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Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. In 2010, four people were given the honor to light the Olympic Cauldron in Vancouver. The four lit the inside cauldron, but only the ice hockey player had the honor of lighting the outdoor one. Who was it?

Answer: Wayne Gretzky

Wayne Gretzky was a Canadian ice hockey player who won four Stanley Cup titles while playing for the Edmonton Oilers. In the 2010 Winter Olympics, he, as well as the other three athletes mentioned, had the honor of lighting the indoor cauldron for the games. However, Le May Doan was unable to assist in the lighting when a mechanical arm failed; she lit this fourth arm during the closing ceremonies.

Only Gretzky had the honor of lighting the outdoor cauldron, which remained lit throughout the Games.

2. Muhammed Ali was given the honor of lighting the Cauldron during one Olympic Games of the 90s. Where was he given the honor?

Answer: Atlanta 1996

Muhammed Ali, often thought of as the greatest boxer of all time, won Olympic gold in 1960 fighting for the United States at light heavyweight. The Cauldron is only lit by sporting greats who represent the host country, and as Atlanta, Georgia, is located in the US, it was thus during the 1996 Olympics that Ali lit the Cauldron.

3. The lighting of the Cauldron is not all that is involved in the Olympic Flame ceremony. The torch is first sent through a relay from Olympia, Greece to the host city, with many people passing the torch along the journey. Of the following relays, which was the longest distance the torch traveled?

Answer: Athens 2004

Interestingly enough, the trip from Olympia to Athens was at least four times longer than any of the other relays listed. The torch traveled 87,000 kilometers and passed through all habitable continents. It passed through all the previous host cities, as well as many other world cities deemed significant. Over 11,000 people were torch bearers for the relay, and it took 142 days to complete.

4. Which of these Games had the shortest Olympic Flame relay?

Answer: Oslo 1952

The relay for the games in Oslo took only two days. 94 torch bearers took the Flame from Olympia to Oslo, traveling only 225 kilometers to get there.

5. The very first time the Olympic Flame was relayed to the host city to light the Olympic Cauldron was for which games?

Answer: Berlin 1936

It was in 1928, during the Amsterdam Olympics, that the lighting of the Cauldron was introduced. The first Olympic torch relay didn't take place until 1936, however; it traveled 3,422 kilometers (with a total of 3,422 torch bearers) in 8 days. This began the tradition, continued in every following Olympic Games.

6. The 1940 Olympic relay was never completed. For what reason?

Answer: The Games were canceled

In 1936, Tokyo was awarded the honor of hosting the 1940 games, but in 1939, the city was changed to runner-up Helsinki due to World War II. It was eventually decided Helsinki would not host the Games either, and they were canceled altogether. Both cities already had a plan for the relay paths, but because of the cancelation, neither came to fruition.

7. Below are four Olympic Games paired with someone who has lit a Cauldron. Which one is incorrectly matched?

Answer: Cathy Freeman - Tokyo 1964

The Olympic Cauldron has always been lit by an athlete who represents the host city's country. Australian Cathy Freeman did not light the Cauldron in Tokyo, but in Sydney for the 2000 Games. At this time, she became the first to light the Cauldron and win a gold medal in the same Games. Yoshinori Sakai lit the Cauldron in Tokyo 1964.

8. All of these people have lit the Olympic Cauldron at some point during the 20th century. Which one lit it for the 1936 Berlin Olympics?

Answer: Fritz Schilgen

Remembering that the lighter of the Olympic Cauldron is always someone who hails from the host country certainly helps; German runner Fritz Schilgen was the first to light the Olympic Cauldron when he did so for the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin. John Mark lit the Cauldron in London 1948, Eigil Nansen in Oslo 1952, and Guido Caroli lit the Cauldron in Cortina d'Ampezzo 1956.

9. Typically, the lighter of the Olympic Cauldron is some sort of athlete, but sometimes the lighter is chosen for other reasons deemed significant. For instance, Yoshinori Sakai was chosen during an Olympic Games in Japan because he was born in Hiroshima the day an atomic bomb hit the city. He was a teenager when he lit the Olympic Cauldron for which Games?

Answer: Tokyo 1964

Yoshinori Sakai was born on August 6, 1945, in Hiroshima, the very day an atomic bomb was dropped on the city during World War II. When he was 19 years of age, Sakai was able to light the Olympic Cauldron for the 1964 Tokyo Olympics.

10. The Olympic Flame is a commemoration of the "theft of fire", but who stole the flame in Greek myth?

Answer: Prometheus

There are dozens of myths based on fire being stolen for human use (all incorrect options were characters who stole fire in various mythologies), but the Olympic Flame is based on the story of Prometheus. In this story from Greek myth, Prometheus stole fire from Zeus in order to give it to humanity so they may advance.

Source: Author salami_swami

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

Pass the Fire Trivia Quiz

Throughout Olympic Games history, many have had the honor of lighting the Olympic Cauldron. How much do you know about this ceremony?

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