The Early Modern Olympics (1896-1912) Quiz

Answer: Olive Branch

It was surprising to find out the winner received a silver medal and a olive branch and the runners-up got a bronze medal and a laurel branch. I would have thought the laurel would have a higher rank (as in the "laurels of victory"). Retroactively assigning gold, silver, and bronze to the top three finishers, the United States had the largest number of gold medals but Greece had the largest number of medals overall.

Answer: Rugby

Rugby appeared in a total of three additional Olympics in the 20th century--the last in 1924. Cricket involved only teams from two nations with Great Britain winning the gold and France winning the silver. The croquet competition involved only athletes from France. (In 1904, roque, a croquet variant was a contested event, but it is listed separately by the International Olympic Committee.) Obstacle swimming involved competitors climbing over two obstacles and swimming under one other over the 200-meter course.

Answer: Shooters fired at live birds.

Hard to believe, isn't it? The IOC no longer recognizes these as official Olympic events. Traps released pigeons one at a time for a shooter to hit. Over 300 birds were killed in this event. Rather than medals, the winners received a cash prize. Outrage among animal rights activists led to the use of "clay pigeons" by the next Olympic Games.

Answer: Basketball

Although James Naismith, the inventor of basketball was Canadian, the first game was played at a YMCA in Massachusetts in 1891. Basketball became an official Olympic sport in 1936, a few years before Naismith's death. Volleyball was an demonstration sport in 1924 and became an official sport for men and women in 1964 . Bowling has been played as a demonstration sport in the 1988 Olympics. Baseball was played several times as a demonstration sport, beginning in 1912 and was official Olympic sport from 1992 until 2008.

Answer: Greece

Greece had hoped to be the permanent home of the modern Olympics since it had successfully hosted the 1896 Olympics. When the 1900 Olympics moved to Paris, however, an alternate plan was devised where every four years would feature an Olympic Games in a different location and Greece would host in the off-even years.

The 1906 games introduced what has been described as the first closing ceremony. Due to troubled times, Greece did not host an Olympic Games in 1910 and the idea of the Intercalated Games was largely dropped after that.

Answer: Tennis

In the official records, Jeu de Paume is listed as "tennis" and what many people would call "tennis" is listed as "lawn tennis". Jeu de paume is played on an indoor court and from the descriptions I have read, sounds more like racquetball. It is also sometimes called "courte-paume" or "court tennis"

Answer: It allowed the country's Royal Family to watch the start of the race.

Marathons in the late 19th and early 20th centuries varied somewhat, although they were usually in the 25-26 mile range. The race began on the grounds of Windsor Castle and concluded on the track of the White City Stadium (London UK) built especially for the Olympics.

The idea of the Marathon comes from the stories of the wars between the Persian Empire and the Greek city-states. Messenger Pheidippides was said to have run the 26 miles between the battlefield and Athens to report a Greek victory at the Battle of Marathon.

Answer: He had played sports for pay.

Jim Thorpe had played baseball with the Rocky Mount team of the Eastern Carolina League in 1909 and 1910, while he was attending the Carlisle Indian Industrial School. Playing in sports leagues for pay was actually a relatively common practice among college athletes of the day. Thorpe, unlike many of them, however, had not used an alias. The International Olympic Committee said that this made him a professional athlete and stripped him of his medals. His gold medals would later be reinstated in 1982, nearly 30 years after his death.

Supposedly King Gustav of Sweden said to Thorpe, "You, sir, are the greatest athlete in the world." Thorpe replied, "Thanks, King." The Pentathlon in 1912 consisted of the long jump, discus throw, javelin toss, 200-meter dash, and 1500-meter run. The Decathlon in 1912 consisted of the 100-meter dash, long jump, shot put, high jump, 400-meter dash, discus throw, 110-meter hurdles, pole vault, javelin throw, and 1500 meter run.

Answer: Modern Pentathlon

The modern pentathlon involved fencing, swimming, equestrian show jumping, pistol shooting and cross-country running. Pierre de Coubertin, founder of the Modern Olympics, designed an event that he felt emulated the necessary skills of a 19th century army officer. Patton placed fifth overall in the competition, the best performance by a non-Swedish athlete.

The 1912 Olympics were held in Stockholm, Sweden.

Answer: World War One

World War One began in 1914 and by 1916, Germany, France, Britain, Italy, Austria-Hungary and Russia, among many nations were involved. The Great Depression began in 1929 and lasted through the 1930s. World War Two would not begin until the late 1930s.

There was a famous outbreak of influenza in 1918. Had it occurred two years earlier, it might have caused the cancellation of the 1916 Olympics, even without World War One. The 1919 Stanley Cup playoffs were halted before conclusion because several of the players had contracted influenza.