The Squaw Valley Olympics Quiz | Olympic Winter Games

Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. The meeting of athletes at Squaw Valley constituted the VIII Winter Olympics. In what year was this Olympiad held?

Answer: 1960

The 1960 Squaw Valley Winter Olympics was the eighth to be contested and the fourth post-World War II Olympiad. Squaw Valley was preceded as the location of the Winter Olympics by the Italian resort of Cortina d'Ampezzo, a beautiful town in the Dolomites.

2. The Squaw Valley Winter Olympics was held in the US state of California, however, had the Winter Olympics been held in the USA prior to this meeting?

Answer: Yes

The Squaw Valley Olympics of 1960 would be the second Winter Olympiad held in the United States, the first being the Lake Placid Olympics of 1932. Furthermore, Squaw Valley would be the fourth American location of an Olympiad, either Summer or Winter with St. Louis, Los Angeles, and Lake Placid all having the honour before Squaw Valley.

3. The Squaw Valley Winter Olympics became the first such competition entered by a particular African nation. It would also be the last Winter Olympics this country would enter for many years due to international reaction to Apartheid. What country made its first appearance?

Answer: South Africa

The major shift in South African politics during the 1990s brought about by the end of Apartheid entitled the country to once again enter Winter Olympiads. After the Squaw Valley Olympics of 1960, South Africa would not compete again until 1994 at the Olympics held in Lillehammer, Norway.

4. It has become common for high-flying politicians to have an input with regards the Opening Ceremony of an Olympiad. What was the name of the politician, who hadn't yet claimed, "I am not a crook", that had the honour of officially opening the Squaw Valley Winter Olympics?

Answer: Richard Nixon

The 1960 Winter Olympics held in Squaw Valley, California was opened by the then Vice President, Richard Nixon. The oath made on behalf of all the athletes was pledged by figure skater Carol Heiss of New York City. Heiss would go on to win a gold medal in the ladies' singles event, an improvement on her 1956 performance at Cortina d'Ampezzo where she took silver.

5. One of the stars of the Squaw Valley Winter Olympics was Knut Johannessen who demolished the officially recognised world record time for the men's 10,000m speed skating event, that was set eight years prior to the Olympiad. What is Johannessen's nationality?

Answer: Norwegian

In the men's 10,000m speed skating event at the 1960 Winter Olympics, Norway's Knut Johannessen registered a time of 15 minutes 46.6 seconds. This was faster than the existing record set by compatriot Hjalmar Andersen in 1952 by an extraordinary 46 seconds.

Many commentators thought the 1952 record to be "unbeatable", but sport did what it does best by surprising everybody in emphatic fashion.

6. The USA team for a particular sport gave home supporters something to cheer about at the Squaw Valley Winter Olympics. This success story is not as well known as the so-called "Miracle on Ice" of 1980, but was just as dramatic. In what sport did the USA beat Canada, USSR, and Czechoslovakia to take the gold medal?

Answer: Ice hockey

Each of America's victories in the ice hockey competition at the 1960 Squaw Valley Winter Olympics was considered an upset. This impressive achievement no doubt did a lot to popularise the sport in America, and this was reinforced by the "Miracle on Ice" at the 1980 Lake Placid Winter Olympics.

It seems the USA has a secret to winning Olympic ice hockey events on home turf, or should I say home ice?

7. Prior to the Vancouver Winter Olympics of 2010, Canada became known as the country that failed to win gold medals whilst playing host to the Olympics. Despite this, Canadian athletes have earned gold medals at foreign Olympiads including at the Squaw Valley Olympics. Anne Heggtveit picked up a gold medal in the slalom which was Canada's first gold medal in what broader Olympic group of sports?

Answer: Skiing

Anne Heggtveit put a stop to the European dominance of the skiing events by taking the gold medal in the women's slalom. So great was her achievement that when she returned from the USA she was honoured with membership of the Order of Canada (French: "Ordre du Canada"). Being a member of this order entitled Anne Heggtveit to place 'CM' after her name.

The gold medal she received in 1960 would be the only Olympic medal she'd receive, but other tournaments were won by her in the following years.

8. Maybe it was irony or maybe it was fate but the Squaw Valley Olympics held in Cold War USA was a major success for America's ideological opponent. Which of the following gained the most gold medals at Squaw Valley, thus topping the medal table?

Answer: USSR

It had to be that way didn't it? The Soviet Union picked up seven gold medals and 21 medals in total which was higher than any other country at the Squaw Valley Olympics on both counts. The 21 medals picked up by the USSR was a huge total considering that second place in terms of total medals was the USA with 10.

The Soviet Union's strength was speed skating with the nation's athletes, both male and female, skating to six gold medals in total. The seventh gold medal was awarded to Maria Gusakova for proving her ability in the women's 10km cross-country skiing event.

9. The Squaw Valley Olympics wasn't expected to go well as the area was remote and lacked infrastructure when it was awarded the right to host the event. Despite such initial reservations, the Olympics was deemed a success. It even has the honour of being the first Olympics to be televised! Which broadcaster paid for the rights to televise the event?

Answer: CBS

CBS became the first broadcaster to pay for the rights to televise any Olympiad, Summer or Winter. The 1960 Squaw Valley Winter Olympics subsequently became the first Olympiad to implement "action replay", a concept that has been used to the benefit of most sports worldwide.

10. Every Olympiad must come to an end and in so doing expectations concentrate upon another part of the world that will hold the Olympics four years thereafter. The country of Austria would be the location of the Winter Olympics after Squaw Valley, but in which resort?

Answer: Innsbruck

From Squaw Valley, California to Innsbruck, Austria, the Games must go on. The Innsbruck Olympiad of 1964 was in many respects a much safer bet than Squaw Valley. The Austrian resort proved to be so successful a venue as to be chosen to also hold the 1976 Winter Olympics 12 years later.

Source: Author jonnowales

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

The Squaw Valley Olympics Trivia Quiz

In an effort to ensure that all the Olympics, both summer and winter have a quiz on them, I present the Squaw Valley Olympics quiz! Enjoy.

NEXT>

NEXT>

NEXT>

NEXT>

NEXT>

NEXT>

NEXT>

NEXT>

NEXT>