A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | CH | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | X | Y | Z | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9
| Men's sprint at the Games of the XIV Olympiad | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 A quarterfinal race, with Reg Harris defeating Mario Masanés | ||||||||||
| Venue | Herne Hill Velodrome, London | |||||||||
| Dates | 7–9 August 1948 | |||||||||
| Competitors | 23 from 23 nations | |||||||||
| Medalists | ||||||||||
| ||||||||||
| Cycling at the 1948 Summer Olympics | |
|---|---|
_pictogram.svg) | |
| Road events | |
| Individual road race | men |
| Team road race | men |
| Track events | |
| 1000m time trial | men |
| Sprint | men |
| Tandem | men |
| Team pursuit | men |
The men's sprint cycling event at the 1948 Summer Olympics took place between 7 and 9 August and was one of six events at the 1948 Olympics.[1] There were 23 cyclists from 23 nations, with each nation limited to one competitor.[2] The event was won by Mario Ghella of Italy, the nation's first victory in the men's sprint. Reg Harris of Great Britain, heavily favored coming into the event, finished with silver, the first medal for a British cyclist in the sprint since 1920. Axel Schandorff's bronze was Denmark's first medal in the event since 1928. The podium streaks of the Netherlands (five Games) and France (four Games) both ended, with neither nation's cyclist able to advance to the quarterfinals.
Background
This was the ninth appearance of the event, which has been held at every Summer Olympics except 1904 and 1912. None of the semifinalists from 1936 returned, but Howard Wing of China competed again after the 12-year break occasioned by World War II. The heavy favorite and host nation hero was 1947 World Champion Reg Harris; his biggest rival, Cor Bijster of the Netherlands, had turned professional and could not compete in the Games.[2]
Cuba, Guyana, India, Pakistan, Trinidad and Tobago, Uruguay, and Venezuela each made their debut in the men's sprint. France made its ninth appearance, the only nation to have competed at every appearance of the event.
Competition format
This track cycling event consisted of numerous rounds. 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 race is typically recorded (though the full time for these Games was recorded as well). The distance for the sprint in 1948 was actually 920 metres instead of the standard 1000 metres, to be exactly two laps of the track.
The first two rounds consisted of single races between pairs of cyclists. The berths in the second round were allocated to the winners from each of the races in the first round, and the winners from each race in the repechage round. Starting with the quarterfinals stage, cyclists were paired once again, this time racing against each other two times, with the winner advancing further in the competition. This was the first time that the best-of-three format was used for the quarterfinals and semifinals (having been introduced in 1932 for the final and expanded to the bronze medal match in 1936).[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 record | Unknown | Unknown* | Unknown | Unknown |
| Olympic record |  Thomas Johnson (GBR) |
11.8 | Antwerp, Belgium | 9 August 1920 |
* World records were not tracked by the UCI until 1954.
No new Olympic record was set during the competition.
Schedule
All times are British Summer Time (UTC+1)
| Date | Time | Round |
|---|---|---|
| Saturday, 7 August 1948 | 10:30 | Round 1 Repechage Round 2 Quarterfinals 1–3 |
| Monday, 9 August 1948 | 16:00 | Round 2 heat 2 re-run Quarterfinal 4 Semifinals Finals |
Results
Round 1
Round 1 heat 1
Rocca won by two lengths.[3]
| Rank | Cyclist | Nation | Time total |
Time 200 m |
Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Leonel Rocca |  Uruguay |
3:10.9 | 12.6 | Q |
| 2 | Compton Gonsalves |  Trinidad and Tobago |
R |
Round 1 heat 2
Van De Velde won by a wheel. Wing broke his collar bone after the race.[3]
| Rank | Cyclist | Nation | Time total |
Time 200 m |
Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Emile Van De Velde |  Belgium |
2:48.2 | 13.6 | Q |
| 2 | Howard Wing |  Republic of China |
R |
Round 1 heat 3
Roth won by inches.[3]
| Rank | Cyclist | Nation | Time total |
Time 200 m |
Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jean Roth |  Switzerland |
2:31.5 | 13.0 | Q |
| 2 | Mario Masanés |  Chile |
R |
Round 1 heat 4
Harris won by a length.[3]
| Rank | Cyclist | Nation | Time total |
Time 200 m |
Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Reg Harris | Great Britain |
2:17.0 | 14.4 | Q |
| 2 | Rusi Mulla Feroze |  India |
R |
Round 1 heat 5
Hijzelendoorn won by half a length.[3]
| Rank | Cyclist | Nation | Time total |
Time 200 m |
Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jan Hijzelendoorn |  Netherlands |
1:42.7 | 13.3 | Q |
| 2 | Reinaldo Paseiro |  Cuba |
R |
Round 1 heat 6
Cortoni won by two lengths.[3]
| Rank | Cyclist | Nation | Time total |
Time 200 m |
Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Clodomiro Cortoni |  Argentina |
1:58.0 | 12.4 | Q |
| 2 | Julio César León |  Venezuela |
R |
Round 1 heat 7
Schandorff won by a length.[3]
| Rank | Cyclist | Nation | Time total |
Time 200 m |
Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Axel Schandorff |  Denmark |
1:49.8 | 12.5 | Q |
| 2 | Charlie Bazzano |  Australia |
R |
Round 1 heat 8
Bellenger won by two lengths.[3]
| Rank | Cyclist | Nation | Time total |
Time 200 m |
Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jacques Bellenger |  France |
2:09.1 | 12.5 | Q |
| 2 | Laddie Lewis |  Guyana |
R |
Round 1 heat 9
Welt won by half a length.[3]
