Reginald Hargreaves Harris OBE was a British track racing cyclist in the 1940s and 1950s. He won the world amateur sprint title in 1947, two Olympic silver medals in 1948, and the professional title in 1949, 1950, 1951 and 1954. His ferocious will to win made him a household name in the 1950s, but he also surprised many with a comeback more than 20 years later, winning a British title in 1974 at the age of 54.
The United States competed at the 1900 Summer Olympics in Paris, France.
Venezuela competed in the 1948 Summer Olympic Games held in London, United Kingdom. The country's first appearance at the Games, it sent one athlete, the cyclist Julio César León, and won no medals. León faced several difficulties before he could compete in the Games, receiving no support from the Venezuelan Olympic Committee until his arrival in London. He competed in two track cycling events, placing joint-ninth in the Sprint and 14th in the Time trial.
Chile competed at the 1948 Summer Olympics in London, England. 54 competitors, 50 men and 4 women, took part in 31 events in 9 sports.
The men's sprint was one of the three cycling events, all track cycling, now regarded as "Olympic" on the Cycling at the 1900 Summer Olympics programme. It was held on 11 September and 13 September. The sprint, a 2000-metre race with 1000-metre heats, was conducted in four rounds. 69 of the 72 cyclists competed in the sprint, including cyclists from all six competing nations. The event was won by Albert Taillandier of France, with his countryman Fernand Sanz in second place. John Henry Lake of the United States won the nation's first cycling medal with his bronze.
The men's 1000 metre sprint was one of seven track cycling events on the Cycling at the 1908 Summer Olympics programme. Its distance was the second shortest of the individual event distances. Each nation could enter up to 12 cyclists.
The men's track time trial at the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne, Australia, was held on Thursday 6 December 1956. There were 22 participants from 22 nations. Each competitor rode singly against the watch from a standing start. Competitors were allowed one ride only. The event was won by Leandro Faggin of Italy, the nation's first victory in the men's track time trial. Ladislav Fouček earned Czechoslovakia's first medal in the event with his silver, while Alfred Swift gave South Africa its second consecutive bronze medal.
The men's sprint or "scratch race" at the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne, Australia, was held from 3 to 6 December 1956. There were 18 participants representing 18 nations in competition, with one additional non-starter. Each nation was limited to one cyclist. The event was won by Michel Rousseau of France, the nation's first victory in the men's sprint since 1928 and fifth overall. Guglielmo Pesenti of Italy earned silver and Dick Ploog of Australia finished third for bronze.
The men's individual road race at the 1952 Summer Olympics was held on 2 August, the 2nd last day of the Olympics on an 11,2 km course running counter-clockwise from Käpylä through Pakila and Maunula and back to Käpylä. The course was circled seventeen times, so the total length of the competition was 190,4 km. About half of the road was hard-surfaced, the other half sand-surfaced. There were 154 entries from 31 nations and 111 participants from 30 nations. Each nation could enter up to four cyclists; nations entering at least three cyclists had the scores of their best three finishers summed for the team road race event. The individual event was won by André Noyelle of Belgium, the nation's first victory in the men's individual road race. His teammate Robert Grondelaers took silver. Edi Ziegler earned Germany's first medal in the event since 1896 with his bronze.
The men's sprint at the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal, Canada, was held from 21 to 24 July 1976. There were 25 participants from 25 nations. Following the explosion in size of the event from 1960 to 1972 when nations were allowed two cyclists each, the limit was again reduced to one competitor from each nation. The event was won by Anton Tkáč of Czechoslovakia, the nation's first medal in the men's sprint. Tkáč beat two-time defending champion Daniel Morelon of France in the final; Morelon's silver was a (still-standing record fourth medal in the event. Jürgen Geschke earned bronze to give East Germany its first medal in the event and the first medal for any German cyclist since 1952.
The men's sprint at the 1952 Summer Olympics in Helsinki, Finland was held from July 28 to July 31, 1952. There were 27 participants from 27 nations, with each nation limited to a single cyclist. The event was won by Enzo Sacchi of Italy, the nation's second consecutive victory in the men's sprint. Lionel Cox's silver was Australia's first medal in the event. Werner Potzernheim of Germany took bronze.
The men's sprint event was part of the track cycling programme at the 1920 Summer Olympics. There were 37 competitors from 11 nations, with each nation apparently limited to four cyclists. The event was won by Maurice Peeters of the Netherlands, the nation's first victory in the men's sprint. Two British cyclists, Thomas Johnson and Harry Ryan, were in the final as well, taking silver and bronze.
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. The Vélodrome de Vincennes track was a 500-metre (1,640 ft) loop. 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.
The men's sprint cycling event at the 1932 Summer Olympics took place on August 1 and 3. The format was a sprint of 1000 metres. There were nine competitors from nine nations, with each nation limited to one cyclist. The event was won by Jacobus van Egmond of the Netherlands, the nation's second victory in the men's sprint. It was the fourth consecutive Games that the Netherlands reached the podium in the event. France made the podium for the third consecutive Games, with Louis Chaillot taking silver. Bruno Pellizzari gave Italy its first men's sprint medal with his bronze.
The men's sprint at the 1992 Summer Olympics (Cycling) was an event that consisted of cyclists making three laps around the track. Only the time for the last 200 metres of the 750 metres covered was counted as official time. The races were held on Tuesday, July 28, Wednesday, July 29, Thursday, July 30 and Friday, July 31, 1992 at the Velòdrom d'Horta. There were 23 competitors from 23 nations, with each nation limited to one cyclist. The event was won by Jens Fiedler of Germany, the first victory in the men's sprint for Germany as a unified nation since 1936. Gary Neiwand of Australia took silver, the third time that nation had a runner-up in the event; Neiwand was only the fourth man to win multiple medals in the sprint. Canada earned its first medal in the men's sprint with Curt Harnett's bronze.
The men's sprint at the 1996 Summer Olympics (Cycling) was an event that consisted of cyclists making three laps around the track. Only the time for the last 200 metres of the 750 metres covered was counted as official time. The races were held on July 24 through July 28, 1996 at the Stone Mountain Velodrome. There were 24 competitors from 16 nations, with nations once again being allowed to have up to two cyclists each. The event was won by Jens Fiedler of Germany, the second man to successfully defend an Olympic sprint title. Curt Harnett of Canada also repeated as bronze medalist; he and Fiedler were the fifth and sixth men to win multiple medals of any color in the event. Marty Nothstein of the United States took silver, the nation's first medal in the event since 1984.
The men's sprint cycling event at the 1936 Summer Olympics took place on 6 and 7 August and was one of six events at the 1936 Olympics. There were 20 competitors from 20 nations, with each nation limited to one cyclist. The event was won, in a disputed final, by Toni Merkens of Germany, the nation's first medal in the men's sprint. Arie van Vliet took the silver medal, the fifth consecutive Games that a Dutch cyclist had finished in the top two. Louis Chaillot of France became the first man to win multiple medals in the event, adding a bronze to his 1932 silver; it was the fourth consecutive podium appearance for France.
The men's sprint at the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, West Germany, was held on 1 to 2 September 1972. There were 51 entrants from 30 nations; 5 withdrawals left 46 competitors from 27 nations. Nations were limited to two cyclists each. The event was won by Daniel Morelon of France, successfully defending his 1968 title and becoming the first man to win three medals in the event. It was France's seventh gold medal in the event, most in the world. Silver went to John Nicholson of Australia, taking the nation's first medal in the men's sprint since 1956. Omar Pkhakadze, who had finished fourth in 1968, won the bronze this time for the Soviet Union's first medal in the event. Italy's six-Games medal streak was broken.
The men's sprint cycling event at the 1984 Summer Olympics took place from 31 July to 3 August and was one of eight cycling events at the 1984 Olympics. Once again, the limit on cyclists per nation was raised to 2. The event was won by Mark Gorski of the United States, the nation's first victory in the men's sprint and first medal in the event since John Henry Lake took bronze in 1900. The final was all-American, as Nelson Vails took silver. Japan earned its first medal in the men's sprint with Tsutomu Sakamoto's bronze. France's five-Games podium streak in the event ended.
The men's sprint event at the 1980 Summer Olympics took place on 23–26 July 1980 in Krylatskoye Sports Complex Velodrome. There were 15 competitors from 15 nations, with three additional non-starters. Each nation was limited to one cyclist. The event was won by Lutz Heßlich of East Germany, the nation's first victory in the men's sprint. Yavé Cahard took silver, extending France's medal streak to five Games despite the retirement of Daniel Morelon. Sergei Kopylov of the host Soviet Union earned bronze.
