1972 Munich Olympics Trivia Quiz

Answer: The "Happy" Games

Germany's efforts to create "happy" games included the use of cheery pastel colors and deploying friendly (and some say loose) security.

Answer: Two USA players eventually accepted the silver medal

Feeling they had won gold, Team USA voted unanimously to reject the silver medal and boycotted the medal ceremony. The silver medals still remain available to the team. While some members of the 1972 team have expressed interest in now accepting the silver medal, unanimous agreement of the team would be required.

The vast majority of the 1972 team are steadfast in rejecting silver. Kenny Davis (the captain of the team) even wrote a will that precludes his heirs from ever accepting the silver.

Answer: convinced referees to add 3 seconds to the clock

Team USA thought it had the final game won when Jones came out of the stands and ordered referees to add 3 seconds to the clock. Even though Jones later admitted he had no authority to regulate games in progress, the referees complied, and the USSR went on to win.

Answer: Mark Spitz

In winning seven gold medals at the 1972 Munich games, Mark Spitz set seven world records (100m freestyle, 200m freestyle, 100m butterfly, 200m butterfly, 4x100m freestyle relay, 4x200m freestyle relay, and 4x100m medley relay).

Answer: wrestling

Dan Gable won the gold medal in men's lightweight freestyle wrestling. In his march to gold, he did not surrender a single point to any of his opponents. In fact, Dan Gable lost only one (unofficial) match in high school and only one match during his collegiate career at Iowa State University.

Answer: he fell during the race

Despite falling in the 12th lap, Viren caught up to the lead pack in less than 150 meters. Lasse Viren also won the 5000m and the 10,000m gold medals at the 1976 Montreal Olympics. Less than a day after that 5000m race, Viren managed to place 5th in the 1976 marathon.

Answer: acting silly on the medal stand during the USA national anthem

USA track and field athletes Vincent Matthews and Wayne Collett won the gold and silver medals, respectively, for the 400 meter race. On the medal stand, they joked with each other and twirled their medals during the USA national anthem. Their ban from Olympic competition (combined with an injury to teammate John Smith) left USA without a 4x400m relay team, forcing the USA to withdraw from that event.

It was Tommie Smith and John Carlos who gave the 'Black Power' gesture during the medal ceremony at the 1968 Mexico City games.

Answer: water skiing

Water skiing and badminton were the two demonstration sports at the 1972 Summer Olympics. Badminton debuted as an official Olympic sport at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics.

Answer: Ludmilla Tourischeva

Korbut's mistake-filled performance on the uneven parallel bars during the team competition sunk her chances for the all-around gold. In the event finals, she won gold for balance beam and floor, and a silver for uneven bars. She also won a gold medal for the USSR team title.

Answer: they were late

Three USA athletes made it to the quarterfinals for the 100m event (Robinson, Hart, and Robert Taylor). Their coach Stan Wright gave them the wrong starting time for the quarterfinal race. When the three saw quarterfinal races being run on TV, they raced to the track. Robinson and Hart missed the start of their race and were disqualified. USA's Robert Taylor managed to arrive less than a minute before his race and later qualified for the finals.

The absence of two USA's top sprinters may have been good fortune for the USSR's Valeri Borzov, who ended up winning the gold medal for the 100m race. Taylor won the silver.

Answer: Shane Gould

Shane Gould won gold medals in the 200m freestyle, 400m freestyle, and 200m individual medley races.

Answer: Frank Shorter

This was the third time an American had won the men's marathon at an Olympics (Thomas Hicks in 1904, Johnny Hayes in 1908, and Shorter in 1972). Amazingly, none entered the stadium first. In 1904 and 1908, the first person to enter the stadium was disqualified.

In 1972, the first person in the stadium was a prankster in a track uniform who jumped into the race within the last mile of the race.

Answer: One Day in September

The film "One Day in September" (1999) won the 2000 Academy Award for best documentary feature. "Munich" was a 2005 Steven Speilberg film about Israel's retaliation for the Munich Massacre.

Answer: forgetting to remove his trademark golf hat for the national anthem

Wottle won the race even though he was in last place for the first 600 meters. Then the "Wottle Kick" carried him to Olympic gold. While some initially viewed Wottle's failure to remove his golf hat during the medal ceremony as a sign of protest, he has said that it was simply a mistake in the excitement of the moment, that he deeply regretted and for which he sincerely apologized.

Answer: Jim McKay

Jim McKay gained fame for his hosting of "ABC's Wide World of Sports" from 1961-1998 ("the thrill of victory...the agony of defeat"). His coverage of the Munich games made him immortal. Upon learning that all of the Israelis hostages had died, McKay said: "When I was a kid my father used to say 'Our greatest hopes and our worst fears are seldom realized.' Our worst fears have been realized tonight.

They have now said there were 11 hostages; two were killed in their rooms yesterday morning, nine were killed at the airport tonight.

They're all gone." McKay died on June 7, 2008 from natural causes at the age of 86.