Background
This was the 15th appearance of the event, which has been held at every Summer Olympics except 1904 and 1912. Two quarterfinalists from 1968 returned: gold medalist (and 1964 bronze medalist)Competition format
This sprint competition involved a series of head-to-head matches. The 1972 competition involved ten rounds: six main rounds (first round, second round, 1/8 finals, quarterfinals, semifinals, and finals) as well as three repechages after the first three main rounds; the third repechage was a two-round repechage.Official Report, vol. 3, pp. 214–15. * First round: The 51 entrants were divided into 17 heats of 3 cyclists each. Withdrawals left some heats with only 2 competitors. The winner of each heat advanced directly to the second round (17 cyclists), while all other cyclists who competed were sent to the first repechage (29 cyclists). * First repechage: The 29 cyclists were divided into 12 heats, each with 2 or 3 cyclists. The winner of each heat advanced to the second round (12 cyclists), while all others were eliminated (17 cyclists, including those who did not start). * Second round: The 29 cyclists who advanced through the first round or first repechage were divided into 10 heats; all heats had 3 cyclists except heat 1, which had only 2. The winner of each heat advanced directly to the third round, the 1/8 finals (10 cyclists), while all others went to the second repechage (19 cyclists). * Second repechage: The 19 cyclists from the second round were divided into 8 heats, with 2 or 3 cyclists per heat. Winners advanced to the 1/8 finals (8 cyclists), while all others were eliminated (11 cyclists). * 1/8 finals: The 18 cyclists who advanced through the first two rounds (including repechages) competed in a 1/8 finals round. There were 6 heats in this round, with 3 cyclists in each. The top cyclist in each heat advanced to the quarterfinals (6 cyclists), while the other 2 in each heat went to the third repechage (12 cyclists). * Third repechage: This was a two-round repechage. The repechage began with 4 heats of 3 cyclists each. The top cyclist in each heat advanced to the second round, while the other 2 cyclists in each heat were eliminated. The second round of this repechage featured 2 heats of 2 cyclists each, with the winners advancing to the quarterfinals and the losers eliminated. * Quarterfinals: Beginning with the quarterfinals, all matches were one-on-one competitions and were held in best-of-three format. There were 4 quarterfinals, with the winner of each advancing to the semifinals and the loser eliminated. * Semifinals: The two semifinals provided for advancement to the gold medal final for winners and to the bronze medal final for losers. * Finals: Both a gold medal final and a bronze medal final were held.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. No new world or Olympic records were set during the competition.Schedule
All times areResults
First round
First round heat 1
First round heat 2
First round heat 3
First round heat 4
First round heat 5
First round heat 6
First round heat 7
First round heat 8
First round heat 9
First round heat 10
First round heat 11
First round heat 12
First round heat 13
First round heat 14
First round heat 15
First round heat 16
First round heat 17
First repechage
First repechage heat 1
First repechage heat 2
First repechage heat 3
First repechage heat 4
First repechage heat 5
First repechage heat 6
First repechage heat 7
First repechage heat 8
First repechage heat 9
First repechage heat 10
First repechage heat 11
First repechage heat 12
Second round
Second round heat 1
Second round heat 2
Second round heat 3
Second round heat 4
Second round heat 5
Second round heat 6
Second round heat 7
Second round heat 8
Second round heat 9
Second round heat 10
Second repechage
Second repechage heat 1
Second repechage heat 2
Second repechage heat 3
Second repechage heat 4
Second repechage heat 5
Second repechage heat 6
Second repechage heat 7
Second repechage heat 8
1/8 finals
1/8 final 1
1/8 final 2
1/8 final 3
1/8 final 4
1/8 final 5
1/8 final 6
Third repechage heats
Third repechage heat 1
Third repechage heat 2
Third repechage heat 3
Third repechage heat 4
Third repechage finals
Third repechage final 1
Third repechage heat 2
Quarterfinals
Quarterfinal 1
Quarterfinal 2
Quarterfinal 3
Quarterfinal 4
Semifinals
Semifinal 1
Semifinal 2
Finals
Bronze medal match
Final
Final classification
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cycling At The 1972 Summer Olympics - Men's Sprint Cycling at the 1972 Summer Olympics Cycling at the Summer Olympics – Men's sprint Track cycling at the 1972 Summer Olympics