Cycling at the 1952 Summer Olympics – Men's sprint

Last updated
Men's sprint
at the Games of the XV Olympiad
Lionel Cox Helsinki 1952.jpg
Lionel Cox
Venue Helsinki Velodrome
DatesJuly 28 31
Competitors27 from 27 nations
Medalists
Gold medal icon.svg Enzo Sacchi
Flag of Italy.svg  Italy
Silver medal icon.svg Lionel Cox
Flag of Australia.svg  Australia
Bronze medal icon.svg Werner Potzernheim
Flag of Germany.svg  Germany
  1948
1956  

The men's sprint (or "scratch race") at the 1952 Summer Olympics in Helsinki, Finland was held from July 28 to July 31, 1952. There were 27 participants from 27 nations, with each nation limited to a single cyclist. [1] The event was won by Enzo Sacchi of Italy, the nation's second consecutive victory in the men's sprint. Lionel Cox's silver was Australia's first medal in the event. Werner Potzernheim of Germany took bronze.

Contents

Background

This was the 10th appearance of the event, which has been held at every Summer Olympics except 1904 and 1912. None of the semifinalists from 1948 returned. The heavy favorite was Enzo Sacchi, the reigning world champion. The man who would have been his biggest competitor, Russell Mockridge of Australia, competed only in the track time trial and tandem. [2]

Finland, Guatemala, Jamaica, Japan, Romania, and the Soviet Union each made their debut in the men's sprint. France made its 10th appearance, the only nation to have competed at every appearance of the event.

Competition format

This track cycling event consisted of numerous rounds: four main rounds and three repechages. Each race involved the riders starting simultaneously and next to each other, from a standing start. Because the early part of races tend to be slow-paced and highly tactical, only the time for the last 200 metres of the one-kilometre race is typically recorded.

The trend in the Olympic sprint competition was toward expansion of a best-of-three match format (beginning in 1932 for the final, expanding in 1936 and 1948 to more rounds); the 1952 edition bucked that trend by returning to an entirely single-race format for the first time since 1928. It also used races with up to five cyclists, where other recent Games had limited individuals races to two or three competitors. A repechage was used after each round instead of only early rounds; late-round races featured three cyclists instead of the head-to-head format that had become common. This also meant that there was no bronze medal match.

The first round consisted of eight heats of three or four cyclists each; the winner of each heat advanced to the quarterfinals while all others were sent to the first repechage. The first repechage had four heats, one of four cyclists and three of five cyclists (though in one of these heats only three men started); again, the winner advanced to the quarterfinals, but this time all others were eliminated. The 12 quarterfinalists competed in four heats of three cyclists each; winners advanced to the semifinals while second and third place cyclists went to the second repechage. The second repechage had two heats of four cyclists each; the winner advanced to the semifinals while the others were all eliminated. With six semifinalists, the semifinals consisted of two heats of three men each. Once again, the winner of each heat advanced while others were sent to a third repechage. The third repechage was a single race of the four semifinal losers, with the winner advancing to the final. The final featured the remaining three riders. [2] [3]

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 recordUnknownUnknown*UnknownUnknown
Olympic recordFlag of the United Kingdom.svg  Thomas Johnson  (GBR)11.8 Antwerp, Belgium 9 August 1920

* World records were not tracked by the UCI until 1954.

Cyril Peacock broke the Olympic record with 11.7 seconds in the sixth heat of round 1. Werner Potzernheim matched that in the first heat of the first repechage; John Millman did the same in the third heat. Peacock recorded the same time again in the second quarterfinal. Potzernheim bettered that time in the fourth quarterfinal, finishing the last 200 metres in 11.6 seconds. Lionel Cox matched that time in the second semifinal, with Potzernheim tying it again in the third repechage.

Schedule

All times are Eastern European Summer Time (UTC+3)

DateTimeRound
Monday, 28 July 195211:00Round 1
First repechage
Tuesday, 29 July 195211:00
 
18:00
 
Quarterfinals
Second repechage
Semifinals
Third repechage
Thursday, 31 July 195218:00Final

Results

Round 1

Round 1 heat 1

RankCyclistNationTime
200 m
Notes
1 Lionel Cox Flag of Australia.svg  Australia 11.9Q
2 Werner Potzernheim Flag of Germany.svg  Germany R
3 Hernán Masanés Flag of Chile.svg  Chile R

Round 1 heat 2

RankCyclistNationTime
200 m
Notes
1 Stéphan Martens Flag of Belgium (civil).svg  Belgium 12.9Q
2 Kurt Nemetz Flag of Austria.svg  Austria R
3 Netai Bysack Flag of India.svg  India R

Round 1 heat 3

RankCyclistNationTime
200 m
Notes
1 Franck Lenormand Flag of France.svg  France 12.6Q
2 Kenneth Farnum Flag of Jamaica (1906-1957).svg  Jamaica R
3 Otar Dadunashvili Flag of the Soviet Union (1936-1955).svg  Soviet Union R

Round 1 heat 4

RankCyclistNationTime
200 m
Notes
1 Antonio Giménez Flag of Argentina.svg  Argentina 12.8Q
2 Helge Törn Flag of Finland.svg  Finland R
3 Kihei Tomioka Flag of Japan (1870-1999).svg  Japan R

Round 1 heat 5

RankCyclistNationTime
200 m
Notes
1 Enzo Sacchi Flag of Italy.svg  Italy 12.4Q
2 Zdeněk Košta Flag of Czechoslovakia.svg  Czechoslovakia R
3 Muhammad Naqi Mallick Flag of Pakistan.svg  Pakistan R

Round 1 heat 6

RankCyclistNationTime
200 m
Notes
1 Cyril Peacock Flag of the United Kingdom.svg  Great Britain 11.7Q, OR
2 Ove Krogh Rants Flag of Denmark.svg  Denmark R
3 Ion Ionita Flag of Romania (1948-1952).svg  Romania R
4 Gustavo Martínez Flag of Guatemala.svg  Guatemala R

Round 1 heat 7

RankCyclistNationTime
200 m
Notes
1 Béla Szekeres Flag of Hungary (1949-1956).svg  Hungary 11.9Q
2 John Millman Canadian Red Ensign (1921-1957).svg  Canada R
3 Fritz Siegenthaler Flag of Switzerland.svg  Switzerland R
4 Colin Dickinson Flag of New Zealand.svg  New Zealand R

Round 1 heat 8

RankCyclistNationTime
200 m
Notes
1 Johan Hijzelendoorn Flag of the Netherlands.svg  Netherlands 12.1Q
2 Raymond Robinson Flag of South Africa (1928-1994).svg  South Africa R
3 Steven Hromjak US flag 48 stars.svg  United States R
4 Luis Toro Flag of Venezuela (1930-1954).svg  Venezuela R

First repechage

First repechage heat 1

RankCyclistNationTime
200 m
Notes
1 Werner Potzernheim Flag of Germany.svg  Germany 11.7Q, =OR
2 Otar Dadunashvili Flag of the Soviet Union (1936-1955).svg  Soviet Union
3 Luis Toro Flag of Venezuela (1930-1954).svg  Venezuela
4 Steven Hromjak US flag 48 stars.svg  United States
5 Helge Törn Flag of Finland.svg  Finland

First repechage heat 2

RankCyclistNationTime
200 m
Notes
1 Ove Krogh Rants Flag of Denmark.svg  Denmark 12.3Q
2 Fritz Siegenthaler Flag of Switzerland.svg  Switzerland
3 Zdeněk Košta Flag of Czechoslovakia.svg  Czechoslovakia
4 Kihei Tomioka Flag of Japan (1870-1999).svg  Japan

First repechage heat 3

RankCyclistNationTime
200 m
Notes
1 John Millman Canadian Red Ensign (1921-1957).svg  Canada Q, =OR
2 Kurt Nemetz Flag of Austria.svg  Austria
3 Muhammad Naqi Mallick Flag of Pakistan.svg  Pakistan
Netai Bysack Flag of India.svg  India DNS
Gustavo Martínez Flag of Guatemala.svg  Guatemala DNS

First repechage heat 4

RankCyclistNationTime
200 m
Notes
1 Raymond Robinson Flag of South Africa (1928-1994).svg  South Africa 12.3Q
2 Hernán Masanés Flag of Chile.svg  Chile
3 Colin Dickinson Flag of New Zealand.svg  New Zealand
4 Kenneth Farnum Flag of Jamaica (1906-1957).svg  Jamaica
5 Ion Ionita Flag of Romania (1948-1952).svg  Romania

Quarterfinals

Quarterfinal 1

RankCyclistNationTime
200 m
Notes
1 Lionel Cox Flag of Australia.svg  Australia 12.5Q
2 Raymond Robinson Flag of South Africa (1928-1994).svg  South Africa R
3 Stéphan Martens Flag of Belgium (civil).svg  Belgium R

Quarterfinal 2

RankCyclistNationTime
200 m
Notes
1 Cyril Peacock Flag of the United Kingdom.svg  Great Britain 11.7Q, =OR
2 Franck Lenormand Flag of France.svg  France R
3 John Millman Canadian Red Ensign (1921-1957).svg  Canada R

Quarterfinal 3

RankCyclistNationTime
200 m
Notes
1 Enzo Sacchi Flag of Italy.svg  Italy 12.0Q
2 Ove Krogh Rants Flag of Denmark.svg  Denmark R
3 Béla Szekeres Flag of Hungary (1949-1956).svg  Hungary R

Quarterfinal 4

RankCyclistNationTime
200 m
Notes
1 Werner Potzernheim Flag of Germany.svg  Germany 11.6Q, OR
2 Antonio Giménez Flag of Argentina.svg  Argentina R
3 Johan Hijzelendoorn Flag of the Netherlands.svg  Netherlands R

Second repechage

Second repechage heat 1

RankCyclistNationTime
200 m
Notes
1 Raymond Robinson Flag of South Africa (1928-1994).svg  South Africa 11.8Q
2 John Millman Canadian Red Ensign (1921-1957).svg  Canada
3 Johan Hijzelendoorn Flag of the Netherlands.svg  Netherlands
4 Ove Krogh Rants Flag of Denmark.svg  Denmark

Second repechage heat 2

A crash in the original race of this heat resulted in a re-run. Giménez had the lead with Martens on his outside; Lenormand hit Martens's back wheel while trying to pass him. Lenormand had to be taken to the hospital for his injuries and could not compete in the re-run. Martens was able to race, but was hampered by his injuries. [4]

Original
RankCyclistNationTime
200 m
Notes
1 Antonio Giménez Flag of Argentina.svg  Argentina 12.3R
2 Béla Szekeres Flag of Hungary (1949-1956).svg  Hungary R
Stéphan Martens Flag of Belgium (civil).svg  Belgium DNFR
Franck Lenormand Flag of France.svg  France DNFR
Re-run
RankCyclistNationTime
200 m
Notes
1 Béla Szekeres Flag of Hungary (1949-1956).svg  Hungary 11.8Q
2 Antonio Giménez Flag of Argentina.svg  Argentina
3 Stéphan Martens Flag of Belgium (civil).svg  Belgium
Franck Lenormand Flag of France.svg  France DNS

Semifinals

Semifinal 1

RankCyclistNationTime
200 m
Notes
1 Enzo Sacchi Flag of Italy.svg  Italy 12.0Q
2 Raymond Robinson Flag of South Africa (1928-1994).svg  South Africa R
3 Werner Potzernheim Flag of Germany.svg  Germany R

Semifinal 2

RankCyclistNationTime
200 m
Notes
1 Lionel Cox Flag of Australia.svg  Australia 11.6Q, =OR
2 Cyril Peacock Flag of the United Kingdom.svg  Great Britain R
3 Béla Szekeres Flag of Hungary (1949-1956).svg  Hungary R

Third repechage

RankCyclistNationTime
200 m
Notes
1 Werner Potzernheim Flag of Germany.svg  Germany 11.6Q, =OR
2 Cyril Peacock Flag of the United Kingdom.svg  Great Britain
3 Raymond Robinson Flag of South Africa (1928-1994).svg  South Africa
4 Béla Szekeres Flag of Hungary (1949-1956).svg  Hungary

Final

RankCyclistNationTime
200 m
Gold medal icon.svg Enzo Sacchi Flag of Italy.svg  Italy 12.0
Silver medal icon.svg Lionel Cox Flag of Australia.svg  Australia
Bronze medal icon.svg Werner Potzernheim Flag of Germany.svg  Germany

Final classification

RankCyclistNation
Gold medal icon.svg Enzo Sacchi Flag of Italy.svg  Italy
Silver medal icon.svg Lionel Cox Flag of Australia.svg  Australia
Bronze medal icon.svg Werner Potzernheim Flag of Germany.svg  Germany
4 Cyril Peacock Flag of the United Kingdom.svg  Great Britain
5 Raymond Robinson Flag of South Africa (1928-1994).svg  South Africa
6 Béla Szekeres Flag of Hungary (1949-1956).svg  Hungary
7 Antonio Giménez Flag of Argentina.svg  Argentina
John Millman Canadian Red Ensign (1921-1957).svg  Canada
9 Johan Hijzelendoorn Flag of the Netherlands.svg  Netherlands
Stéphan Martens Flag of Belgium (civil).svg  Belgium
11 Franck Lenormand Flag of France.svg  France
Ove Krogh Rants Flag of Denmark.svg  Denmark
13 Otar Dadunashvili Flag of the Soviet Union (1936-1955).svg  Soviet Union
Hernán Masanés Flag of Chile.svg  Chile
Kurt Nemetz Flag of Austria.svg  Austria
Fritz Siegenthaler Flag of Switzerland.svg  Switzerland
17 Colin Dickinson Flag of New Zealand.svg  New Zealand
Zdeněk Košta Flag of Czechoslovakia.svg  Czechoslovakia
Muhammad Naqi Mallick Flag of Pakistan.svg  Pakistan
Luis Toro Flag of Venezuela (1930-1954).svg  Venezuela
21 Kenneth Farnum Flag of Jamaica (1906-1957).svg  Jamaica
Steven Hromjak US flag 48 stars.svg  United States
Kihei Tomioka Flag of Japan (1870-1999).svg  Japan
24 Helge Törn Flag of Finland.svg  Finland
Ion Ionita Flag of Romania (1948-1952).svg  Romania
26 Netai Bysack Flag of India.svg  India
Gustavo Martínez Flag of Guatemala.svg  Guatemala

Related Research Articles

The men's 200m 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.

The women's sprint event in cycling at the 2004 Summer Olympics consisted of a series of head-to-head matches in which cyclists made three laps around the track. Only the time for the last 200 metres of the 750 metres covered was counted as official time.

Cycling at the 1900 Summer Olympics – Mens sprint

The men's sprint was one of the three cycling events, all track cycling, now regarded as "Olympic" on the Cycling at the 1900 Summer Olympics programme. It was held on 11 September and 13 September. The sprint, a 2000-metre race with 1000-metre heats, was conducted in four rounds. 69 of the 72 cyclists competed in the sprint, including cyclists from all six competing nations. The event was won by Albert Taillandier of France, with his countryman Fernand Sanz in second place. John Henry Lake of the United States won the nation's first cycling medal with his bronze.

Cycling at the 1964 Summer Olympics – Mens sprint

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. 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.

Cycling at the 1956 Summer Olympics – Mens sprint

The men's sprint or "scratch race" at the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne, Australia, was held from 3 to 6 December 1956. There were 18 participants representing 18 nations in competition, with one additional non-starter. Each nation was limited to one cyclist. The event was won by Michel Rousseau of France, the nation's first victory in the men's sprint since 1928 and fifth overall. Guglielmo Pesenti of Italy earned silver and Dick Ploog of Australia finished third for bronze.

Cycling at the 1920 Summer Olympics – Mens sprint

The men's sprint event was part of the track cycling programme at the 1920 Summer Olympics. There were 37 competitors from 11 nations, with each nation apparently limited to four cyclists. The event was won by Maurice Peeters of the Netherlands, the nation's first victory in the men's sprint. Two British cyclists, Thomas Johnson and Harry Ryan, were in the final as well, taking silver and bronze.

The men's sprint at the 2008 Summer Olympics took place on August 19 at the Laoshan Velodrome.

Cycling at the 1924 Summer Olympics – Mens sprint

The men's sprint event was part of the track cycling programme at the 1924 Summer Olympics. The field consisted of 31 cyclists from 17 countries. The Vélodrome de Vincennes track was a 500-metre (1,640 ft) loop. The event was won by Lucien Michard of France, the nation's third victory in the men's sprint. His teammate Jean Cugnot earned bronze. Jacob Meijer of the Netherlands took silver, putting the Dutch team on the podium for the second consecutive Games.

Cycling at the 1932 Summer Olympics – Mens sprint

The men's sprint cycling event at the 1932 Summer Olympics took place on August 1 and 3. The format was a sprint of 1000 metres. There were nine competitors from nine nations, with each nation limited to one cyclist. The event was won by Jacobus van Egmond of the Netherlands, the nation's second victory in the men's sprint. It was the fourth consecutive Games that the Netherlands reached the podium in the event. France made the podium for the third consecutive Games, with Louis Chaillot taking silver. Bruno Pellizzari gave Italy its first men's sprint medal with his bronze.

The men's 200m 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.

The women's 200m 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.

The men's 200m Sprint at the 1992 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 Tuesday, July 28, Wednesday, July 29, Thursday, July 30 and Friday, July 31, 1992 at the Velòdrom d'Horta.

The women's 200m Sprint at the 1992 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 Tuesday, July 28, Wednesday through Friday, July 31, 1992 at the Velòdrom d'Horta.

The men's 200m 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.

The women's 200m 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 meters of the 750 meters covered was counted as official time. The races were held on Wednesday, July 24, Thursday, July 25, Friday, July 26, and Saturday, July 27, 1996 at the Stone Mountain Velodrome.

Cycling at the 1936 Summer Olympics – Mens sprint Cycling at the Olympics

The men's sprint cycling event at the 1936 Summer Olympics took place on 6 and 7 August and was one of six events at the 1936 Olympics. There were 20 competitors from 20 nations, with each nation limited to one cyclist. The event was won, in a disputed final, by Toni Merkens of Germany, the nation's first medal in the men's sprint. Arie van Vliet took the silver medal, the fifth consecutive Games that a Dutch cyclist had finished in the top two. Louis Chaillot of France became the first man to win multiple medals in the event, adding a bronze to his 1932 silver; it was the fourth consecutive podium appearance for France.

Cycling at the 1960 Summer Olympics – Mens sprint Cycling at the Olympics

The men's sprint at the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome, Italy was held on 26 to 29 August 1960. There were 30 participants from 18 nations. For the first time since 1924, nations were allowed to have more than one competitor each ; for the first time since 1924, one nation took multiple medals. Italians Sante Gaiardoni and Valentino Gasparella won gold and bronze, giving Italy a four-Games podium streak with three total gold medals—second all-time behind France's five. Leo Sterckx's silver was Belgium's first medal in the men's sprint.

Cycling at the 1968 Summer Olympics – Mens sprint Cycling at the Olympics

The men's sprint was a cycling event held at the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City, Mexico, held on 18 to 19 October 1968. There were 47 participants from 28 nations. Each nation was limited to two cyclists. The event was won by Daniel Morelon of France, his second consecutive medal and first gold; it was also France's world-leading sixth victory in the men's sprint. His countryman Pierre Trentin, who had lost the bronze medal match to Morelon four years earlier, this year won it against Omar Pkhakadze of the Soviet Union. Between the French cyclists was silver medalist Giordano Turrini of Italy, extending that nation's streak of top-two results in the event to six Games.

The men's tandem was a cycling event at the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City, Mexico, held on 20 to 21 October 1968. There were 28 participants from 14 nations.

These are the official results of the Men's Sprint at the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, West Germany, held on 1 to 2 September 1972. There were 51 entrants from 30 nations; 5 withdrawals left 46 competitors from 27 nations.

References

  1. "Cycling: Men's sprint". sports-reference.com. Archived from the original on 2020-04-18. Retrieved 2013-01-01.
  2. 1 2 "Sprint, Men". Olympedia. Retrieved 14 November 2020.
  3. Official Report, p. 544.
  4. Official Report, p. 541.