Cycling at the 1924 Summer Olympics – Men's sprint
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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.[1] The Vélodrome de Vincennes track was a 500-metre (1,640 ft) loop.[2] 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.
| Men's sprint at the Games of the VIII Olympiad | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Lucien Michard (1930) | ||||||||||
| Venue | Vélodrome de Vincennes | |||||||||
| Dates | July 26–27 | |||||||||
| Competitors | 31 from 17 nations | |||||||||
| Medalists | ||||||||||
| ||||||||||
Background
This was the fifth appearance of the event, which has been held at every Summer Olympics except 1904 and 1912. The only returning semifinalist from 1920 was gold medal winner Maurice Peeters of the Netherlands. Peeters had also won the Grand Prix de Paris in 1920. He was one of the favorites along with William Fenn of the United States and 1923 World Champion Jean Cugnot of France.[3]
Argentina, Bulgaria, Chile, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Latvia, Poland, and Switzerland each made their debut in the men's sprint. France made its fifth appearance, the only nation to have competed at every appearance of the event.
Competition format
There were 12 first-round heats, with up to three cyclists in each. The top cyclist in each heat advanced to the quarterfinals (12 cyclists), while all other finishers went to the first repechage (18 cyclists, with one man eliminated because he did not finish his heat). In the first repechage, there were six heats of three cyclists each, with the winners advancing to the quarterfinals (6 cyclists, joining the 12 already qualified) and everyone else eliminated. The 18 quarterfinalists were divided into six heats of three cyclists each. The winner advanced directly to the semifinals (6 cyclists), while the other cyclists went to a second repechage (12 cyclists). The second repechage featured three heats of four cyclists each, with the winners advancing to the semifinals (3 cyclists, joining the 6 already qualified) and all others eliminated. The semifinals were three heats of three cyclists each, with winners advancing to the three-man final and others eliminated.[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
| Date | Time | Round |
|---|---|---|
| Saturday, 26 July 1924 | Round 1 First repechage | |
| Sunday, 27 July 1924 | Quarterfinals Second repechage Semifinals Final |
Results
Round 1
The top finisher in each heat qualified for the quarterfinals. All other cyclists went to the first repechage for a second chance at quarterfinal qualifying.
Heat 1
| Rank | Cyclist | Nation | Time | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Prudent De Bruyne |  Belgium | 13.8 | Q |
| 2 | Eugenio Gret |  Argentina | R |
Heat 2
| Rank | Cyclist | Nation | Time | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | George Dempsey |  Australia | 13.8 | Q |
| 2 | Julio Polet | Argentina | R | |
| 3 | Miloš Knobloch |  Czechoslovakia | R |
Heat 3
| Rank | Cyclist | Nation | Time | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Walter Coppins | Australia | 13.6 | Q |
| 2 | Willy Hansen |  Denmark | R | |
| 3 | Boris Dimchev |  Bulgaria | R |
Heat 4
| Rank | Cyclist | Nation | Time | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | William Fenn |  United States | 13.6 | Q |
| 2 | Ricardo Bermejo |  Chile | R | |
| — | Maurice Gillen |  Luxembourg | DNF |
Heat 5
| Rank | Cyclist | Nation | Time | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lucien Michard |  France | 13.6 | Q |
| 2 | Alejandro Vidal | Chile | R |
Heat 6
| Rank | Cyclist | Nation | Time | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Herbert Fuller | Great Britain | 13.8 | Q |
| 2 | Holger Guldager | Denmark | R |
Heat 7
| Rank | Cyclist | Nation | Time | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Maurice Peeters |  Netherlands | 17.0 | Q |
Heat 8
| Rank | Cyclist | Nation | Time | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Guglielmo Bossi |  Italy | 13.6 | Q |
| 2 | János Grimm |  Hungary | R | |
| 3 | Oldřich Červinka | Czechoslovakia | R |
Heat 9
| Rank | Cyclist | Nation | Time | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jacob Meijer | Netherlands | 13.2 | Q |
| 2 | Louis Mermillod |  Switzerland | R | |
| 3 | Ferenc Uhereczky | Hungary | R |
Heat 10
| Rank | Cyclist | Nation | Time | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jean Cugnot | France | 12.8 | Q |
| 2 | George Owen | Great Britain | R | |
| 3 | Artūrs Zeiberliņš |  Latvia | R |
Heat 11
| Rank | Cyclist | Nation | Time | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Francesco Del Grosso | Italy | 12.8 | Q |
| 2 | Jan Łazarski |  Poland | R | |
| 3 | Roberts Plūme | Latvia | R |
Heat 12
| Rank | Cyclist | Nation | Time | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Franciszek Szymczyk | Poland | 13.6 | Q |
| 2 | Jean Verheyen | Belgium | R | |
| 3 | Francisco Juillet | Chile | R |
First repechage
First repechage heat 1
| Rank | Cyclist | Nation | Time | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Willy Hansen | Denmark | Q | |
| 2 | Julio Polet | Argentina | ||
| — | Francisco Juillet | Chile | DNS |
First repechage heat 2
| Rank | Cyclist | Nation | Time | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Miloš Knobloch | Czechoslovakia | Q | |
| — | Boris Dimchev | Bulgaria | DNS | |
| Alejandro Vidal | Chile | DNS |
First repechage heat 3
| Rank | Cyclist | Nation | Time | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Holger Guldager | Denmark | Q | |
| 2 | Artūrs Zeiberliņš | Latvia | ||
| 3 | Eugenio Gret | Argentina |
First repechage heat 4
| Rank | Cyclist | Nation | Time | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Louis Mermillod | Switzerland | Q | |
| 2 | Ferenc Uhereczky | Hungary | ||
| 3 | Oldřich Červinka | Czechoslovakia |
First repechage heat 5
| Rank | Cyclist | Nation | Time | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | János Grimm | Hungary | Q | |
| 2 | Ricardo Bermejo | Chile | ||
| 3 | Jean Verheyen | Belgium |
First repechage heat 6
| Rank | Cyclist | Nation | Time | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | George Owen | Great Britain | Q | |
| 2 | Jan Łazarski | Poland | ||
| 3 | Roberts Plūme | Latvia |
Quarterfinals
The 18 winners of the first round and first repechage competed in the quarterfinals. Again, the winner of each heat advanced (this time to the semifinals) while the other cyclists competed in another repechage.
Quarterfinal 1
| Rank | Cyclist | Nation | Time | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jacob Meijer | Netherlands | 13.2 | Q |
| 2 | Willy Hansen | Denmark | R | |
| 3 | Miloš Knobloch | Czechoslovakia | R |
Quarterfinal 2
| Rank | Cyclist | Nation | Time | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lucien Michard | France | 13.0 | Q |
| 2 | Holger Guldager | Denmark | R | |
| 3 | George Owen | Great Britain | R |
Quarterfinal 3
| Rank | Cyclist | Nation | Time | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | George Dempsey | Australia | 13.2 | Q |
| 2 | Maurice Peeters | Netherlands | R | |
| 3 | János Grimm | Hungary | R |
Quarterfinal 4
| Rank | Cyclist | Nation | Time | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jean Cugnot | France | 13.2 | Q |
| 2 | William Fenn | United States | R | |
| 3 | Prudent De Bruyne | Belgium | R |
Quarterfinal 5
| Rank | Cyclist | Nation | Time | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Francesco Del Grosso | Italy | 13.6 | Q |
| 2 | Louis Mermillod | Switzerland | R | |
| 3 | Franciszek Szymczyk | Poland | R |
Quarterfinal 6
| Rank | Cyclist | Nation | Time | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Herbert Fuller | Great Britain | 13.0 | Q |
| 2 | Guglielmo Bossi | Italy | R | |
| 3 | Walter Coppins | Australia | R |
Second repechage
Second repechage heat 1
| Rank | Cyclist | Nation | Time | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Guglielmo Bossi | Italy | Q | |
| 2 | Maurice Peeters | Netherlands | ||
| 3 | Willy Hansen | Denmark | ||
| 4 | Miloš Knobloch | Czechoslovakia |
Second repechage heat 2
| Rank | Cyclist | Nation | Time | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Louis Mermillod | Switzerland | Q | |
| 2 | Prudent De Bruyne | Belgium | ||
| 3 | János Grimm | Hungary | ||
| 4 | George Owen | Great Britain |
Second repechage heat 3
| Rank | Cyclist | Nation | Time | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Holger Guldager | Denmark | Q | |
| 2 | William Fenn | United States | ||
| 3 | Walter Coppins | Australia | ||
| — | Franciszek Szymczyk | Poland | DNS |
Semifinals
The nine remaining cyclists competed in three semifinals, with the winners advancing to the finals and the losers eliminated.
Semifinal 1
| Rank | Cyclist | Nation | Time | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lucien Michard | France | 12.2 | Q |
| 2 | Herbert Fuller | Great Britain | ||
| 3 | Guglielmo Bossi | Italy |
Semifinal 2
| Rank | Cyclist | Nation | Time | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jacob Meijer | Netherlands | 12.8 | Q |
| 2 | Holger Guldager | Denmark | ||
| 3 | Francesco Del Grosso | Italy |
Semifinal 3
| Rank | Cyclist | Nation | Time | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jean Cugnot | France | 12.2 | Q |
| 2 | George Dempsey | Australia | ||
| 3 | Louis Mermillod | Switzerland |
Final
The final three cyclists competed for the three medals.
| Rank | Cyclist | Nation | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
 | Lucien Michard | France | 12.8 |
 | Jacob Meijer | Netherlands | |
 | Jean Cugnot | France |