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Quiz about Taking it to the Limit
Quiz about Taking it to the Limit

Taking it to the Limit Trivia Quiz


The Olympic motto "Faster, Higher, Stronger" applies to all sports included in the games but among those requiring the most physical exertion are track and field events. Can you identify ten outstanding Olympic athletes?

A multiple-choice quiz by CmdrK. Estimated time: 4 mins.
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Author
CmdrK
Time
4 mins
Type
Multiple Choice
Quiz #
364,222
Updated
Dec 03 21
# Qns
10
Difficulty
Average
Avg Score
8 / 10
Plays
569
Awards
Top 10% Quiz
- -
Question 1 of 10
1. The Olympic men's decathlon is a grueling competition of ten track and field events held over a two-day period. Few decathletes are physically able to enter more than one Olympics, much less win the gold medal twice. Bob Mathias won it for the USA in 1948 and 1952. Who won the decathlon for Great Britain in 1980 and 1984? Hint


Question 2 of 10
2. Taking part of the Olympic motto "Faster" to heart, which U.S. female runner set records in the 1988 Olympics which stood for decades afterwards?
Hint


Question 3 of 10
3. Not only did this British athlete win two long-distance running events at the 2012 Olympics, he originally came from a long distance to compete for Great Britain. Who is he?
Hint


Question 4 of 10
4. Over the length of four Olympics this American won 9 gold and 1 silver medals in running and long jump events. Do you know who he is?
Hint


Question 5 of 10
5. Many of the early modern Olympic track and field winners were from Scandinavia. One of those athletes went undefeated in races over 800 meters long for 121 events. Who is the man who won 12 Olympic medals beginning shortly after World War I?
Hint


Question 6 of 10
6. The women's version of the decathlon is the heptathlon, 7 events of running, jumping and throwing. Who won the Olympic heptathlon on her home turf in 2012?
Hint


Question 7 of 10
7. Besides winning the heptathlon at the 1988 Olympics in Seoul, Korea, this woman also won the individual long jump gold medal, then won the heptathlon again at Barcelona in 1992. Do you recall her name?
Hint


Question 8 of 10
8. This man really got to rub Hitler's nose in it! The Nazis considered people of African descent to be inferior so this American won 4 gold medals at the 1936 Berlin Olympics. Who was he?
Hint


Question 9 of 10
9. Jamaica gave the world a bobsled team at the 1988 Winter Olympics. In the 21st century they gave the world perhaps the fastest man to race on its surface. Who is this lightning man?
Hint


Question 10 of 10
10. An early Olympic decathlon winner was a Native American who excelled at several sports. He had his medals revoked and then given back. Do you know his name?
Hint



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Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts
1. The Olympic men's decathlon is a grueling competition of ten track and field events held over a two-day period. Few decathletes are physically able to enter more than one Olympics, much less win the gold medal twice. Bob Mathias won it for the USA in 1948 and 1952. Who won the decathlon for Great Britain in 1980 and 1984?

Answer: Daley Thompson

Daley Thompson originally wanted to play football/soccer but switched to track and field events. Besides winning two Olympic decathlons, he broke four Olympic decathlon records, won three Commonwealth decathlon titles and won the World and European championships.

Daniel Awde is a British decathlete who competed in the 2008 Summer Olympics and began to compete in the 2012 games but withdrew early due to a knee injury.
2. Taking part of the Olympic motto "Faster" to heart, which U.S. female runner set records in the 1988 Olympics which stood for decades afterwards?

Answer: Florence Griffith Joyner

Olympic athletes know that their gold medal performance often means that they were the best in the world on that particular day and someone could be faster tomorrow. In the XXIV Olympiad in Seoul, Korea, however, Florence Griffith Joyner set records in the women's 100 and 200 meter dashes that held up into the next century. In one of the ironies that sometimes attends elite athletes, Griffith Joyner died in her sleep in 1998, at age 38, of an epileptic seizure.
3. Not only did this British athlete win two long-distance running events at the 2012 Olympics, he originally came from a long distance to compete for Great Britain. Who is he?

Answer: Mohamed Farah

Born in Somalia in 1983, Mohamed Farah moved to Britain at age 8. Besides taking the gold in the 5,000 meter and 10,000 meter races in the 2012 Olympics in London, Farah won several British, European and World titles. Not content with those, he expressed a desire to someday be a marathon runner.
4. Over the length of four Olympics this American won 9 gold and 1 silver medals in running and long jump events. Do you know who he is?

Answer: Carl Lewis

Carl Lewis is the man with the impressive medal count. From 1984 to 1996 he won medals in Los Angeles, Seoul, Barcelona and Atlanta in the 100 meter, 200 meter, 4x100 relay races and long jump. The International Olympic Committee named him "Sportsman of the Century".
5. Many of the early modern Olympic track and field winners were from Scandinavia. One of those athletes went undefeated in races over 800 meters long for 121 events. Who is the man who won 12 Olympic medals beginning shortly after World War I?

Answer: Paavo Nurmi

Dubbed "The Flying Finn", Paavo Nurmi was a Finnish middle and long distance runner. From Antwerp in the 1920 Olympics to Amsterdam in 1928 he took home 9 gold and 3 silver medals. Despite winning 5 gold medals at the 1924 Paris Olympics we was upset because Finnish officials would not let him enter the 10,000 meter race!
6. The women's version of the decathlon is the heptathlon, 7 events of running, jumping and throwing. Who won the Olympic heptathlon on her home turf in 2012?

Answer: Jessica Ennis-Hill

The women's pentathlon (5 events) was replaced by the heptathlon in the 1984 Olympics by adding the javelin throw and shot put. The 2012 gold medalist was Jessica Ennis-Hill of Great Britain. Born in 1986, she had won medals at Commonwealth, European and World games and championships since 2004.
7. Besides winning the heptathlon at the 1988 Olympics in Seoul, Korea, this woman also won the individual long jump gold medal, then won the heptathlon again at Barcelona in 1992. Do you recall her name?

Answer: Jackie Joyner-Kersee

With a brother who was an Olympic gold medalist, American Jackie Joyner-Kersee has her own impressive winning record. Besides those mentioned in the question she also placed second in the heptathlon at the 1984 Olympics and won bronze medals in the long jump in 1992 and 1996.
8. This man really got to rub Hitler's nose in it! The Nazis considered people of African descent to be inferior so this American won 4 gold medals at the 1936 Berlin Olympics. Who was he?

Answer: Jesse Owens

Jesse Owens was an American sprinter and long jumper. He won 4 gold medals at the Berlin Olympics in the 100 meter and 200 meter dashes, the long jump and as a member of the 4x100 relay team. It was a very politically-charged Olympics with the Nazis wanting to show their "racial superiority". Not only did Owens win the gold medal in the 100 but Ralph Metcalfe, another African-American, won the silver medal. Asked once about his formula for running Owens said: "I let my feet spend as little time on the ground as possible".
9. Jamaica gave the world a bobsled team at the 1988 Winter Olympics. In the 21st century they gave the world perhaps the fastest man to race on its surface. Who is this lightning man?

Answer: Usain Bolt

Usain "Lightning" Bolt is a Jamaican sprinter and holder of several world titles. At the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, China, he set a world record in winning the 100 meter dash, with a time of 9.69 seconds. He might have been faster but he slowed down near the finish to celebrate; and his shoe was untied. At the 2012 London Olympics he bettered his record with a time of 9.63 seconds in the 100 meter race and also won the 200 meter and the 4x100 meter relay, as he had done in Beijing.
10. An early Olympic decathlon winner was a Native American who excelled at several sports. He had his medals revoked and then given back. Do you know his name?

Answer: Jim Thorpe

Jim Thorpe attended the Carlisle, Pennsylvania Indian School. His athletic career started when he walked onto the playing field during a high jump practice one day and beat the regular team members, while still in his street clothes. Besides the decathlon, he won the pentathlon at the 1912 Summer Olympics in Stockholm, Sweden. Because of strict amateur rules in effect at the time, Thorpe's medals were rescinded because he had played baseball semi-professionally for two summers prior to the Olympics.

After his Olympic career, he played professional baseball, football, and basketball. In 1983, his amateur status before the Stockholm Olympics was restored, as were his medals - 30 years after his death.
Source: Author CmdrK

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor stuthehistoryguy before going online.
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