Mixed Sports Photo Miscellany Trivia Quiz

Answer: Brazil

Brazil were the first country to win the FIFA World Cup on five occasions: 1958, 1962, 1970, 1994 and 2002. In addition, Brazil were the only team to compete in each of the 22 four-yearly tournaments between the first in 1930 and 2022, the most recent to this question.

It is estimated that 'the beautiful game' has 250 million players worldwide, making it the most popular of all participation team sports.

Answer: Canada

Lacrosse developed from an activity popular among native peoples in North America before the arrival of Europeans. Its modern form dates back to the 1600s. The first records date to Southern Ontario in 1683.

The National Sports of Canada Act in 1994 deemed lacrosse to be Canada's national summer sport. Within 20 years the organising body, Lacrosse Canada, had 100,000 registered players. Meanwhile, World Lacrosse reported 86 member federations worldwide by 2021.

Answer: Paavo Nurmi

Paavo Nurmi, the flying Finn, won nine golds and three silvers between 1920 and 1928. Carl Lewis was a contender, with nine golds and a silver between 1984 and 1996.

Nurmi set 22 world records during his career as a middle and long distance runner. He might have secured more medals but for an accusation by the Swedish Olympic Committee that he was a professional athlete. (In those days the Olympics were for amateurs). He was accused of taking money through inflated expense accounts. Although his own Olympic association cleared him, he was banned from the 1932 Los Angeles Olympics.

Answer: 11

Each American Football team will have 45 to 50 players available, although can only field 11 at a time. This is because some of the positions are specialised and will have offense and defense players on the field according to possession of the ball.

In the USA, statistics indicate there are more than 5 million participants. The world body, International Federation of American Football (IFAF,) had 120 member nations by 2020.

Answer: Scotland and Wales

Those projectiles in curling, stones, are made from granite mined in just two quarries, one in Scotland and one in Wales. When manufactured they weigh between 38-44 pounds, have a maximum circumference of 36 inches and are at least 4.5 inches high.

The origins of the sport are unclear, although the first written record dates to 1540 in Scotland. Paintings by the Flemish artist, Pieter Bruegel (1530-1569) show something akin to curling being played on frozen ponds. The first registered clubs were formed in Scotland in the 19th Century and emigres took the sport to Canada, America and the Antipodes. Curling became an Olympic sport in 1924 and Canada has been the most successful nation.

Answer: The America's Cup

The America's Cup is credited as the oldest international sports trophy still being contested in the 21st century. Its origins were in an 1851 challenge for sailing ships around the Isle of Wight, England.

The owners of sloop called "America" sailed from New York to take part and won the £100 prize. Afterwards the trophy became an international event and the 1851 challenge sparked the longest winning streak in sport: for 132 years boats representing the USA successfully defended the trophy 24 times, until 1983, when Australia II became the first successful challenger.

In the periodic challenge, the defending country faces off against a challenger that has beaten off competition from other countries. It is an expensive venture to design, develop and build a yacht and then pay for a crew.

Answer: Roland Garros

Roland Garros was a pioneering French aviator whose flying career began in 1909. He was credited with inventing an early system that enabled machine guns to be fired through the spinning propeller of a fighter plane using a system of metal wedges to select bullets that would otherwise have hit the wooden blades. In 1915 he was forced by engine problems to land in German territory and was taken prisoner. After three years as a POW, he escaped, and resumed hostilities as part of the French air force. He was shot down and killed in October 1918.

In 1928, the Stade Roland Garros was opened in Paris to host the Davis Cup tennis tournament. The clay courts there became the venue for the French Open, one of the four 'Grand Slam' tennis tournaments. According to the International Tennis Federation, over 85 million people play the game worldwide, with a 59 per cent to 41 percent male/female breakdown.

Answer: Austria

Pedantically, the sport illustrated is Alpine Skiing - which should be distinguished from Nordic Skiing. Put crudely, Alpine events are primarily speed related: the competitor who gets down a mountain fastest wins.

The first skiers lived in Russia between 8000 and 7000 BCE. That was primarily a means of getting from place to place in snowy conditions. Downhill skiing first emerged in Norway in the 1850s. The first Olympic Winter Games took place in Chamonix, France, in 1924, but it was not until Berlin in 1936 that downhill skiing was included.

Most of Austria's medals came in alpine skiing events, but the nation has also won in others such as ski jumping, figure skating, luge, and snowboarding events. For the sake of completeness, in the 'All-time medal table for the Winter Olympic Games from 1924 to 2022', statistia.com puts Norway at the top with 405 - more than half of them in ski jumping, cross-country, and skating events.

Answer: St Moritz

The White Turf event takes place on three Sundays each February. Up to 30,000 spectators gather to watch horses and jockeys from across Europe race on the frozen lake. The first meeting took place in 1907. St Moritz is noted as one of the most glamorous resorts in the Alps and has a reputation as a place where the well-heeled go for their winter seasons.

The resort is also home to the Cresta Run - to call it a very fast toboggan run seems too simplistic, particularly given the fact that several competitors have lost their lives on its tight turns. It hosted the Winter Olympic Games in 1928 and 1948. The lake also historically provided a surface for English universities to play rugby in winter. In summer its waters attract sailing competitions.

Answer: Wayne Gretzky

I miss the questions about Wayne Gretzky that used to crop up on this site all the time. The three wrong answers were all American players.

The National Hockey League in North America, meanwhile, rated the Canadian Wayne Gretzky as "the greatest hockey player ever." In the 20 years until his retirement in 1999, 'the great one' played for teams in both Canada and the USA, establishing 61 NHL records, among them 894 career goals.

If you have ever wondered why ice hockey players need so much proactive padding, consider this: the puck can travel at 100mph (160km/h). A player once recorded a puck speed of 108.8 miles per hour (175.1 km/h).