Sprint, Men

Thirty-nine riders started the first round of the match sprint, representing 22 nations. France’s Pierre Trentin was favored, having won the World Championship earlier in the year in Paris, after placing third in the event in 1962-63. At the 1964 Worlds, Trentin had defeated his teammate, Daniel Morelon, in the final, with third-place going to Italy’s Sergio Bianchetto (ITA), who had won Olympic gold in 1960 in the tandem. Those three made the semi-finals, where they were joined by the surprising Italian, Giovanni Pettenella. Little known before the Tokyo Olympics, he had already earned a silver medal in the kilometer, behind Belgium’s Patrick Sercu. Sercu, the 1963 World Sprint Champion, competed in this event as well, but was defeated in two straight races in the quarters by Pettenella.

The first semi matched Trentin and Pettenella. Trentin won the first race, and looked to have won the second but was disqualified for interference. Pettenella won the rubber match to advance to the final. The other semi also went three races, with Bianchetto edging Morelon in the final race. The final was not close. Pettenella won comfortably, easing up in both races. Morelon won the bronze medal, after losing the first race to Trentin, by sweeping the final two races. It was the first of four consecutive medals that Morelon would win in this event, including two gold medals in 1968 and 1972. Pettenella was a true shooting star, with few palmares before or after the Tokyo Olympics. As a professional his only podium finish in the World Championships came in 1968, when he placed third in the sprint.