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Figure Skating Pairs Trivia Quiz

The pairs competition is the first to determine its champions in any championship.

A multiple-choice quiz by lady_k. Estimated time: 5 mins.

Author
lady_k

Time
5 mins

Type
Multiple Choice

Quiz #
311,252

Updated
Dec 03 21

# Qns
10

Difficulty
Tough

Avg Score
5 / 10

Plays
373

One at a Time - Single Page - Timed Game

Question 1 of 10

1. Who were the first Soviet pair to win Olympic gold? Hint

Elena Berezhnaya and Anton Sikharulidze

Ludmila Belousova and Oleg Protopopov

Natalia Mishkutionok and Artur Dmitriev

Irina Rodnina and Alexander Zaitsev

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Question 2 of 10

2. Which pairs skater won Olympic gold three times in a row with two different partners? Hint

Maria Petrova

Elena Bechke

Tai Babilonia

Irina Rodnina

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Question 3 of 10

3. The first Chinese pair to win gold at the World Championships were who? Hint

Pang Qing and Tong Jian

Shen Xue and Zhao Hongbo

Zhang Dan and Zhang Hao

Ding Yang and Ren Zhongfei

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Question 4 of 10

4. In Winter Olympics history, which country was the first to win 10 gold medals in figure skating singles competition? Hint

Austria

Canada

Russia

USA

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Question 5 of 10

5. Which skater relocated to United States and later to Russia, to train with famous pairs coach Tamara Moskvina? Hint

Kyoko Ina

Yuko Kawaguchi

Rena Inoue

Utako Wakamatsu

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Question 6 of 10

6. Which skaters were crowned first World Champions ever in the pairs competition? Hint

Ludowika Jakobsson and Walter Jakobsson

Anna Hubler and Heinrich Burger

Helene Engelmann and Alfred Berger

Andre� Joly-Brunet and Pierre Brunet

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Question 7 of 10

7. Who were the first American pair to win gold at the World Championships? Hint

Nancy Ludington and Ronald Ludington

Cynthia Kauffmann and Ronald Kauffmann

Vivian Joseph and Ronald Joseph

Karol Kennedy and Peter Kennedy

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Question 8 of 10

8. In 2005, Russia placed first, second, and third at the European Championships. Which pair won silver? Hint

Julia Obertas and Sergei Slavnov

Maria Petrova and Alexei Tikhonov

Tatiana Totmianina and Maxim Marinin

Maria Mukhortova and Maxim Trankov

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Question 9 of 10

9. Which American pair was the first ever to win gold at the Four Continents Championships? Hint

Kathryn Orscher and Garrett Lucash

Danielle Hartsell and Steve Hartsell

Rena Inoue and John Baldwin

Kyoko Ina and John Zimmerman

10. Due to their difficulty, some elements can't be perfomed in amateur competitions. However, skaters can choose to perform them during exhibitions. Which of the following can be performed in competitions? Hint

Somersault type jumps

Detroiter

Death spiral

Bounce spin

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Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. Who were the first Soviet pair to win Olympic gold?

Answer: Ludmila Belousova and Oleg Protopopov

Belousova and Protopopov earned their country's historical medal in 1964. They married and later lived in Switzerland.

2. Which pairs skater won Olympic gold three times in a row with two different partners?

Answer: Irina Rodnina

She won in 1972 with Alexei Ulanov, and in 1976 and 1980 with Alexander Zaitsev. She and Ulanov split because he wanted to skate with his wife. Rodnina married Zaitsev and they took a year off in 1979. Their son was born that year also.

3. The first Chinese pair to win gold at the World Championships were who?

Answer: Shen Xue and Zhao Hongbo

Xue and Hongbo won gold in at the 2002 World Championships, in Nagano. That same year they placed third at the Salt Lake City Olympics.

4. In Winter Olympics history, which country was the first to win 10 gold medals in figure skating singles competition?

Answer: USA

The United States not only were the first to take 10 gold, they were also the first to win 10 silver and 10 bronze. When the USA had 10 each of the three, no other country had won 10 of anything.

5. Which skater relocated to United States and later to Russia, to train with famous pairs coach Tamara Moskvina?

Answer: Yuko Kawaguchi

Yuko Kawaguchi skated for Japan with partner Alexander Markuntsov. Together they placed second at the 1999 World Junior Championships. She later skated with Alexander Smirnov, and had been granted Russian citizenship.

6. Which skaters were crowned first World Champions ever in the pairs competition?

Answer: Anna Hubler and Heinrich Burger

It happened in 1908, in Saint Petersburg. It was the first time women and pairs competed at the World Championships. The first World Championships took place in 1899, but only men competed then.

7. Who were the first American pair to win gold at the World Championships?

Answer: Karol Kennedy and Peter Kennedy

It happened in 1950. Ludington/Ludington won bronze in 1959, Joseph/Joseph won silver in 1965, while Kauffmann/Kauffmann won bronze three years in a row in 1966, 1967, and 1968.

8. In 2005, Russia placed first, second, and third at the European Championships. Which pair won silver?

Answer: Julia Obertas and Sergei Slavnov

Totmianina/Marinin captured gold, while Petrova/Tikhonov placed third. Mukhortova/Trankov did not participate because they were juniors at the time.

9. Which American pair was the first ever to win gold at the Four Continents Championships?

Answer: Rena Inoue and John Baldwin

They won in 2006. The Hartsells placed third in 1999, Ina and Zimmerman won silver in 2000 and bronze in 2001. Orscher and Lucash won bronze in 2005.

Answer: Death spiral

Death spiral is an element of pair skating performed with the man in a pivot position, one toe anchored in the ice. Holding his hand, the woman circles her partner on a deep edge with her body almost parallel to the ice. It is a required element in pair skating. Death spirals can be performed in all four variants of inside/outside and forward/backward edges. A Detroiter is performed by the man lifting the lady over his head, holding her parallel to the ice while he is in a two-foot spin.

The hold is the most dangerous part of the spin because the man is supporting the lady only by her legs.

This move is also performed in more dramatic and dangerous fashion with a one-handed hold. A headbanger or bounce spin is performed by the man swinging the lady around with both of her feet off the ice, supported only by the man's grip on her ankle.

The lady is elevated and lowered during the spin in a periodic fashion, sometimes with her head coming dangerously close to skimming the ice.

Source: Author lady_k

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