1,000 metres Time Trial, Men

The race was expected to be competitive. Arnaud Tournant (FRA) was World Champion in 1998-2001 and held the world record, but the 2002 and 2004 World Champion was Britain’s Chris Hoy and in 2003, the title went to Stefan Nimke (GER). Australia’s Shane Kelly had won the title in 1995-97, but still had placed on the podium in 2002-03. Hoy was the last starter. Ahead of him, Tournant, Nimke and Kelly had bettered the Olympic record, with Tournant leading with 1:00.896. But Hoy started quickly and was always ahead of Tournant’s pace, finishing with a narrow gold medal win in 1:00.711. As the event was removed from the Olympic Program in 2008 to make room for BMX racing, Hoy would not have a chance to defend his gold medal in his specialty. But he would return in 2008 to win three gold medals in track cycling, having successfully switched to the other sprint events.