Lillehammer 1994 Olympic Winter Games Quiz

Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. As with every Olympic Games, there were a few cities vying for the chance to host the Games. Lillehammer prevailed over three other cities. Which of these was *not* one of the cities?

Answer: Prague, Czech Republic

Despite having the smallest population of the contending cities, Lillehammer scored high in each of the bidding rounds, and came out on top following the end of the third round. The announcement was made just before the commencement of the 1988 summer games, held in Seoul, South Korea.

The 1994 Winter Olympics were significant for being the first to be held in a different year to the summer games.

2. It is often expected that the host country will score well on the medal tables. As the host country, did Norway win the most gold medals?

Answer: No

The powerhouse of winter sports, Russia, won a total of 23 medals, whereas Norway won 26. However, the ranking is based on the number of gold medals, and then silver, and bronze if necessary. Russia won 11 gold medals, and Norway 10, but the latter won more silver medals.

3. The ever popular sport of ice hockey featured some nail-biting matches. In the end, however, which country beat all the rest to win gold?

Answer: Sweden

The Swedish team dominated Germany in the quarterfinals, defeating them 3-0. The semifinal match pit Sweden against Russia, and the former managed to scrape through to a 4-3 victory. The gold medal match featured Sweden and ice hockey powerhouse Canada, in a match that had spectators on the edge of their seats. Sweden prevailed in a spectacular match that ended in a 3-2 scoreline, leaving Canada with the silver medal. Finland took out the bronze medal in the play-off match against Russia, crushing them 4-0.

4. The men's figure skating was won by Russia, but who was the skater who secured the top spot for his country?

Answer: Alexei Urmanov

The Hamar Olympic Amphitheatre was the venue for the figure skating, and was where Urmanov triumphed in the men's singles figure skating over Canadian skater Elvis Stojko. Urmanov scored well in the Short Program and Free Skating sections, and came out on top when the final results were revealed. Fellow Russian skaters Ekaterina Gordeeva and Sergei Grinkov took out the gold medal in the pairs skating, and Oksana Grishuk and Evgeny Platov in the ice dancing.

5. There were many venues situated at, around or near Lillehammer to host various sports. Which of these venues played host to the cross-country skiing (both as a single sport, and as part of the Nordic combined) and the biathlon?

Answer: Birkebeineren Skistadion

Norway won 3 of the 5 events in the men's cross-country skiing, winning the 10km, 30km and 15km pursuit. Vladimir Smirnov of Kazakhstan won the 50km event more than a minute ahead of Finnish rival Mika Myllyl�. The Italian team triumphed in the 4x10km relay, narrowly beating the host country's team.

The women's events saw Russia winning 3 of the 5 events (the 4x5km relay, 5km and 10km pursuit), and Italy winning the other 2 (the 15km and 30km). Russia continued their winning streak with another 3 wins in the biathlon, taking gold in the men's 10km and 20km, and the women's 4x7.5km relay.

6. The games didn't go without some controversy, and it was American Tonya Harding who was involved in a plot to sabotage Nancy Kerrigan's attempt at getting a gold medal. In which sport did Harding and Kerrigan compete?

Answer: Figure skating

Champion figure skater Tonya Harding's ex-husband allegedly hired someone to club Nancy Kerrigan, a fellow American figure skater, in the knee, thus rendering her unfit to compete in the Olympics. The attack occurred a month before the games were scheduled to start.

However, Kerrigan recovered and secured second place in the figure skating, with Harding finishing in eighth place. The United States Figure Skating Association investigated the ordeal after the games, and banned Harding from events run by the USFSA for life.

7. 14 countries competed in their first Winter Olympic Games in 1994. The majority of the new countries were due to the Soviet Union breaking up. Which of these countries *had* previously competed at a Winter Games?

Answer: Mongolia

Debutantes of the Winter Games, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan had a combined total of 37 athletes competing, the majority of which were from Kazakhstan. The standout competitor of these three countries was Lina Cheryazova of Uzbekistan, who won the gold medal in the freestyle skiing. Mongolia first entered the Winter Games in 1964 at Innsbruck, Austria.

In 1994, Mongolia's only athlete, Batchuluuny Bat-Orgil, competed in the men's short track speed skating, achieving 24th place in the 500m, and 29th in the 1000m.

8. The four Huber brothers from Italy proved to be a force to be reckoned with, three of the four winning medals. Which of the brothers won bronze in the two-man bobsleigh?

Answer: G�nther

G�nther Huber was the only brother to participate in the bobsleigh, with the other three competing in the luge. G�nther teamed up with Stefano Ticci in the two-man bobsleigh and won bronze, missing out on silver by less than two tenths of a second. In the luge, Arnold Huber competed in the singles, and finished in fourth place, losing out to fellow Italian Armin Z�ggeler who got the bronze. Wilfried and Norbert Huber competed in the doubles, but were in different teams. Wilfried Huber and Kurt Brugger took the gold medal, while Norbert Huber and Hansj�rg Raffl won the silver.

9. The Alpine skiing events were held on the two mountains, Kvitfjell and Hafjell. Which of these events did not form a part of the sport of Alpine skiing?

Answer: Freestyle skiing

Kvitfjell was used as the venue for the speed skiing events (the downhill and the super G), while Hafjell hosted the technical events (the slalom and giant slalom). A mixed bag of results came from these events, with 10 different countries winning medals in both the men's and women's sections. Norway won a total of 5 medals, with USA, Germany, Switzerland and Italy each winning 4 medals.

10. The games came to a close on February 27, after many exciting displays of sportsmanship. The closing ceremony was held at the Lysg�rdsbakken Stadion. How many days did the 1994 Olympic Winter Games last?

Answer: 16

Lasting from February 12 to 27, the Lillehammer 1994 Winter Olympic Games featured some incredible displays of sportmanship and competition. Russia prevailed as the winning country, with Norway not far behind. The president of the International Olympic Committee labelled these games "the best winter games ever" at the closing ceremony.

Source: Author eburge

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor gtho4 before going online.
Any errors found in FunTrivia content are routinely corrected through our feedback system.

Brace yourselves, for it is my first Sports quiz. Not only that, it is the first quiz on the 1994 Olympic Winter Games, held in Lillehammer, Norway. What can you remember about the games?

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