Tandem Sprint (2,000 metres), Men

In the tandem, Reg Harris, the 1947 World Sprint Champion, rode with his clubmate Alan Bannister. They were the 1947 British champions. In the semi-finals, they were joined by France, Italy, and Switzerland. The semis were conducted as a single race, while the medal races were best two of three. In the first semi, Britain punctured and the race was re-run. In the re-run, they defeated the French team by a length. In the other semi, Italy easily defeated Switzerland, winning by six lengths.

Before the final, Harris declared, “We will win.” He was right in the first heat, as Britain won the first race by a length, but Italy came back to win the second race by two lengths. There had been many delays during the day, and the final race was held almost in darkness, too dark for the photo finish apparatus to work. The race was quite close, as Britain led by two lengths on the back straight, but Italy pulled up on the final banking and won by about 15 cm (six inches). The Italian team was Ferdinando Terruzzi and Renato Perona. Terruzzi was already 24-years-old but would continue racing in professional six-days until he was 50. Between 1951-1964, he won 21 six-days with various partners.