Fish Out Of Water Quiz | Australia

Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. The winter Olympics were first held in Chamonix, France in 1924, and have generally been held every four years since. Barring of course, 1940 and 1944 during World War II. When did Australia first compete in the Winter Olympics?

Answer: 1936 Garmisch and Partenkirchen

The Bavarian market towns of Garmisch and Partenkirchen joined forces to host the 1936 games. Australia's sole representative at our country's inaugural games was speed skater Kenneth Kennedy. Unfortunately, he finished near the bottom of the standings in both the 1500m and 5000m. Nor did he have any support staff with him despite the IOC sanctioning his entry.

2. It wasn't until 1952 that Australia sent any women to the winter games. That year two women represented Down Under. In which sport did these women compete?

Answer: Figure skating

Nancy Burley and Gweneth Molony flew the Australian flag at the figure skating in 1952. Nancy and her partner Adrian Swan finished 10th and 14th in their discipline, while Gweneth failed to reach the top twenty.

3. Support for Olympic athletes, especially winter Olympians was minimal in the early years, and team uniforms were out of the question. Subsequently, 1952 Australian speed skater Colin Hickey was given only a black tie and which other item?

Answer: Armband

Team uniforms are now de rigueur for any sports, and are specially tailored to suit each sporting discipline. Back in 1952, with few athletes and even fewer dollars to lavish on them, Colin was only given a black tie and a black armband, with which to mourn the death of King George VI.

4. 1956 saw Australia compete in speed skating, figure skating and downhill skiing. Other athletes from Australia were willing to pay their own way, but failed to gain formal permission. From which sport were these eager athletes?

Answer: Ice Hockey

An ice hockey team wished to participate in the games, and as there was no money forthcoming, they were willing to pay their own fare and accommodation costs. All they needed was permission from the Australian Olympic Federation (AOF). Their request, however, was not just denied, it was ignored.

The AOF did not respond to them. One of these athletes was Geoff Henke, who later became a sports administrator.

5. Australia competed in the ice hockey in 1960, and while their performances were enthusiastic, their results were less than impressive. How many goals did they give away in their six matches?

Answer: 83

Our ice hockey team lost all six matches, going down to Czechoslovakia 18-1 and the United States 12-1. Finland gave us our biggest beating though, a whopping 19-1. But Aussies are nothing if not persistent, and despite failing to qualify for any games since, they live in hope.

6. In 1976 a former athlete took over the job of team manager, took the AOF to task and is credited with ending the neglect of Australian winter sport participation. Who is this saviour, who was team manager for two decades until 1998?

Answer: Geoff Henke

Geoff Henke was a member of the disappointed ice hockey team of 1956 and became the Australian Winter Olympic Team manager in 1976. In 1981 he took the AOF board members to the Australian Alps to promote winter sports. Eventually, the board began to take notice and finally stopped laughing at the idea of Australians competing in winter sports.

7. After a 58 year drought, Australia's maiden Olympic medal came in 1994 when our men's short track relay team was victorious. Which medal did they win?

Answer: Bronze

The team qualified for the four-team final and adopted the strategy of staying on their feet and hoping one of the others would fall or be disqualified. The strategy worked when the Canadian team fell and were unable to regain the lost time. So a medal came our way, almost by default, but it was a medal just the same.The victorious relay team consisted of Steven Bradbury, Kieran Hansen, Andrew Murtha and Richard Nizielski.

8. Women's slalom skier, Zali Steggall, won Australia's first individual medal at which Olympics?

Answer: 1998 Nagano

Zali entered the games ranked sixth in the world, after her fourth place finish in the 1996 World Championships. Unfortunately she missed taking the bronze by just 0.04 second. She went on to won gold in the World Championships in Vail in 1999. Zali's success prompted the Australian Olympic Committee to expand the Australian Ski Institute into the Olympic Winter Institute of Australia, and they were given enough funding to support six sports and 37 athletes.

9. Speed skater Steven Bradbury entered not only the record books, but also Australian folklore, when he won the country's first gold medal. Which year was this?

Answer: 2002

Steven had been a member of the bronze medal winning relay team in 1992, and then overcame a horrendous injury in at a skate-meeting in Montreal in 1995 (another competitor's skate cut his thigh, requiring over 110 stitches). He was the last man standing in the 2002. Knowing he couldn't match the speed of the other skaters, Steven adopted the same strategy as he did in 1994: stay on your feet and hope the others crash. And crash they did! He was trailing the field in the 1000m short-track final when the other competitors all crashed out coming into the last turn. He disbelievingly sailed across the finish line as an unlikely, and thoroughly unexpected winner.

This gold medal became the first gold medal won in the Winter Olympics by any country south of the Equator.

Alisa Camplin also won gold for Australia in the 2002 Olympics. She was successful in the women's aerials freestyle, with her second and final jump. Alisa also had an unusual training ground, since there's little snow in Australia; she practiced by jumping into a pond.

10. Since 2000, any Australian who won an Olympic gold medal, whether it be a summer medal or winter medal, has had their win creatively recognised. In which way were these accomplishments celebrated?

Answer: On stamps

In honour of the 2000 summer Olympics in Sydney, Australia Post made Philatelic and Olympic history. Every time an Australian team or individual won a gold medal, a sheet of gold-medallist stamps was created. The tradition continues and also includes the winter Olympics.

Source: Author leith90

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor gtho4 before going online.
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Fish Out Of Water Trivia Quiz

From the heat and beaches of Australia, to the ice and snow of the winter Olympics. Here's a glimpse of history, as an intrepid group of Aussies venture into the unfamiliar, in search of Olympic glory.

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