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28th Olympic Games - JO
Athens, Greece, August 14-28, 2004
Results Qualification Eighth-finals Quarter-finals Semi-finals Finals Track 101
August 24: Women's Sprint Semi-Finals
Canada and Russia advance
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After a string of dominant performances, Australia's Anna Meares found herself left behind in the women's sprint by talented Canadian Lori-Ann Muenzer in the semi final round. Meares took the first sprint, but Muenzer is known for her tenacity, and promptly returned to win the second and provoke a third, decisive match. Meares simply didn't have the answer to Muenzer's strength and the Canadian powered to the win.
The Russian duo of Tamilla Abassova and Svetlana Grankovskaya went head to head, with most expecting the more experienced Grankovskaya to take the match. She did win the first sprint, but the young Abassova returned to win the second and push her compatriot to a third race, showing there were no national tactics to throw the match and set up Grankovskaya for the final. In fact it was Abassova who won the third race in convincing fashion, going on to meet Muenzer in the gold medal match.
In the race for fifth through eighth place, Venezuela's Daniela Larreal crossed the line first but was disqualified after having provoked a crash behind her. Lithuanian Simona Krupeckaite was the victim of the fall and failed to finish.
Photography
Images by www.epicimages.us
- Anna Meares (Australia) wins the first round of the women's sprint final against Lori-Ann Muenzer, but not the last two.
- Anna Meares looks over her shoulder for Lori-Ann Muenzer.
- Lori-Ann Muenzer (Canada) leads Anna Meares down the back stretch.
- Anna Meares salutes Muenzer's win in the first of the women's semi-finals.
- Natalia Tsylinskaya (Belarus) leads in the women's 5-9 sprint final, which she won.
- Belarusian Natalia Tsylinskaya did enough to clinch fifth place in the 5-9 sprint final.
Results
Heat 1 1 Lori-Ann Muenzer (Canada) 12.101 12.185 2 Anna Meares (Australia) 11.802 Heat 2 1 Tamilla Abassova (Russia) 11.965 11.894 2 Svetlana Grankovskaya (Russia) 11.893 Race for 5th-8th 5 Natalia Tsylinskaya (Belarus) 6 Katrin Meinke (Germany) DQ Daniela Grelius Larreal Chirinos (Venezuela) DNF Simona Krupeckaite (Lithuania)
