Winter Olympics 1998 Trivia Quiz

Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. Helena Blach Lavrsen led the Danish women's curling team to a silver medal at Nagano. Whose team beat them, winning gold?

Answer: Sandra Schmirler (Canada)

Schmirler the Curler, as she was known, brought home the gold medal for Canada in the first Olympic Women's Curling competition, beating Lavrsen's foursome 7-5 in the final. Gustafson's Swedish rink took the bronze, defeating Hay and her rink 10-6 in the bronze medal match.

The photo of maple leaves is a clue to Canada being the answer.

2. For which country did Ekaterina Dafovska cover 15 km on skis whilst also showing her shooting proficiency?

Answer: Bulgaria

Ms Dafovska won the gold medal in the 15 km Biathlon, the first Bulgarian to win a Winter Olympic gold. She went on to compete in two more Olympics without repeating her success at Nagano.

The image is Bulgaria's flag superimposed on a map of the country.

3. Elena (Olena) Petrova used her skis and rifle to win silver for which country?

Answer: Ukraine

Petrova won the silver medal behind Dafovska in the 15 km Biathlon race. She retired in 2008 to become a youth coach in Ukraine.

The sunflower, pictured, is a symbol of Ukraine.

4. The bronze medal winner in the women's 15 km biathlon won more medals herself than at least six countries. Who was this German skier?

Answer: Uschi Disl

Ursula "Uschi" Disl had her worst result of the Nagano Olympics in the individual race, having won gold in the relay and silver in the sprint. Over five Olympics, from Albertville 1992 to Turin 2006, she amassed two gold, four silver and three bronze medals.

The incorrect choices are all German tennis players. The image of a fuel pump is meant to suggest "diesel" which sounds a bit like Disl.

5. Zali Steggall made her way down the mountainside quickly enough to bring some joy to her country. Which one?

Answer: Australia

Zali Steggall's bronze in the Alpine Skiing slalom event was her country's only medal in 1998. She was Australia's first Winter Olympics individual medallist and first female medallist. She was also Australia's first Alpine skier to win an Olympic medal. She has gone on to become a lawyer and politician.

The image is of an emu which, along with a kangaroo, is one of the supporters of Australia's coat of arms.

6. Zeke Steggall, Zali's brother, also competed in the Winter Olympics at Nagano, in which sport?

Answer: Snowboarding

Zeke was not nearly as successful as his sister, finishing 28th out of 34 in snowboarding's parallel giant slalom event in Nagano. He competed again four years later in Salt Lake City, with similar results.

The image is a wooden board, meant to make you think of snowboards and not skis or skates.

7. Bart Veldkamp had previously competed for his native country, but changed allegiance for the 1998 Winter Games. Which of these countries did he represent in that year?

Answer: Belgium

The bronze medal won by Veldkamp in speed skating's 5000m race was the first Winter Olympics medal for his adopted country since the four-man bobsleigh team won Bronze at Chamonix in 1924. Veldkamp had formerly competed for his native Holland winning a gold medal for them in 1992 at Albertville. Thanks to lotus 79 for this additional info about Veldkamp.

The image is a map of Belgium with the colours of the flag superimposed.

8. Bart Veldkamp's native country topped the medal table in his sport, even without his assistance. What sport was that?

Answer: Speed skating

The eleven medals won by the Netherlands' (long track) speed skating team in Nagano nearly doubled the total of their nearest competitor (Germany, with 6). Their five golds matched third place Canada's overall medal total.

The image is of a figure skate (note the picks), but should have sufficed to eliminate the sled-like skeleton as a choice.

9. Sean Olsson was a serving soldier when he (and some teammates) won a medal at Nagano. In which country's army was he serving?

Answer: Great Britain

Sean Olsson led Britain's four man bobsleigh team to a bronze medal. They finished in equal third place to another team, and two bronze medals were awarded. Olsson was at the time a sergeant in the Parachute Regiment of the British Army. His teammates were Dean Ward, Courtney Rumbolt and Paul Attwood.

The image of British-style sergeant's stripes should have helped, not to mention the crown.

10. Another team tied Sean Olsson's for the bronze medal, giving their country its first medal in this sport. Name both sport and country.

Answer: Bobsleigh, France

The French team consisted of Bruno Mingeon, Emmanuel Hostache, Eric Le Chanony and Max Robert.

The stylized image of a four man bob should have led you to the sport, whilst knowing that Germany's success in Olympic bobsleigh dates back to the 1920s would have eliminated them.

Source: Author spanishliz

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor gtho4 before going online.
Any errors found in FunTrivia content are routinely corrected through our feedback system.

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