London 2012 Paralympics - Team GB Gold Medals Quiz | Sports

Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. Britain's first gold medal at the London 2012 Paralympic Games was won by the cyclist Sarah Storey. But in what other discipline had she also won medals at the 1996, 2000 and 2006 Paralympic Games?

Answer: Swimming

The amazing Paralympic career of Sarah Storey began at the 1992 Barcelona Games, when she won two gold medals (plus three silvers and a bronze) as a swimmer. She won more swimming medals in 1996, 2000 and 2004, before switching events in 2008, when she won two gold medals as a cyclist in Beijing. On the first day of the 2012 London Games she won a gold medal in the individual pursuit C5 event, and followed it up with three further golds in the 500m C4-5 time trial, the C5 individual road time trail and the C4-5 60km road race.

2. British swimmer Ellie Simmonds won her first Paralympic gold medals at the 2008 Beijing Games aged only 13. Four years later, she won two more gold medals at the 2012 London Paralympics, as well as a silver and a bronze. What is her disability?

Answer: Achondroplasia (dwarfism)

At the Beijing Paralympics in 2008, Eleanor "Ellie" Simmonds was the youngest member of the British team, and won gold medals in the 100m and 400m freestyle swimming events. At the London 2012 Games, she won gold medals in the 400m freestyle, the 200m individual medley, etc etc.

Incidentally, her 2008 performance did not make her the youngest ever British Paralympic gold medallist. This distinction was held by Joanne Round, who was only 12 when she won two swimming relay gold medals at the 1988 Seoul Paralympics.

3. Wheelchair athlete Hannah Cockcroft won Britain's first athletics track gold medal of the London 2012 Paralympic Games, setting a new Paralympic record time of 18.06 seconds for her event. In what event did she achieve this?

Answer: 100 metres

Specifically, she won the 100 metres T34 event, for wheelchair athletes with cerebral palsy. Aged 21, this was her first ever appearance at a Paralympic Games. Later in the Games, she added a second gold in the 200 metres event.

4. With 50 metres to go of the 200m freestyle S14 event at the 2012 London Paralympic Games, this British swimmer was clearly in third place. However, she put on an astonishing burst of speed to take the gold medal. Who was she?

Answer: Jessica-Jane Applegate

With her red-dyed hair, waterproof mascara and painted nails, Jessica-Jane Applegate was one of the more glamorous competitors in the swimming events. No one seemed more surprised than her when she snatched the gold medal in the 200m freestyle event, setting a new Paralympic record of 2:12:63 in the process.

5. Rider Sophie Christiansen, and her horse Janeiro 6, won how many gold medals in equestrian events at the 2012 London Paralympics?

Answer: Three

Sophie Christiansen, who has cerebral palsy, won gold medals in the Grade 1a freestyle dressage and individual championship test events, and was a member of Great Britain's winning team in the mixed team test. British riders won medals in every one of the 11 Paralympic equestrian events - five golds, five silvers and a bronze.

6. David Weir, who won four gold medals for Great Britain at the 2012 London Paralympic Games, is a double amputee who runs with prosthetic "blades". True or false?

Answer: False

David Weir is a wheelchair athlete, and was one of Team GB's top performers at the 2012 Paralympics. He won four gold medals in total: in the 5000m, 1500m and 800m T54 track events, as well as winning the marathon on the last day of the Games.

7. Aled Davies won a gold medal in the F42/44 discus event at the London 2012 Paralympic Games. From which region of the United Kingdom does he come?

Answer: Wales

Aled Davies was born in Bridgend in south Wales. He had already won a bronze medal in the shot put when two days later he struck gold in the discus. Even so, he was not Wales' first 2012 Paralympic gold medallist - that honour going to cyclist Mark Colbourne, who won the 3km pursuit on the first day of the games.

8. What colour was the floppy hat that gold medal winning British archer Danielle Brown wore throughout the London 2012 Paralympic Games?

Answer: Pink

Danielle Brown's trademark pink floppy hat made it easy to pick her out from her competitors. In an extremely close competition in the finals of the women's individual compound event, she beat fellow Briton Mel Clarke with her last arrow. Two years previously, she had won a gold medal at the 2010 Commonwealth Games competing against able-bodied athletes.

9. At the London 2012 Paralympic Games, on the evening of Thursday 6th September three British athletes won gold medals in track events in the Athletics Stadium. Which of the following was NOT one of them?

Answer: Heather Frederiksen

Swimmer Heather Frederiksen won a silver medal in the S8 women's 100m freestyle event on "Thrilling Thursday", having already picked up gold in the S8 100m backstroke. In the Athletics Stadium, gold medals were won by Hannah Cockcroft in the women's T34 100m; David Weir in the men's T54 800m; and Jonnie Peacock in the men's T44 100m. In all, the British team won six gold medals that day.

10. In terms of London 2012 Paralympic medal success, the British tended not to be so good at those events that involved chucking stuff, and our only woman gold medallist in a throwing event was Josie Pearson. What did she throw to win her medal?

Answer: Discus

Wheelchair athlete Josie Pearson has competed in a range of disability events, including equestrianism and sprinting, although her first Paralympic appearance was as a member of the British wheelchair rugby team at the 2008 Beijing Games. For the 2012 Paralympics, she switched to throwing events, and competed in both the club throwing and discus events in the F51/52/53 classes.

If there were medals for throwing a public tantrum, 2012 London Paralympic gold medallist would certainly be British cyclist Jody Cundy, who was justifiably livid at being disqualified in the 1km time trial when the starting equipment malfunctioned, although officials claimed that it was Cundy's error and refused to allow him a restart.

Source: Author stedman

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor stuthehistoryguy before going online.
Any errors found in FunTrivia content are routinely corrected through our feedback system.

London 2012 Paralympics - Team GB Gold Medals Quiz

Following my quiz on British successes at the London 2012 Olympic Games, it seems only right to celebrate our equally fine performances at the Paralympic Games which began two weeks later.

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