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General knowledge · 12 questions
Olympics and athletics
Twelve questions on olympics and athletics. Look closely: the most familiar answer is not always the right one.
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Question 1 of 12
Who won the men's 5,000m, 10,000m and marathon at Helsinki 1952?
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- 1. Who won the men's 5,000m, 10,000m and marathon at Helsinki 1952?
- A. Alain Mimoun
- B. Emil Zátopek (answer)
- C. Paavo Nurmi
- D. Vladimir Kuts
Zátopek completed this extraordinary distance treble representing Czechoslovakia. - 2. Which athlete won the women's javelin at Helsinki 1952?
- A. Dana Zátopková (answer)
- B. Nina Romashkova
- C. Shirley Strickland
- D. Fanny Blankers-Koen
Dana Zátopková won javelin gold at the same Games where her husband Emil won three distance titles. - 3. Bob Beamon's famous world-record performance at Mexico City 1968 came in which event?
- A. Long jump (answer)
- B. High jump
- C. Pole vault
- D. Triple jump
Beamon jumped 8.90 metres, a world record that survived until 1991. - 4. Who won the men's 1,500m at Mexico City 1968?
- A. Kipchoge Keino (answer)
- B. Ron Clarke
- C. Peter Snell
- D. Jim Ryun
Kenya's Keino beat American Jim Ryun, who took silver. - 5. Which British athlete won the men's 400m hurdles at Mexico City 1968?
- A. John Sherwood
- B. David Hemery (answer)
- C. David Bedford
- D. Alan Pascoe
Hemery won gold, while fellow Briton John Sherwood earned bronze in the same final. - 6. Which country swept all three medals in the men's 400m at Mexico City 1968?
- A. Kenya
- B. Jamaica
- C. Great Britain
- D. United States (answer)
Lee Evans, Larry James and Ron Freeman completed an American podium sweep. - 7. Which country swept the men's 10,000m medals at Berlin 1936?
- A. Finland (answer)
- B. Sweden
- C. United States
- D. Great Britain
Ilmari Salminen led home fellow Finns Arvo Askola and Volmari Iso-Hollo. - 8. Which race concludes the standard men's outdoor decathlon?
- A. 1,500m (answer)
- B. 800m
- C. 400m
- D. 3,000m
The 1,500m closes a ten-event competition spread over two days. - 9. Which race opens the standard men's outdoor decathlon?
- A. 400m
- B. 110m hurdles
- C. 200m
- D. 100m (answer)
The first day begins with the 100m and ends with the 400m. - 10. Which throwing event is NOT part of the men's outdoor decathlon?
- A. Discus
- B. Javelin
- C. Shot put
- D. Hammer (answer)
Decathletes contest shot put, discus and javelin, but not hammer. - 11. At which Olympic Games did the modern decathlon make its debut?
- A. London 1908
- B. Stockholm 1912 (answer)
- C. Antwerp 1920
- D. Paris 1924
Jim Thorpe won the decathlon when it entered the Olympic programme in 1912. - 12. Which athlete won the women's 100m at Berlin 1936?
- A. Betty Robinson
- B. Alice Coachman
- C. Helen Stephens (answer)
- D. Fanny Blankers-Koen
American Helen Stephens won ahead of defending champion Stanisława Walasiewicz.
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