Athletics Assortment Quiz | Sports Other

Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. Who in 1988 became the first woman to run the 100 metres in under 10.5 seconds?

Answer: Florence Griffith Joyner

Florence Griffith Joyner aka Flo-Jo was a US athlete who in 1988 set world records for both the 100 and 200 metres. Flo-Jo was the wife of triple jumper Al Joyner and sister-in-law of Jackie Joyner Kersee. She died in 1998 as the result of an epileptic seizure aged 38.

2. Jamaica is well known for producing some of the best male sprinters to grace the world of athletics; and in the 200 metres at the London 2012 Olympics they had a clean sweep of the medals. Which of these athletes was NOT one of the three medallists?

Answer: Asafa Powell

Asafa Powell was a member of the Jamaican Olympic team that competed at London 2012. He did not compete in the 200 metres but did make the final of the 100 metres but unfortunately finished last. The incorrect answers were the three medallists, Bolt (Gold), Blake (Silver) and Weir (Bronze).

3. In 1995 Jonathan Edwards set a world record in the Triple Jump of 18.29 metres in Gothenburg, Sweden. What nationality is he?

Answer: British

Jonathan Edwards was born in 1966 in Windsor, England. At one point in 2002 he held the title (gold medals) in the four major athletics championships these being European (1998 Budapest), Olympic (2000 Sydney), World (2001 Edmonton) and Commonwealth (2002 Manchester).

He also won gold medals at the 1995 World Championships in Gothenburg and the 1998 European Indoor Championships in Valencia. He retired in 2003 and became a sports commentator and presenter.

4. Which of these was NOT one of the four athletes that made up the Jamaican team that won the gold medal in the 4x100 metres relay at the London 2012 Olympics?

Answer: Kemar Bailey-Cole

Kemar Bailey-Cole was a member of the Jamaican squad and competed during their qualifying heat but was replaced by Usain Bolt for the final. Jamaica won the gold medal in a new World Record time of 36.84 seconds (the previous record was 37.04 seconds, sert by the same four runners a year earlier).

5. The 1980 Moscow Olympics was to be the last time that the Pentathlon featured as an Olympic event (replaced by the Heptathlon from 1984 onwards). The host nation completed a clean sweep of the medals as they took gold, silver and bronze. Which of these athletes was NOT one of the medallists?

Answer: Liudmila Popovskaya

Liudmila Popovskaya finished fourth in the Pentathlon at the 1976 Montreal Olympics which also saw one nation winning all three medals. That time it was the East German trio of Siegrun Siegl, Christine Laser and Burglinde Pollak who took gold, silver and bronze respectively.

The incorrect answers Nadezhda Tkachenko, Olga Rukavishnikova and Olga Kuragina won gold, silver and bronze respectively in 1980.

6. In 1985, who became the first pole vaulter to clear six metres?

Answer: Sergey Bubka

Ukrainian Sergey Bubka representing the Soviet Union at the time achieved this feat in Paris, France. Russians Rodion Gataullin (1989) and Igor Trandenkov (1996) were the second and fourth athletes to clear six metres. South African Okkert Brits was the third in 1995.

7. Which of these combinations gives the correct split between individual track and field disciplines that make up the seven events in the Heptathlon?

Answer: 3 x Track, 4 x Field

The Heptathlon is an event usually contested by women that features three track events (100m Hurdles, 200m and 800m) and four field events (High Jump, Shot Put, Long Jump and Javelin) spread over two days.

8. Which Kenyan athlete set a new world record of 1 minute 40.91 seconds for the 800m at the 2012 Olympics?

Answer: David Rudisha

David Rudisha broke his own world record when he became the first man to run under 1:41 for the 800m. He was born in December 1988 in Kilgoris, Kenya. He had previously won gold at the 2011 World Championships and at the African Championships in 2008 and 2010. The incorrect answers are three of the competitors from the 800m final in London where Rudisha set the world record.

9. The same number of hurdles are jumped in the both the 100m and 110m hurdles.

Answer: True

In both events ten hurdles have to be cleared although the height of the hurdle differs for each event. In the 110m event they are 42in/107cm high while for the 100m they are 33in/83.8cm.

10. Which of these disciplines is NOT one of the track events that is featured in the Men's Decathlon?

Answer: 800m

The Men's Decathlon is made up of four track events (100m, 110m Hurdles, 400m and 1500m) and six field events (Long Jump, Shot Put, High Jump, Discus Throw, Pole Vault and Javelin Throw). There is also a women's version which is almost the same except for the hurdles race which is run over 100m instead.

Source: Author rainbowriver

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor gtho4 before going online.
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Athletics Assortment Trivia Quiz

This quiz is an assortment of ten questions about athletes and track and fields events.

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