Cycling at the 1948 Summer Olympics – Men's track time trial

Cycling - Men's track time trial
at the Games of the XIV Olympiad
Jacques Dupont
VenueHerne Hill Velodrome, London
Date11 August 1948
Competitors21 from 21 nations
Winning time1:13.5
Medalists
1st place, gold medalist(s) Jacques Dupont
 France
2nd place, silver medalist(s) Pierre Nihant
 Belgium
3rd place, bronze medalist(s) Tommy Godwin
 Great Britain
← 1936
1952 →

The men's track time trial cycling event at the 1948 Summer Olympics took place on 11 August and was one of six events at the 1948 Olympics.[1] Twenty-one cyclists from 21 nations competed, with each nation limited to one competitor.[2][3] The event was won by Jacques Dupont of France, the nation's first victory in the event since 1896 and third consecutive podium appearance. Pierre Nihant earned Belgium's first medal in the men's track time trial with his silver; Tommy Godwin similarly took Great Britain's first medal in the event with his bronze.

Background

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This was the fifth 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. None of the cyclists from 1936 returned. Jacques Dupont of France was the French champion and had set an unofficial world record of 1:08.6.[2]

Cuba, Guyana, India, Pakistan, Trinidad and Tobago, Uruguay, and Venezuela each made their debut in the men's track time trial. France and Great Britain each made their fifth 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. The track's asphalt surface led to slow times.[2][3]

Records

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

World record  Fabio Battesini (ITA) 1:10.0 Milan, Italy 1938
Olympic record  Arie van Vliet (NED) 1:12.0 Berlin, Germany 1 August 1936

No new world or Olympic records were set during the competition.

Schedule

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All times are British Summer Time (UTC+1)

Date Time Round
Wednesday, 11 August 1948 17:00 Final

Results

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Rank Cyclist Nation Time
1st place, gold medalist(s) Jacques Dupont  France 1:13.5
2nd place, silver medalist(s) Pierre Nihant  Belgium 1:14.5
3rd place, bronze medalist(s) Tommy Godwin  Great Britain 1:15.0
4 Hans Flückiger  Switzerland 1:15.3
5 Axel Schandorff  Denmark 1:15.5
6 Sid Patterson  Australia 1:15.7
7 Jack Heid  United States 1:16.2
8 Walter Freitag  Austria 1:16.8
9 Gino Guerra  Italy 1:17.1
10 Onni Kasslin  Finland 1:17.4
11 Carlos Tramutolo  Uruguay 1:17.5
12 Theo Blankenaauw  Netherlands 1:17.7
13 Jorge Sobrevila  Argentina 1:17.9
14 Julio César León  Venezuela 1:18.1
15 Lorne Atkinson  Canada 1:20.2
16 Compton Gonsalves  Trinidad and Tobago 1:21.5
Reinaldo Paseiro  Cuba 1:21.5
18 Adolfo Romero  Mexico 1:22.7
19 Rohinton Noble  India 1:22.9
20 Wazir Ali  Pakistan 1:24.8
21 Laddie Lewis  Guyana 1:25.0

References

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  1. ^ "Cycling at the 1948 London Summer Games: Men's 1,000 metres Time Trial". sports-reference.com. Archived from the original on 18 April 2020. Retrieved 16 July 2014.
  2. ^ a b c "1,000 metres Time Trial, Men". Olympedia. Retrieved 10 November 2020.
  3. ^ a b Official Report, p. 325.