Grenoble 1968 Trivia Quiz

Answer: France

Grenoble is a beautiful city in the Rhone-Alpes region of France, which, as the name suggests, is in the famous European mountain chain. It is located in a valley surrounded by mountains on all sides, which made it the perfect location for the 1968 winter Olympics. For the games, the city put in 'Les Bulles', little plastic funiculars which brings tourists up to the Bastille, the fortress on one of the smaller mountains in town, but which gives an amazing view.

These are still in use today, and have become a distinctive part of the city, as much as walnuts or Chartreuse, both of which are locally grown and manufactured.

Answer: X

The winter Olympics didn't begin until 1924, 28 years after the first revival of the games which occurred in Athens in 1896. The first games were in France at Chamonix, and occurred every four years in conjunction with the Summer Games. The games were stopped during WWII, as they represent peace, not conflict. Two of the games which would have taken place in 1940 and 1944 did not. If they had, Grenoble would have been the XII Olympiad.

Answer: Charles de Gaulle

Charles de Gaulle was an interesting president of the French republic who had a strong military background, and who served as Leader of the French Free Forces in WWII (those who continued to fight against the Axis powers after France fell). He was the 18th President of the Republic, and he served as such from 1959-1969 when he resigned.

He is well known for his strong leadership, personality, and he is well known in Canada for his speech at Expo '67 in Montreal, where he said the famous words: "Vive le Quebec Libre", causing greater interest in the separation movement of the French-speaking province of Canada.

Answer: Norway

In general, there are fewer events at the Winter Olympics than at the summer ones, so there are fewer medals awarded and therefore the medal totals do not reach the same heights. Norway earned 6 gold medals, 6 silver, and 2 bronze. The USSR came in second with 5 golds, 5 silvers, and 3 bronze. France came in third with 4 gold, 4 silver, and 4 bronze.

The USA came in ninth with 1 gold, 5 silver, and 2 bronze.

Answer: Chamrousse

Grenoble may have been the centre for the Olympics, but the races themselves were held all over the department of Isere. Chamrousse is a beautiful and quite steep mountain/commune which is part of the Belledonne mountain range. The mountain was also used in the 2001 Tour de France. The view from the top is breathtaking, but don't go up if you're not prepared to ski down.

Answer: Jean-Claude Killy

Jean-Claude Killy won all three of the golds in the alpine skiing events, though this was not without it's controversy. In the slalom race, which was performed last, his Austrian rival Karl Schranz claimed that a mysterious figure came on to the course through the mist, and made him stop during his second run. Killy had beat Schranz during the time trials, but Schranz was granted a second run due to the interference.

He succeeded in bettering Killy's time, but after a deliberation by the Jury of Appeal, he was stripped of his medal and disqualified, and Killy was given the gold.

Answer: Figure skating

Besides winning several national French medals for figure skating, along with European figure skating medals, and one World in 1965, he won the silver medal at the 1964 winter Olympics in his singles field. After his retirement from skating, he went into the field of medicine.

Answer: Gender

Men masquerading apparently was a real problem before 1966, when the European Track and Field Championships instigated the first gender testing. This occurred because several female athletes from Eastern Europe were suspected of being of the male persuasion, or at least not entirely female, and the Olympic committee wanted to be sure the games were fair for all who played.

Answer: Algeria

Algeria had participated in the Summer Games since 1964, though not the boycotted games of 1976 in Montreal. The nation had been a part of the Winter Games twice, once in 1992 at Albertville, and again in 2006 at Torino.

Answer: True

This was an Olympic Games of many firsts. Along with colour broadcasting, gender, and drug testing, the first unofficial mascot was created, a little skiing cartoon character named Schuss. Also, it was the first time East and West Germany were allowed to enter as separate teams.