Torch Bearers: 1936 to 1980 Trivia Quiz

Answer: Sergei Belov

Belov has been chosen by the International Basketball Federation as the greatest international player of all time. Belov played for Moscow's pro basketball team from 1967 to 1980, and led his team to eleven championships. He played on the Soviet national team and helped lead the USSR to gold in the 1972 games, and bronze medals in the 1968, 1976 and 1980 games. He is one of the few international players to be in the James Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame, admitted in 1992. Belov died in 2013 at the age of 69.

Answer: Sandra Henderson and Stephane Prefontaine

Henderson and Prefrontaine were teenagers representing English and French Canada. Neither participated in the Olympics as an athlete. Sandra was a gymnast who tried out for, but did not make the Canadian team in 1976. Prefontaine was a runner who tried out for the 1984 Olympics. He would go on to become an attorney.

Answer: Gunther Zahn

Zahn was a middle distance runner and winner of the West German junior athletics championships.

Answer: Enrequita Basilio

Basilio made history as the first woman to light the Olympic flame. She was 20 years old. Norma Enriqueta Basilio Sotelo competed in the 400m, 80m hurdles and 4x100m relay race, but did not medal in any of them. A native of Mexicali, Basilio Sotelo died of pneumonia in October 2019.

Answer: Yoshinori Sakai

Sakai was not an athlete, but was chosen to represent the Hibakusha, the survivors of the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Sakai was born August 6, 1945, the day the bomb was dropped. Sakai was a runner, and did win medals at the 1966 Asian games (4x400 relay gold, 400 meters silver). Sakai died in Tokyo in September 2014.

Answer: Giancarlo Peris

Giancarlo Paris, an 18 year old runner was chosen by the Italian National Olympic Committee as the last torchbearer after winning a junior cross country race. He would go on to become a high school History and Italian teacher.

Answer: Ron Clarke

Clarke was just a promising teen when he was chosen to light the Olympic flame at the Melbourne Cricket Grounds. He would become one of the more successful long distance runners of the 1960s (5000, 10000 and Marathon) and won a bronze medal in the 10,000 meters at the 1964 Olympics. Clarke would set world records 17 times between 1963 and 1967.

Answer: Paavo Nurmi

Nurmi is one of the great legends in the history of distance running. The "Flying Finn" won nine gold medals between the 1920, 1924 and 1928 Olympics. Nurmi set 22 world records at distances between 1500 meters and 20 km. Nurmi died in Helsinki in October 1973. He was joined by his mentor Juho Pietari "Hannes" Kolehmainen in lighting the flame in Helsinki. Kolehmainen won the marathon at the 1920 Antwerp Olympics.

Answer: John Mark

John Mark was an amateur runner, President of the Cambridge University Athletic Club. He specialized in sprinting, especially the 400 meters. He did not actually compete at the 1948 Olympics. Mark was chosen by the London organizers to light the torch due to his good looks. Mark became a physician in Hampshire. He died in December 1991.

Answer: Fritz Schligen

The 1936 Olympics were a showcase for Adolf Hitler and Nazism, and did produce "Olympia" by Leni Riefenstahl, one of the greatest propaganda films ever made. While Schligen did not compete in the 1936 Olympics, he was chosen by organizers for his Aryan looks and graceful running style. He remained active in the Olympics, helping to organize the 1972 games in Munich and participating in a Centennial celebration of the Olympics in 1996. Schligen died in 2005 at the age of 99.