How The West Was Really Won (Part II) Quiz

Answer: Athletics - Track

Despite having a short career, Herb Elliott is considered to be one of the greatest middle distance runners of all time. Elliott announced his arrival at the 1958 Commonwealth Games where he won both the 880 yard and one mile races. That same year he would break the world 1,500 metre record, was named the Associated Press Athlete of the Year in 1959 and arrived at the Rome Olympics in 1960 as an overwhelming favourite. He won gold in a new world record time, but the most amazing feature of his victory was that his nearest rival was a staggering twenty metres behind him.

Elliott would retire from the sport two years later having been beaten only once in his career but never over 1,500 metres or the mile. He became the CEO of Puma North America (2001) and, eventually, the Chairman of the Fortescue Metals Group (2007), the fifth largest iron ore miner in the world, at the time.

Answer: Cricket

Rodney Marsh was a history making wicketkeeper who represented Australia in Test cricket between 1970 and 1984. Christened "Iron Gloves" in his first series, due to a rash of fumbles and dropped chances, he would set a world record (since broken) of 355 dismissals over 96 Test matches. Marsh was blessed with fast feet, uncanny anticipation and incredible reflexes. His diving takes and raucous appeals became a trademark.

In addition to this, he was an aggressive batsman of some quality. He registered the first century by an Australian keeper in Test matches and retired having scored 3,633 runs, which included three hundreds. He was also an astute leader, who led his home state to two Sheffield Shield victories.

Answer: Swimming

Peter Evans was an Australian champion breaststroker. His successful individual moments resulted in bronze medals in the 100 metre events at the Moscow (1980) and Los Angeles (1984) Summer Olympic Games. However, his most defining moment came as a member of the 4x100 medley relay team at the 1980 Games in Moscow.

He out-split his more fancied rivals, coming from behind, to put Australia into the lead, a position they did not relinquish and went on to win the gold medal. Peter would retire from swimming in 1986 and attempted to forge a career in politics.

Answer: Surfing

Forgiving Ian Cairns for the fact that he was born in Victoria (no, there's not interstate rivalry here), because he saw the light as a 13 year old and made the waves at Cottesloe Beach his home thereafter. He would dominate junior and senior surfing events in this state (never losing a title he competed in) but, by the age of 21 he was dominating surfing across the globe. At this point he was hailed as the best board-rider in the world and the "Master of the Big Waves".

Unfortunately for Cairns there was no World Tour available at that time. He set his sights on the Smirnoff Pro, which was viewed as a virtual World Championship, the Duke Kahanamoko Classic and the World Cup. He would win the Smirnoff in 1973, the Duke in 1975 and the Cup in both 1976 and 1980. Cairns would then put his energies into developing a World Tour, became a foundation member of the Australian Professional Surfing Association and a founder of the world-wide Association of Surfing Professionals.

Answer: Netball

Jill had a great sporting pedigree. Her father, Merv McIntosh, was an Australian football legend, winning the Sandover Medal, as the Best and Fairest in the West Australian Football League, on three occasions. Born in 1955, Jill, in her own right, was an extremely gifted athlete. As a 15 year old schoolgirl she won the butterfly and medley events at the Australian national swimming championships and, in the same year, was selected in the All-Australian Schoolgirls Netball team.

By 1973 she was representing her state's senior side, and the following year was making her international debut. Whilst she'd started her career as goal defense, it was realized, at international level, that her strength in the air, speed on the ground, excellent court vision and her uncanny ability to read the play, coupled with lightning reflexes, was better suited to the wing and centre positions.

Adjudged Netballer of the Year in 1981, she was made captain of the Australian team in 1982 and rates her greatest triumph as winning the 1983 World Championships, where they defeated New Zealand who had entered the tournament as overwhelming favourites.

Answer: Athletics - Field

John Winter was the first West Australian to win a gold medal at the Olympic Games. He achieved the feat at the 1948 Summer Games, winning the high jump event on a countback from Bjorn Paulson of Norway and the highly fancied American, George Stanich.

Using the Eastern Cut-off style, Winter was considered a prodigy as a fifteen year old, after some astounding feats at his interschool events. Unfortunately for him, World War II broke out and stymied his career. After the war he maintained his consistency, winning the Helms Award in 1947 as the Australasian Athlete of the Year. He followed this up with Olympic success in 1948 and then secured the gold medal at the Auckland Empire (now Commonwealth) Games in 1950, before retiring.

Answer: Australian Rules Football

Graham Moss assured himself of legendary status in the Western Australian (WA) Hall of Champions when, in 1976, he became the first West Australian to win the Brownlow Medal. This was awarded to the Fairest and Best player in the Victorian Football League (VFL), seen as the premier football competition in Australia at the time.

A gifted ruckman he completed 254 games for his beloved Claremont in WA and, over four years, 89 games for Essendon in the VFL. As an indication as to how well he was considered as a player, in the first of his four years at Essendon he would finish runner up for the Brownlow, two years later he was third, before securing it in his last year.

He returned to WA to Claremont, who'd finished bottom of the ladder in 1976, and guided them to three Grand Finals by 1983, winning the flag in 1981. He would also play 20 games for his state, winning a Simpson Medal in 1977 as best on ground in an interstate game.

Answer: Cycling

Ryan Bayley's status as an inductee into the Western Australian Hall of Champions was solidified at the 2004 Athens Summer Olympic Games, where he became the first Australian cyclist to win two individual cycling gold medals at the same Games.

A late starter to track cycling, Bayley had plied his trade on the BMX circuit until he was 15 years old. Four years later he made good on his potential, winning the World Championships in the keirin. He would travel to the Manchester Commonwealth Games in 2002 where he secured gold medals in the individual and team sprints, repeating the dose four years later at the Melbourne Commonwealth Games.

However, for many Western Australians, the most enduring memory was his epic performance in winning his first gold medal at Athens. Trailing world champion Theo Bos after losing the first race in the best of three individual sprint event, Bayley pulled out something special to hold off Bos by mere millimetres to win the second race. He would then power over the top of the world champ on the final bend of the last race.

Answer: Field Hockey

Rachelle Hawkes made her international debut in 1985 when she was barely 18 years old. By the time she'd retired in 2000, she was the most decorated female hockey player on the planet. She'd won gold medals at three Olympic Games (1988,1996,2000), two World Cups (1994 & 1998), five consecutive Champions Trophy events (1991,1993,1995,1997,1999) and a gold medal at the Commonwealth Games in Kuala Lumpur in 1998.

She was one of the world's premier midfielders, represented her country on 279 occasions, was captain of her team and was afforded the honour of reading the Athlete's Oath at the opening of the Sydney Olympics. Two weeks later she would play her last international, sporting an Olympic gold medal.

Answer: Water Polo

Tom Hoad was giant in Australian water polo. Primarily a forward, he was blessed with immense power and incredible stamina... he once completed a five kilometre swim through Perth using only the butterfly stroke. He made his state debut in 1959 and the following year, he was representing his country at the Rome Summer Olympic Games. At the following Olympics, in Tokyo, he was both captain and coach of the team.

In all, he would represent Australia in five Olympics. A keen student and a great linguist, he spent a great deal of time in Italy, Germany and Hungary, studying the techniques and training regimes of the best in the game. He would guide the Australian to becoming one of the world's top ten nations in the sport, culminating in Australia's best finish, a fifth, at the Los Angeles Olympics in 1984.