Greece Lightning! Trivia Quiz

Answer: 1896, 1906 and 2004

The modern Summer Olympic Games held in Greece have all taken place in Athens. The 566 BC Panathenaic Stadium has been renovated before each of the modern Games and used as a venue for many sporting achievements. It was here in 2004 that Italian Stefano Baldini entered the stadium after running a gruelling marathon around the streets to victoriously claim gold in just two hours, 10 minutes and 55 seconds.

Answer: Hellenic Football Federation

Formed in 1926, the Hellenic Football Federation, or Greek Football Federation, became a member of FIFA a year later, and a member of UEFA in 1954. It governs Super League Greece, the Greek football cup, and the Greek national football team. Major football clubs in the Super League include Olympiakos, PAOK and Aris (both based in Salinoka), Panathinaikos and AEK (both based in Athens) and Olympiakos (based in Piaeus, the port of Athens).

Panathinaikos were the first Greek team to play in a European Final, when they lost the final of the European Champions Cup in 1971 (now the UEFA Champions League), 0-2 to Ajax Amsterdam.

Answer: The Pirate Ship

Football in Greece is one of their most popular sports, attracting over 2,500 official clubs in a land slightly smaller than the state of Alabama USA. Their national football team made their first appearance in a major international tournament in 1980 (at the European Championship) and their second was at the 1994 FIFA World Cup. But it was in 2004, their third major appearance, when the team first came to prominence by winning the UEFA European Championship, beating the defending title holders France along the way to a 1-0 win in the final against Portugal, the host nation. They were given the nickname "Pirate Ship" during Euro 2004 when a sports commentator said "It is time for us to become pirates and steal the victory".

Prior to 2004, they had failed to win a game at the Euro Championship (they scored just one goal in 1980) and failed to win a game at the World Cup (they failed to score any goals in 1994). The win by Greece in 2004 as rank outsiders, to be crowned champions of European, is considered by many sports journalists and historians, to be one of the biggest upsets in world football (and maybe even the biggest upset).

Answer: Weightlifting

Dimas was born in Albania, representing that country in the 1989 World Championships in weightlifting. He emigrated to Greece two years later and was granted Greek citizenship. His first major triumph was winning the gold medal at the 1992 Summer Olympic Games in the 82.5kg class.

He then went on to win two more gold medals at the 1996 and 2000 Olympics, and three gold medals at the 1993, 1995 and 1998 World Championships. He retired from weightlifting in 2004.

Answer: Golf

Greece has a rich sporting heritage but there are not many golfing facilities within the country. The sport became more popular to the Greek countrymen since the opening of two major 18 hole golf courses situated on the western side of Greece at Costa Navarino.

The first to be opened in 2010 was The Dunes which was designed by US Masters Champion, Bernhard Langer. A year later, the second opened at the nearby Bay golf course which was designed by an American architect called Robert Trent Jones Jnr.

Answer: 400m hurdles

Born in 1979, Fani Chalkia appeared at the 2004 Summer Olympics, during which time she set an Olympic record at 52.77 seconds in the semi-finals before going on to win gold in the final race. She appeared at the Summer Olympics four years later at Beijing but was disqualified after testing positive to drugs.

Answer: Basketball

Basketball had been played in Greece since the 1920s, but it wasn't until the 1980s that the sport suddenly took off due to an increase in wins at international level. Well known Greek basketball players have included Faidon Matthaiou, Georgios Kolokithas and Alekos Petroulas. Panathinaikos B.C. (basd in Athens), Olympiakos B.C. (based in Piraeus, the port of Athens) and PAOK B.C. (locate din Salonika) are just three of the Greek basketball teams playing in the Greek Basketball League.
They are associates of the football teams Panathinaikos, Olympiakos and PAOK.

Answer: Sailing

Greece is a country bordered by the Mediterranean, Ionian and Aegean Seas, and because of this, sporting pastimes involving sailing and rowing are very popular to the Greeks. At only 20 years old in 1960, Crown Prince Constantine II competed in the Summer Olympics alongside Odysseus Eskidioglou and Georgios Zaimis in the Dragon class, beating Argentina and Italy to take the gold medal. Constantine II was a very keen sportsman, already a good swimmer and a black belt in karate. Four years later, he was to take over the reign of his country, but went into exile in 1967 following a coup.

Answer: Iron Mike

Mike Zambidis was born in Athens in July 1980. He started training in martial arts at a very young age and turned professional when he was 20 years old. He won kickboxing World Championships in the welterweight and middleweight divisions. When people think of Pele they think soccer, with Roger Federer they think tennis, and with Tiger Woods they think golf.

When it comes to the kickboxing community, Iron Mike is up there among the greats.

Answer: Skiing

People associate Greece with warm climates, blue seas and sandy beaches, but the terrain is a lot different at the north of the country. The 2457m high Mount Parnassos is part of the Pindus mountain range in northern Greece. It has two ski centres with a total of 19 ski runs. Skiing takes place during the winter months from December to May, with ski runs which include the Aphrodite (1500m long), Odysseus (800m long) and Hermes (700m long).