Gary Neiwand of Australia took silver, the third time that nation had a runner-up in the event; Neiwand was only the fourth man to win multiple medals in the sprint (adding to his 1988 bronze).

Canada earned its first medal in the men's sprint with Curt Harnett's bronze.

Four of the quarterfinalists from 1988 returned: silver medalist Nikolai Kovsh of the Soviet Union (now representing the Unified Team), bronze medalist Gary Neiwand of Australia, sixth-place finisher Erik Schoefs of Belgium, and eighth-place finisher Maxwell Cheeseman of Trinidad and Tobago.

With only one cyclist per nation allowed, Fiedler was selected for the German team and was the heavy favorite.

[2] Indonesia made its debut in the men's sprint; some former Soviet republics competed as the Unified Team.

This sprint competition involved a series of head-to-head matches along with the new qualifying round of time trials.

The fourteen defeated cyclists from the first round took part in the 1/16 repechage.

Winners advanced to the semifinals, losers competed in a 5th to 8th place classification.

Winners advanced to the finals, losers competed in the bronze medal match.

The 5-8 classification was a single race with all four riders that had lost in the quarterfinals taking place.