego Conelli – – AC Emanuel Kudella – – AC – –
Heat 11
Pos Competitor Nation Time 200 m sprint time Result 1 1:51.0 12.6 Q 2 - – Q AC – – AC – – AC George Sutherland – –
Heat 12
Pos Competitor Nation Time 200 m sprint time Result 1 1:43.4 12.2 Q 2 Richard Heller – – Q AC Fritz Althof – – AC – – AC George Banker – –
Quarter-finals
Date 9 September 1900 Format Winners of each heat advanced to the semi-finals. Second-place finishers received 200 FFr. Third-place finishers received 100 FFr. Distance: 1,500 metres.
Heat 1
Pos Competitor Nation Time 200 m sprint time Result 1 Edmond Jacquelin 3:07.6 12.6 Q 2 Guus Schilling at 2 lengths – 3 N. Otterbein – –
Heat 2
Pos Competitor Nation Time 200 m sprint time Result 1 Harry Meijers 2:57.8 12.8 Q 2 Richard Heller – – 3 Charles Brécy at 1 length –
Heat 3
Pos Competitor Nation Time 200 m sprint time Result 1 Robert Protin 3:58.0 12.4 Q 2 Charles Vanoni - – 3 Willy Arend at 2 cm –
Heat 4
Pos Competitor Nation Time 200 m sprint time Result 1 Floyd McFarland 3:17.0 12.8 Q 2 Jack Green – – 3 Henri Mayer – –
Heat 5
Pos Competitor Nation Time 200 m sprint time Result 1 Charles Van den Born 3:28.0 12.0 Q 2 Giuseppe Singrossi at 2 lengths – 3 Jean-Baptiste Louvet – –
Heat 6
Pos Competitor Nation Time 200 m sprint time Result 1 Pietro Bixio 3:51.0 12.2 Q 2 Franz Seidl at 3 lengths – 3 Jean Broka – –
Heat 7
Pos Competitor Nation Time 200 m sprint time Result 1 Anton Huber 5:24.0 12.2 Q 2 Paul Bourillon at 1 length – 3 Gian Ferdinando Tommaselli – –
Heat 8
Pos Competitor Nation Time 200 m sprint time Result 1 Tom Cooper 3:08.0 12.6 Q 2 Louis Grogna at 1 length – 3 Matthieu Cordang – –
Repêchage, Preliminary
Date 11 September 1900 Format Winners of each heat advanced to the repêchage semi-finals. Distance: 1,000 metres.
Heat 1
Pos Competitor Nation Time 200 m sprint time Result 1 Willy Arend 1:32.0 13.0 Q 2 George Sutherland – – 3 Manolo Cervera – – AC Charles Vanoni – – AC Gentel – – AC Van Vught – –
Heat 2
Pos Competitor Nation Time 200 m sprint time Result 1 Franz Seidl 2:02.2 13.6 Q 2 Lucien Grognet – – 3 Paul Bourotte – – 4 Guus Schilling – –
Heat 3
Pos Competitor Nation Time 200 m sprint time Result 1 Jack Green 2:14.6 13.6 Q 2 Richard Heller – – 3 Umberto Ferrari – – AC Charles Jue – – AC Leclercq – –
Heat 4
Pos Competitor Nation Time 200 m sprint time Result 1 Henri Mayer 1:37.0 13.2 Q 2 Diego Conelli – – 3 Jean Gougoltz – – AC Victor Thuau – – AC Henri Henneberg – –
Heat 5
Pos Competitor Nation Time 200 m sprint time Result 1 Gian Ferdinando Tommaselli 2:27.0 14.0 Q 2 Aleksey Butylkin – – 3 Antonio Oliveira – –
Heat 6
Pos Competitor Nation Time 200 m sprint time Result 1 Jean-Baptiste Louvet 1:39.4 13.0 Q 2 Jean Broka – – 3 Charles Brécy – – AC Carl Käser – –
Heat 7
Pos Competitor Nation Time 200 m sprint time Result 1 George Banker 1:36.0 13.6 Q 2 Arthur Deleu – – 3 Gaston Prévost – – AC Emanuel Kudella – – AC Giuseppe Singrossi – –
Heat 8
Pos Competitor Nation Time 200 m sprint time Result 1 Louis Grogna 1:35.0 13.0 Q 2 Matthieu Cordang – – 3 Max Lurion – – AC Joseph Collomb – – AC N. Otterbein – –
Heat 9
Pos Competitor Nation Time 200 m sprint time Result 1 Paul Bourillon 1:24.0 13.0 Q 2 Sydney Jenkins – – 3 Léonce Ehrmann – – 4 Bonnevie – –
Repêchage, Semi-finals
Date 11 September 1900 Format Winners of each heat advanced to the repêchage final. Distance: 1,000 metres.
Heat 1
Pos Competitor Nation Time 200 m sprint time Result 1 Willy Arend 2:07.6 12.0 Q 2 Gian Ferdinando Tommaselli - – 3 Jean-Baptiste Louvet – –
Heat 2
Pos Competitor Nation Time 200 m sprint time Result 1 Jack Green 2:28.2 14.0 Q 2 Louis Grogna - – 3 Franz Seidl – –
Heat 3
Pos Competitor Nation Time 200 m sprint time Result 1 Paul Bourillon 1:43.8 13.8 Q 2 Henri Mayer - – 3 George Banker – –
Repêchage, Final
Date 11 September 1900
Heat 1
Pos Competitor Nation Time 200 m sprint time Result 1 Paul Bourillon 1:41.4 12.6 Q 2 Jack Green at one wheel – DQ Willy Arend – – Disqualified
Semi-finals Cooper's victory over Van den Born in the third semi-final was an upset, with Cooper defeating the Belgian by half a length. In the first semi-final, Jacquelin defeated American Floyd McFarland, while Meijers won the second semi-final against Bourillon.
Date 13 September 1900 Format Winners of each heat advanced to the final. Distance: 2,000 metres.
Heat 1
Pos Competitor Nation Time 200 m sprint time Purse Result 1 Edmond Jacquelin 4:26.4 12.2 – Q 2 Floyd McFarland at 5 lengths – 500 FFr. 3 Pietro Bixio at 1 length – 300 FFr.
Heat 2
Pos Competitor Nation Time 200 m sprint time Purse Result 1 Harrie Meyers 4:17.2 12.2 – Q 2 Paul Bourillon at 3 lengths – 500 FFr. 3 Robert Protin – – 300 FFr.
Heat 3
Pos Competitor Nation Time 200 m sprint time Purse Result 1 Tom Cooper 4:20.0 12.0 – Q 2 Charles Van den Born at ½ length – 500 FFr. 3 Anton Huber at 1 length – 300 FFr.
Final
In the final, Cooper led during the strategic run-up to the final sprint. Meijers passed him as the sprint began and won comfortably. Jacquelin followed Cooper but was unable to overtake him. Jacquelin later attributed his defeat to the wind. He said that he had changed his transmission from 8 to 7½ because of the conditions, which he believed prevented him from winning.
Date 13 September 1900
Pos Competitor Nation Time / Margin Purse 1 Harrie Meyers 4:32.4 15,000 FFr. 2 Tom Cooper at ½ length 6,000 FFr. 3 Edmond Jacquelin at ½ length 3,000 FFr.
References