Three-Legged Race Trivia Quiz

Answer: Three sports

The word triathlon comes from the Greek words "treis" (three) and "athlos" (sports). The same formula is used to name sports events involving different numbers of sports, for example pentathlon (five sports) and decathlon (ten sports).

Answer: Bungee jumping

Although there are many variations on the triathlon, including an indoor triathlon (using exercise equipment) and a winter triathlon (including skiing or skating), a triathlon normally consists of swimming, cycling and running.

Answer: France

"Les trois sports" is French for "the three sports". The race, was also known as "La Course des Débrouillards" (the race of the experts) and "La course des Touche à Tout" (the race that touches everything).

Answer: 2000

The first modern day triathlon was held in San Diego, California in September 1974 and gradually gained popularity from that point on. The International Triathlon Union (ITU) was established in 1989, part of its remit being to get triathlon included in the Olympic Games. Eventually. in the year 2000, they were successful.

Answer: 1.5 km swim, 40 km cycle, 10 km run

There are many triathlon variants with different distances ranging from the "Sprint" triathlon which takes only 1-2 hours to complete, to the "Ultraman" in which the distances for each stage are so long that it is completed over three separate days. Normally the swim is the shortest distance, followed by the run and then the cycle is the longest distance.

Answer: A variant of the triathlon for athletes with a physical disability

The paratriathlon has six main categories depending on the nature of the athlete's physical impairment, each allowing for appropriate equipment to be used. For example there are categories for those with visual impairments, in which a guide competes alongside the athlete and a tandem bicycle can be used for the cycling stage and for athletes who have no use of their legs a hand bicycle is used for the cycling stage, and a racing wheelchair for the running stage.

Answer: Alistair and Jonathan Brownlee

Alistair won the Gold, his time beating the Olympic record, and his brother Jonathan claimed the Bronze. The other pairs mentioned are also famous sporting siblings in the areas of tennis (Williams), football/soccer (Neville) and Formula 1 motor racing(Schumacher).

Answer: Ironman

The Ironman triathlon starts with a 3.86 km swim, immediately followed by a 180.25 km cycle ride, and then a 42.2 km run to finish. Most competitions have a strict time limit of 17 hours to complete the course, but the good news is that everyone who makes it to the end under the time limit can call themselves an "Ironman".

Answer: Escape from Alcatraz

The Escape from Alcatraz triathlon starts with a swim to shore from Alcatraz island, followed by a 29 km bicycle ride and a 13 km run in the San Francisco Bay area which is renowned for its hilliness. The run includes a section called the "Sand Ladder" which involves scaling a 400 step staircase up a cliff.

Answer: Two athletes complete the whole course while tied to each other at the ankle

The original (and possibly only) tandem triathlon is held every year in the small market town of Bishop's Castle in Shropshire, England. The first event took place in 1986. The athletes compete in teams of two, one of whom is a swimmer and the other a runner.

The race starts with the swimmer completing a 1 km swim, then both members of the team cycle a hilly 35 km route before the runner completes a 10 km run around an iron age hill fort. Both athletes then hop back on the tandem for a 5 km downhill cruise back to the finish line.