2004 UCI Track Cycling World Championships – Women's sprint

The Women's sprint competition at the 2004 UCI Track Cycling World Championships was held over two days at the Vodafone Arena in Melbourne, Australia. 22 riders from 16 nations competed. The early rounds were raced on 28 May, with the semifinals, finals, and races for minor placings on 29 May. Svetlana Grankovskaya won her second consecutive sprint world title. After the race she described herself as "very motivated and very driven." Anna Meares won silver, following in the footsteps of her sister Kerrie Meares who won silver in the sprint in 2002. == Results == === Qualifying === Qualifying took place on Friday 28 May 2004, starting at 11:50. The qualifying round was a flying 200m time trial. The top 18 riders who completed qualifying would progress in the competition. === 1/16 Finals === The 1/16 finals took place on Friday 28 May 2004, starting at 13:20. Each heat consisted of a single three-lap race between two riders. Rider who won their heats proceeded to the 1/8 finals, while riders who lost their heats would race again in repechage for another chance to qualify for the 1/8 finals. In heat 5, Susan Panzer received a warning from the commissaires for deliberately riding on the blue band. In heat 9, Jiang Cuihua was disqualified from the competition for causing her opponent to crash. === 1/16 Final Repechage === The 1/16 final repechage took place on Friday 28 May 2004, starting at 14:10. Each heat consisted of a single three-lap race between two or three riders, with the winner of each heat proceeding other the 1/8 finals. In heat 2, Susan Panzer was relegated by the commissaires for not holding her line during the final sprint. === 1/8 Finals === The 1/8 finals took place on Friday 28 May 2004, starting at 19:30. Each heat consisted of a single three-lap race between two riders, with winners proceeding to the quarterfinals and losers racing again in repechage. === 1/8 Finals Repechage === The 1/8 finals repechage took place on 28 May 2004, starting at 20:15. The winner of each proceeded to the quarterfinals. During the first heat, Tamilla Abassova was relegated by the commissaires. === Quarterfinals === The quarterfinals took place on Friday 28 May 2004, starting at 20:45. Each heat was a best-of-three competition between two riders, with riders needing to win two three-lap races to win their heat. Winner would proceed to the semifinals, while losers would race for 5th–8th place. In heat 4, Natallia Tsylinskaya received a warning from the commissaires for deviating from her line during the final sprint. Tsylinskaya also fell in her first race against Pendleton and was unable to finish that race, but she was only bruised and was able to contest the other two races in the heat. === Semifinals === The semifinals took place on Saturday 29 May 2004, starting at 19:15. Like the quarterfinals, each heat in this round was a best-of-three competition. The winners from this round would go on to compete for the gold medal, and the losers from this round would compete for bronze. Victoria Pendleton was relegated in the second race of heat 1 for entering the sprinter's lane when her opponent was already there. === Race for 9th–12th Places === The race for 9th–12th place took place on Saturday 29 May 2004, starting at 20:40. This round consisted of a single race between the riders who came second or third in the 1/8 final repechage to establish their overall placings. === Race for 5th–8th Places === The race for 5th–8th place took place on Saturday 29 May 2004, starting at 20:45. This round consisted of a single race between the riders who lost their heats in the quarterfinals to establish their final placings. === Finals === The finals took place on Saturday 29 May 2004, starting at 20:50. == References ==