Individual Pursuit, 4,000 metres, Men

An individual pursuit had been contested at the World Championships since 1946, but this was the Olympic début for the event. Earlier in the year, Dutchman Tiemen Groen had won the World Championship, beating Herman van Loo (BEL) in the final, with Czechoslovakia’s Jiří Daler completing the podium. Van Loo would not get past the qualifying heats, but Groen and Daler would make the semi-finals where they were joined by Italy’s Giorgio Ursi and Denmark’s Preben Isaksson. Groen had had the fastest qualifying time with 4:57.48, but in the first semi, Ursi bettered that mark with 4:56.64 to pull well away from Groen. In the second semi, Daler defeated Isaksson in a closer race. The final was close throughout but Daler, an electrician from Praha, defeated Ursi, the son of an Italian farmer. Isaksson bested Groen for the bronze medal, but Groen would return to win the World Championships again in 1965-66, and was professional world pursuit champion in 1967.