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Legends of the Olympics Trivia Quiz

The Olympics are considered the greatest sporting event on Earth. Little wonder then, that they were monumental in the sporting careers of many famous sporters. A number of them will be presented to you in this quiz.

A multiple-choice quiz by engels. Estimated time: 6 mins.

Author
engels

Time
6 mins

Type
Multiple Choice

Quiz #
299,986

Updated
Dec 03 21

# Qns
10

Difficulty
Average

Avg Score
7 / 10

Plays
2023

Awards
Top 35% Quiz

One at a Time - Single Page - Timed Game

Question 1 of 10

1. The first modern day Olympic games were held in Athens in 1896. Host country Greece won 10 of the 43 silver medals which were then awarded to the winners. Probably the most famous of the Greek winners was Spiridon Louis. Which event did he win? Hint

100 meters

Marathon

Discus throw

High jump

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Question 2 of 10

2. Over the years, some events were added to the Olympics, and others were removed. One event that is not held any longer was dominated by the American Ray Ewry, who won 3 consecutive gold medals in 1900, 1904 and 1908 (as well as the intercalalated games of 1906 in Athens). Which event was this? Hint

Two handed discus throw

Triathlon

4000 metre steeple chase

Standing long jump

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Question 3 of 10

3. At the 1908 London Olympics, the first marathon runner to cross the finish line was Italian Dorando Pietri. However, he did not win because of a disqualification. What was the reason for this disqualification? Hint

He had drank so much wine that he failed the doping controls because of the amount of alcohol in his blood

After dropping down from exhaustion, he had gotten help in getting up again

He was claimed to have had a ride in a car for some length along the route

During the race he had made a detour to greet Queen Victoria. Although the detour made his race longer, he was disqualified for not following the preordained route

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Question 4 of 10

4. Paavo Nurmi was one of the so-called 'Flying Finns'. In the 1924 Paris Olympics he gained 5 gold medals, in 1920 and 1928 another 4 gold and 3 silver ones. He also wanted to compete in the 1932 Olympics, but was unable to do so. Why? Hint

Because of an illness he could not get on the ship that was to transport him to the United States

The race in which he wanted to compete, the marathon, was held on a Sunday, and the deeply religious Nurmi refused to do competitive sports on Sundays

Because of the economic crisis, the Finnish Olympic committee had decided not to participate in 1932

The Olympic authorities claimed he was a professional runner, and thus not allowed to compete

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Question 5 of 10

5. American athlete Jesse Owens won 4 gold medals on the 1936 Berlin Olympics, at 100 meters, 200 meters, long jump and 4x100 meters relay. However, he nearly missed the finals of the long jump, because his first two jumps had been declared fouls. He was saved when someone advised him to jump some distance before the official takeoff spot, so that his jump would definitely be valid, and because of his qualities enough to qualify for the last three jumps. Who gave this advice to Jesse Owens? Hint

filmmaker Leni Riefenstahl

German co-competitor Luz Long

Marty Glickman, a Jewish athlete

Jana Hollmann, a teenage German girl

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Question 6 of 10

6. The star of the 1952 Olympics was Czech runner Emil Z�topek, who won the 5000 meters, 10,000 meters, and marathon. He was married to Dana Ingrov�, who at the same Olympics also won a gold medal. At which event did she do this? Hint

1500 meters

20 kilometers race walking

Pole vault

Javelin throw

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Question 7 of 10

7. In Rome in 1960, the marathon is won by the Ethiopian Abebe Bikila. Apart from being an unofficial world record, what is remarkable about this race? Hint

Bikila ran the race barefoot

Bikila had arrived in Rome just one day before

Bikila had had an appendectomy just one month before

Bikila had run off from the pack after just 4 km, and ran the rest of the race solo

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Question 8 of 10

8. In Mexico City in 1968, the height of Mexico City meant that conditions were very favorable for sprinters, and the person that took the most advantage of this was Bob Beamon, who made a long jump that remained the world record for 23 years. What distance did he jump? Hint

8.95 meters

8.90 meters

8.35 meters

8.91 meters

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Question 9 of 10

9. Nadia Com�neci was only 14 years old when the 1976 Montreal Olympics were held, but she became one of the stars of the Games, gaining 3 gold medals at the uneven bars, the balance beam, and the all around gymnastics title. Apart from her young age, what is remarkable about her Olympic participation and titles that year? Hint

She was the first to score a perfect 10.0 at the Olympics

After the Olympics she fled to the west, and in 1980 she competed for Canada

She twice fell off the balance beam in the qualifications, but still scored enough points to qualify for the finals

Because he had not been sure whether she could stand the pressure, the Romanian coach had kept her out of the team for the team event

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Question 10 of 10

10. In Beijing in 2008, Michael Phelps gained 8 gold medals, setting a record for most won gold medals in a single Olympic Game. The old record (7 gold medals) was also held by a swimmer. Who was it? Hint

John Weismuller

Mark Spitz

Matt Biondi

Michael Phelps

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Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

Answer: Marathon

Up to the marathon, none of the track and field events had been won by the Greeks (all had gone to the United States or Australia). This was particularly hard on the Greeks in the case of the discus throw, a classic sporting event that (like the marathon) had not had international competition before, and which the Greeks hoped to win.

Instead it was won by the American Robert Garrett, even though he had started training only on the voyage to Greece (he also won the shot put, and finished second on high jump and long jump).

Answer: Standing long jump

In the standing long jump, competitors had to start their jump from a standing position, no approach run, and takeoff with both feet at the same time. Ewry also won the standing high jump on all these occasions, and the standing triple jump in 1900 and 1904, the only times it was held.

In 1912, the last time that the standing jump events were held, Ray Ewry did not compete, but with a total of 8 gold medals (10 if the intercalulated games are included) among track and fields athletes, he is second only to Paavo Nurmi.

He also set Olympic records in all three events.

Answer: After dropping down from exhaustion, he had gotten help in getting up again

The first few marathons had varying lengths, although they were all around 40 km long. It was the London marathon where the standard length of 42km 195m was run for the first time. Originally it was intended to be 25 miles, but this was extended to 26 miles 385 yards so that the race would start at Windsor Castle, beneath the windows of the nursery.

In 1924, the length of the marathon was standardised to this distance. Pietri entered the stadium as the first runner, but at first, exhaustedly, ran in the wrong direction; when put back on the right track, he collapsed, got up again, and collapsed several times again.

The last few meters, he was mostly carried by a pair of officials. The last 350 meters cost him 10 minutes of the total 2 hours 55 minutes he took for the marathon.

Answer: The Olympic authorities claimed he was a professional runner, and thus not allowed to compete

A group of mainly Olympic officials had claimed that Nurmi had received a too high amount of travel expenses for running in Germany, and was therefore a professional runner. Nurmi did go to Los Angeles (where the games were held) nevertheless, but even though nearly all other competitors pleaded with the IOC to allow Nurmi to compete in the marathon, the ban was not lifted.

His only subsequent participation in the Games was that he was chosen to light the Olympic flame in the 1952 Helsinki Olympics.

Answer: German co-competitor Luz Long

Luz Long, an athlete with all the looks of the 'perfect Aryan' of the Nazis, came second in the competition. He was the first to congratulate Owens on the victory. Another often told story about Owens on the 1936 Olympics is at best partially true. It is said that Hitler refused to shake hands with Owens after his victory because he did not want an African-American to win in 'his' games. Reality is that on the first day, Hitler shook hands with only the German winners.

When told by IOC officials that he should either do so to all winners, or to none, Hitler chose the latter.

Not shaking hands with Jesse Owens was thus not some special treatment by the F�hrer.

Answer: Javelin throw

Ingrov�'s victory came just a few hours after Z�topek's victory on the 5000 meters. Emil and Dana were born on the same day, 19 September 1922, and got married on their 26th birthday. Z�topek's success is even more remarkable if one takes into account that it was his first competition marathon.

7. In Rome in 1960, the marathon is won by the Ethiopian Abebe Bikila. Apart from being an unofficial world record, what is remarkable about this race?

Answer: Bikila ran the race barefoot

When trying on the shoes that had been offered by sponsor Adidas, Bikila found that none of them fit him very well, which made him decide to run barefoot. The appendectomy story is also true, but it was before the 1964 Olympics rather than the 1960 one. Bikila was the first Olympic gold medallist from a country of black Africa, and the first athlete to win the Olympic marathon twice.

He was also a favorite for the 1968 marathon, but had to abandon because of a knee injury.

Answer: 8.90 meters

8.35 meters was the world record before Beamon's jump, shared by Ralph Boston and Igor Ter-Ovanesyan. 8.95 meters is the distance that Mike Powell jumped in 1991 to take over the world record. Carl Lewis jumped 8.91 meters earlier in that same match, but it was not validated as a world record because he had more than the maximum allowed 2 m/s backwind as he did so. 40 years after his memorable jump, Bob Beamon was still number 2 on the official list of best ever long jumpers because of it.

Answer: She was the first to score a perfect 10.0 at the Olympics

The scoring boards were not designed to show a 10.0, and showed 1.0 instead.
Com�neci's young age is a record that cannot be (legally) broken any longer, because nowadays there is a minimum age of 16 years to be allowed to participate in the Olympic gymnastic events. She retired from international competition in 1981, at the still tender age of 19.

Answer: Mark Spitz

Mark Spitz set his record on the 1972 Munich Olympics, each of them in a world record. John Weissmuller (the same person who later played Tarzan in the movies) scored triple gold in 1924. Matt Biondi wanted to equal Spitz's record in 1992, but scored 'only' 5 times gold. Michael Phelps had scored 6 gold medals in the 2004 Olympics.

His total of 14 gold medals meant he took another record from Mark Spitz, although Spitz already had to share his record of 9 gold medals with 3 others.

Source: Author engels

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor Nightmare before going online.
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