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Cycling at the 1968 Summer Olympics – Men's track time trial

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Men's track time trial
at the Games of the XIX Olympiad
VenueOlympic Velodrome, Mexico City
Date17 October 1968
Competitors32 from 32 nations
Winning time1:03.91 WR
Medalists
1st place, gold medalist(s) Pierre Trentin
 France
2nd place, silver medalist(s) Niels Fredborg
 Denmark
3rd place, bronze medalist(s) Janusz Kierzkowski
 Poland
← 1964
1972 →
Cycling at the
1968 Summer Olympics
Road cycling
Road racemen
Team time trialmen
Track cycling
Track time trialmen
Individual pursuitmen
Team pursuitmen
Sprintmen
Tandemmen

The men's track time trial at the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City, Mexico, was held on 17 October 1968. There were 32 participants from 32 nations, with each nation limited to one cyclist.[1] The event was won by Pierre Trentin of France, the nation's first victory in the men's track time trial since 1948 and third overall (breaking a tie with Italy and Australia for most-ever in the event). In a sport where competitors rarely competed at more than one Games, Trentin was only the second man to win multiple medals in the track time trial. Niels Fredborg's silver medal was Denmark's first medal in the event since Willy Hansen's win in 1928; Fredborg would go on to be the only man to win three medals in the event. Poland earned its first ever medal in the time trial with Janusz Kierzkowski's bronze. Italy's four-Games medal streak in the event ended as Gianni Sartori took fourth.

Background

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This was the 10th appearance of the event, which had previously been held in 1896 and every Games since 1928. It would be held every Games until being dropped from the programme after 2004. The returning cyclists from the 1964 Games were bronze medalist Pierre Trentin of France, eighth-place finisher Roger Gibbon of Trinidad and Tobago, and thirteenth-place finisher José Mercado of Mexico. The two-time reigning world champion, and favorite in this race, was Niels Fredborg of Denmark. Gianni Sartori, the amateur world record holder, and Trentin were also significant contenders.[2]

Barbados, Lebanon, the Philippines, Puerto Rico, and South Korea each made their debut in the men's track time trial; East and West Germany competed separately for the first time. France and Great Britain each made their 10th appearance, having competed at every appearance of the event.

Competition format

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The event was a time trial on the track, with each cyclist competing separately to attempt to achieve the fastest time. Each cyclist raced one kilometre from a standing start.[2][3]

Records

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The following were the world and Olympic records prior to the competition.

World record  Gianni Sartori (ITA) 1:04.61 Mexico City, Mexico 21 October 1967
Olympic record  Sante Gaiardoni (ITA) 1:07.27 Rome, Italy 26 August 1960

The track was fast, and at altitude, and 17 of the 32 cyclists beat the old Olympic record. The first one to do so was Gianni Sartori (the world record holder), who set a time of 1:04.65. He was immediately followed by Niels Fredborg, who matched Sartori's world record of 1:04.61. That Olympic mark held until rider #24, Pierre Trentin, who broke the world record at 1:03.91.

Schedule

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All times are Central Standard Time (UTC-6)

Date Time Round
Thursday, 17 October 1968 14:00 Final

Results

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Rank Cyclist Nation 200 m 400 m 600 m 800 m Time Notes
1st place, gold medalist(s) Pierre Trentin  France 16.00 27.80 39.80 52.00 1:03.91 WR
2nd place, silver medalist(s) Niels Fredborg  Denmark 16.80 28.50 40.20 52.70 1:04.61
3rd place, bronze medalist(s) Janusz Kierzkowski  Poland 15.90 27.20 39.40 51.50 1:04.63
4 Gianni Sartori  Italy 16.60 28.20 40.10 52.40 1:04.65
5 Roger Gibbon  Trinidad and Tobago 15.70 27.20 39.20 52.00 1:04.66
6 Leijn Loevesijn  Netherlands 17.10 28.50 40.20 52.70 1:04.84
7 Jocelyn Lovell  Canada 16.00 27.50 39.90 52.50 1:05.18
8 Serhiy Kravtsov  Soviet Union 16.80 28.20 40.10 52.60 1:05.21
9 José Pittaro  Argentina 16.00 27.60 39.70 52.40 1:05.57
10 Heinz Richter  East Germany 16.30 28.10 39.90 52.70 1:05.61
11 Herbert Honz  West Germany 16.90 27.30 40.40 52.80 1:05.61
12 Jackie Simes  United States 16.40 28.10 39.80 52.20 1:05.67
13 Luis Barruffa  Uruguay 15.90 29.10 40.70 53.30 1:06.27
14 Hilton Clarke  Australia 16.80 28.60 40.60 53.60 1:06.45
15 Miloš Jelínek  Czechoslovakia 16.00 27.90 40.00 53.60 1:06.52
16 Brendan McKeown  Great Britain 17.60 29.30 41.40 54.00 1:06.56
17 Tibor Lendvai  Hungary 16.30 28.30 40.60 53.50 1:06.65
18 Dirk Baert  Belgium 16.80 28.70 40.80 54.00 1:07.34
19 Sanji Inoue  Japan 16.50 28.70 40.90 54.40 1:07.54
20 Edwin Torres  Puerto Rico 17.20 29.10 41.10 54.70 1:07.65
21 José Mercado  Mexico 16.80 28.80 41.50 54.80 1:07.97
22 Jupp Ripfel  Sweden 17.30 29.30 41.90 55.10 1:08.65
23 Raimo Suikkanen  Finland 17.50 29.80 42.90 56.10 1:08.92
24 Raúl Marcelo Vázquez  Cuba 17.90 30.20 42.70 54.20 1:08.96
25 Jorge Hernández  Colombia 16.80 29.00 41.80 55.00 1:09.24
26 Kim Gwang-seon  South Korea 16.50 28.90 41.90 55.20 1:09.40
27 Kensley Reece  Barbados 17.20 29.10 41.70 55.60 1:09.90
28 Rolando Guaves  Philippines 17.20 29.50 42.50 56.20 1:10.02
29 Pakanit Boriharnvanakhet  Thailand 17.30 29.70 42.80 56.60 1:10.66
30 Fan Yue-tao  Taiwan 16.70 28.80 42.10 56.70 1:11.13
31 Aubrey Bryce  Guyana 18.20 30.30 43.70 57.60 1:12.73
32 Tarek Abou Al Dahab  Lebanon 19.70 33.40 47.60 1:02.40 1:16.18

References

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  1. ^ "Cycling at the 1968 Mexico City Summer Games: Men's 1000m Time Trial". sports-reference.com. Archived from the original on 17 April 2020. Retrieved 6 September 2014.
  2. ^ a b "1,000 metres Time Trial, Men". Olympedia. Retrieved 11 November 2020.
  3. ^ Official Report, vol. 3, p. 623.
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