Snatch, Clean, Jerk….
Quiz on Olympics
Rajan and Manish

RULES
• Olympics supposedly started in 776BC. Hence we have
plenty of material for 50 questions.
• Fairly long written quiz.
• Some questions have multiple parts. Each part carries a
point. (Arul Mani prelim scoring system will be followed)
• In case of ties, we use sudden death – from Q 1.
• There are no marks for handwriting, but please write
legibly.
• Points for each question is indicated in the relevant
question.

ANSWERS

QUESTION # 1 – 3 points
• The origins of this sport (X) is linked
to the decline of another ancient sport
(Y). The ancient sport eventually
became more popular in its current
format (Z).
• X is a former Olympic event. Since its
sole appearance at the 1900 Olympics,
it has served as a demonstration sport
at three different Summer Olympics.
• Name X, Y and Z

ANSWER
• X – Basque Pelota or Pelota
• Y – Jeu de Paume
• Z – Tennis

QUESTION # 2 – 1 point
• Janet Lynn had a terrible start to the 1972 Winter Olympics figure skating
competition. She fell during the free-skating period and finished 3rd in the
overall competition. Despite all this, her graceful diligence and persistence
resonated with the Japanese, making her an overnight celebrity. She was
also a peace activist and took every opportunity to reiterate her stance of
being against wars.
• She is sometimes credited with a cultural phenomena seen predominantly
in South East Asia. Many dispute this theory, but seems like a plausible
explanation nonetheless. What phenomenon?

ANSWER
• South East Asians default pose in photographs is with a V-sign.
Apparently Janet Lynn, was repeatedly seen flashing the V-sign in
the Japanese media and is credited for having popularized it in
South East Asia.

QUESTION # 3 – 1 point
Identify this silver
medalist who is also
an author of three
books and a former
federal politician.

ANSWER
Ric Charlesworth
• He won the hockey silver as a part of the
men’s team in 1976.
• He also played 47 matches for Western
Australia.

QUESTION # 4 – 2 points
• Two events made their debut for women at the 1984 LA Olympics.
• The winners of both the events are shown below. Name the two events.

ANSWER
• Women’s Marathon won by Joan Benoit.
• Rhythmic Gymnastics won by Lori Fung.

QUESTION # 5 – 1 point
• On 2nd October 1924, Argentina played Uruguay on a
friendly match at Sportivos Barracas stadium. Close to 52,000
spectators attended the match, which was won by Argentina
2-1. Best remembered for scenes such as Uruguayan team
leaving the field with only 4 minutes to play.
• There were several reasons for leaving the field– main being
hostile Argentinean crowd. This match however is famous
for a particular incident (which also contributed to the
tension) which happened during the 15th minute of play.
• The player involved – Cesareo Onzari became famous for
this particular piece of beauty, although Onzari was not the
first to do this. What did he do whose name was christened
after this match? Just give me the name popularly known in
Latin America.

ANSWER
Olympic Goal
• Goal scored directly from a
corner kick. Since the goal was
made against the Olympic
champions, Uruguay – the name
Olympic goal stayed on.

QUESTION # 6 - 1 point
Identify this Olympic team (Be specific)

ANSWER
• Israeli contingent at the 1972 Munich Games

QUESTION # 7 – 1 point
• Monday, 13 July 1908, the opening day of the First London
Olympics in the White City Stadium, was concluded with an
exhibition of this sport. The sport was the recent invention of
R.J. Mecredy, the editor of the Irish Cyclist.
• The match was only an exhibition match - the players were not
official Olympians. The Irish association team thrashed their
German opponents, 3 to 1.In the recent years India has been
one of the most successful countries at the International
championships of this sport. Name the sport.

ANSWER
Bicycle Polo

QUESTION # 8 - 1 point
• This is Takeichi Nishi, the 1932
Olympics winner in the Show
Jumping individual competition. He
later died in 1945. We remember him
thanks to a revival through a 2006
movie. Which movie?

ANSWER
Letters from Iwo Jima
• Nishi commanded the 26th Tank
Regiment during the battle at Iwo Jima.

QUESTION # 9 - 2 points
• In this video, there are two ex-Indian hockey players. They both
can be seen as the coach and manager of the Indian team in the
film. Name both the players.

ANSWER
• Coach is Mir Ranjan Negi
• Manager is Zafar Iqbal

QUESTION # 10 – 2 points
‚I had just turned 17 years of age and I thought that was good because I was
not a boy anymore, and wrote that I was Chinese because I thought they might
think that I was wise, but I decided not to put my name or address on the
letter in case they thought it was a dumb idea. It was the Wednesday night
when I wrote my letter and the Saturday was to be the _____ _____. The
office for the Organising Committee was in Little Lonsdale Street, so I dropped
my letter into their letter box late at night making sure no one saw me. By
Saturday morning, I had not heard or read about any changes to the _____
______ so I went to the movies that afternoon. When I came out, there was
a crowd of people watching the television in a shop window, so I went over to
see what they were watching – in those days very few people owned a set – I
saw the _____ _____ and ……………………………………..
What did he watch? Which edition of Olympics was this?

ANSWER
CLOSING
CEREMONY
• All the athletes had come
together and intermingled as
one nation, and were
marching around the track
laughing and waving to the
crowd.
• 1956 Melbourne Olympics.
• The boy later revealed himself
as ‘John Ian Wing’.

QUESTION # 11 - 1 point
Wiki snapshot of what?

ANSWER
Olympic Gold post boxes
• To commemorate the British Gold
Medal winners, Royal Mail decided to
paint the post boxes of the winners’
home town in Gold.
• Several of these boxes were later
vandalized including some high
profile ones like Jessica Ennis and
Andy Murray.

QUESTION # 12 - 1 point
• At the 2009 IOC session in Copenhagen, this was
heralded as one of the comeback stories.
• This sport has seen only gold medal winners from North
America with USA winning 3 out of 4 that have been on
offer.
• The venue for this event in 2016 will be designed Hanse,
who has been called the Architect of the Year by the
sports magazine in 2009.
• What am I talking about?

ANSWER
RE-INTRODUCTION OF GOLF

QUESTION # 13 - 1 point
• Who in the 1972 games won the 50m freestyle gold and
created a world record in the same event?
• He ended up participating in Javelin throw, precision
javelin throw and Slalom and was a finalist in all three
events.
• He became his country’s first ever individual gold medalist.

ANSWER
Muralikant Petkar
• He was crippled during the 1965 war. He was originally a boxer
of repute.
• He participated in the 1968 paralympic games without much
success but became India’s first ever individual gold medal
winner at the 1972 Paralympic Games in Heidelberg, Germany.
• Despite searching for hours on the internet, I did not find a
single photo of this man.

QUESTION # 14 – 1 point
WHAT DOES THIS MAP DEPICT?

ANSWER
• Route of Marathon at 1908 Olympics which became the
modern standard distance for the Marathon – 42 km, 385yds
yards.

QUESTION # 15 - 1 point
• The 1900 Olympics had a live pigeon-shooting competition
where over 300 pigeons were killed.
• So somebody came up with an alternative to killing
pigeons and 2 variations of this are now Olympic sports.
• Identify the sport.

ANSWER
Trap Shooting
• Olympic Trap and Double Trap are the current two variants.

QUESTION # 16 – 1 point
• This was the snapshot used by
the referees to award the gold
and silver medalists at an event
in 1996 Atlanta Olympics. Next
day, several newspapers ran an
article with condolences to the
silver medalist ______.
• She had the best chance to win
the gold here. Nevertheless, this
was her first silver medal after a
string of bronze medals in
previous Olympic editions.
Who is this athlete?

ANSWER
Merlene Ottey
• Former Jamaican athlete who
currently represents Slovenia
since 2002. She holds the
record for the most Olympic
appearances (seven) of any
track and field athlete (1980-
2004).

QUESTION # 17 – 1 point
SIMPLE!!! NAME THE OLYMPIAN

ANSWER
Sonja Henie
• Sonja Henie – Ice skater and
a Winter Olympic champion
• She acted in few Hollywood
movies and this clip is from
the movie ‘Sun Valley
Serenade’.

QUESTION # 18 - 1 point
• Snapshot from an athlete’s IAAF profile. This is her
performance in triple jump.
• Her father dropped a letter from her first name so that his
daughter would be the first in everything. Who is this
athlete?

ANSWER
Anju Bobby George
• She started her career as a triple
jumper and at one point of time
even held the national record in
Triple Jump. But realized, she had a
better shot at Long Jump.
• Her first name at the time of birth
was ‘Manju’.

QUESTION # 19 – 1 point
• This particular book part of a series was released in the year 1968
(to coincide with the Mexico City Olympics). It was translated into
English in 1972 (to coincide with the Munich Olympics). The
story satirizes performance enhancing drug usage in sports. A
movie version of the book was released in 2008 (to coincide with
the Beijing Olympics). Just name the book.

ANSWER
Asterix at the Olympic Games

QUESTION # 20 - 1 point
• David Weller is a retired Jamaican Olympic medalist. He
won a bronze in the 1980 Olympic games.
• In what way is his medal unique among all Jamaicans?

ANSWER
Non-Athletics Medal
• He is Jamaica’s only
non-Athletics medal
winner so far. He
won the bronze in
the 1000m Time
Trial.

QUESTION # 21 – 1 point
1968
+
CONNECT
1984
+

ANSWER
• Singles winners when tennis was a demonstration sport.
• At 1968 Olympics – Manuel Santana & Helga Masthoff.
• At 1984 Olympics – Stefan Edberg & Steffi Graf.

QUESTION # 22 - 2 points
This is a snapshot of a athlete’s performance at the
Paralympics. He is still remembered for a particular
feat of his at the Games. Identify the Para-athlete and
why is this guy remembered?

ANSWER
Antonio Rebello – For his famous arrow
shot at the 1992 Barcelona Games.

QUESTION # 23 – 1 point
• ‚I vividly remember the 1968 Winter Olympics in Grenoble, France. My mom woke my
younger brothers and me up at 4:00 in the morning to watch Jerry, the one-man ski team
from _______. Jerry was a waiter with my older brothers at the Chart House in San
Diego and a fantastic skier. Any way, there we were all cuddled on the couch waiting to
see Jerry in his downhill run. We watched Jean Claude Killy, a couple of Americans and
then when Jerry was to race, ABC cut to a commercial! The network thought an ____
skier was of no interest to the American viewers. Well, my mother gets up and goes to the
phone in the kitchen (no cordless phones). She calls the local ABC station and wants to
know who is responsible for scheduling that commercial break. After several more calls,
my mother finally gets a hold of some one in New York City.
By the time she gets back to the living room and the
commercials are over, the sportscasters on that mountainside
in France are announcing that they will now replay the run
of______ skier, Jerry for his fans in San Diego,
California.‛ A friend narrating an incident on Jerry. What is
Jerry’s claim to fame?

ANSWER
First Indian Winter Olympian
• Jerry Bujakowski – The first
Indian winter Olympian.
• He is from Polish descent.
• Since he was born in India,
therefore qualified to be on the
Indian Olympic ski team.

QUESTION # 24 - 1 point
• The 1968 Olympics games torch relay gave special
importance to these 3 places.
– Genoa, Italy
– Palos de la Frontera, Spain
– The island of San Salvador.
They supposedly represented the interaction between
Europe and the Americas.
Explain the importance of these 3 places.

ANSWER
Christopher Columbus
• The 1968 Olympics Torch relay was designed to follow the course
taken by Christopher Columbus. This was supposed to highlight
the interaction of Europe with the New World.
• Genoa – Birth Place of Columbus
• Palos de la Frontera – Place from where he embarked for his
journey.
• San Salvador – Columbus encountered land here first in his
journey.

QUESTION # 25 - 1 point
This incident involving Knud Enemark Jensen at the 1960
Rome Olympics led to a significant development at the future
Games. What?

ANSWER
Tests for Doping
• Knud Enemark Jensen died during the 100km time trial at
the 1960 Olympic Games.
• During the autopsy they discovered traces of amphetamine
in his body.
• IOC initiated a committee to look into the matter in 1961
and they recommended mandatory drug testing at future
Olympic Games.

QUESTION # 26 – 3 points
• The final words by X in the movie Y sums up ‘Z’: ‚All my life,
man and boy, I have operated under the assumption that the main
idea in running was to win the race. Naturally, when I became a
coach I tried to teach people how to do that. I tried to teach ‘Z’
how to do that. Tried like hell to teach ‘Z’ to do that. And ‘Z’
taught me. Taught me I was wrong.................. But he finally got it
through my head that the real purpose of running isn’t to win a
race. It’s to test to the ______ of the human heart. That he
did… Nobody did it more often. Nobody did it better.‛
This is where the movie ends. (A 1990’s movie)
Name X, Y and Z (Character names for X and Z)

ANSWER
• X – Bill Bowerman (Founder of Nike)
• Y – Without Limits
• Z – Steve Prefontaine

QUESTION # 27 - 1 point
• Sansarpur, the hockey factory, is part of the Jalandhar
Cantonment constituency. A lot of hockey fans are hopeful that it
may return to its glory days as X has been elected on a Shiromani
Akali Dal ticket.
• X has been trying to reform hockey after his retirement. He
contested in Hockey India elections before losing out to Vidhya
Stokes. Name X.

ANSWER
PARGAT SINGH
• The only Indian to be a captain at
2 Olympics – 1992 and 1996.

QUESTION # 28 – 1 point
CONNECT ALL
THE FOUR
VISUALS TO AN
ATHLETE

ANSWER
CARL LEWIS
• Chicago Bulls had drafted him in 1984.
• Dallas Cowboys had drafted him in 1984.
• Carol Lewis, sister and former Olympian.
• Lewis Carl Hamilton – named after Carl
Lewis.

QUESTION # 29 - 1 point
• This is Frederick Lane from
Australia. He was one of
Australia’s early gold medal
winners.
• He won one of his 2 gold's in this
event, which was held only in the
1900 Olympics.
• It was a race over 200m but also
involved boats. What event is
this?

ANSWER
200m Obstacle Event
• Swimmers had to climb over a pole and a row of boats
and then swim under a third row of boats.

QUESTION # 30 – 2 points
• At one time, X of Grand Rapids, Michigan was the best amateur
heavyweight in the world. This was in 1964, after he had twice
defeated another promising amateur named Y. He was on his way
to the 1964 Olympics Games in Tokyo but an injury sidelined
him. Y took his place as an alternate, won the Gold Medal and the
rest is history. Name X and Y.

ANSWER
X – Buster Mathis Sr.
Y – Joe Frazier

QUESTION # 31 - 1 point
• A minor controversy erupted in 1992 when a judge accidently
entered 8.7 instead of 9.7 for Canadian Sylvie Frechette, which
cost her the first place. After appealing to the IOC, her medal was
upgraded to a gold which meant that this event had 2 gold medal
winners and 1 bronze medal winner. It was the last time this event
was played.
• This event would confuse a lot of people with its name. Some
might even wonder what the judges are trying to judge due to a
very confusing and misnomer sort of name for this event.
• Identify the event.

ANSWER
Solo Synchronized Swimming
• One person swimming cannot
be synchronized with anything
else.
• Pedants say that the
‚synchronized‛ part was
actually with the music.

QUESTION # 32 – 2 points
Name the movie and Connect these two photographs
A B

ANSWER
1956 Olympic Champions of
Water Polo - Hungary

QUESTION # 33 - 1 point
• Karoly Takacs was a sharp shooter and an Army man. He was
considered among the best in the world. But disaster struck in 1938.
Despite the setback, he taught himself to shoot again and was
considered a favourite for the 1940 Olympics.
• He finally managed to win the gold in 1948 Olympics and repeated
the feat in 1952 to become the first man to defend a shooting gold.
• In what way was Karoly Takacs unusual among shooters?

ANSWER
He shot left handed – Only left-hander
to win Olympic Gold
• He was the top right handed
marksman in Hungary. During a
training exercise in 1938, his right
hand was badly injured when a
grenade exploded.
• He taught himself to shoot left handed
and won gold at the Olympics.

QUESTION # 34 - 1 point
• More Than Gold, a Christian outreach organisation
that seeks to enable local churches to engage with
big sporting events in host cities around the world,
hosted the inaugural Legacy Award breakfast in
honour of this athlete in 2012. The Award honours
one male and one female Olympian who display
outstanding character at home, in their community
and on the field of competition.
• The male recipient of the award was the 2008
Olympic decathlon gold medallist from the USA,
Bryan Clay. The female athlete honoured at this
inaugural event was British rower and double
Olympic silver medallist, Debbie Flood.
• Who is the athlete after whom the award is named
after? (His memorial can be seen in the pic)

ANSWER
Eric Liddell

QUESTION # 35 – 1 point
IDENTIFY THIS ‘REBELLIOUS’ OLYMPIAN

ANSWER
DAWN FRASER
• Notorious for stealing the flag
by climbing the pole at the
Emperor’s Imperial palace
during 1964 Tokyo Olympics.

QUESTION # 36 - 1 point
• Like his more illustrious father, Ranjeet was a hurdler of high promise
and clocked 13.49s in an All-Comers athletic meet at Santa Barbara on
June 27, 1996. Since the timing was wind-assisted it has been credited as
a national record.
• With this Ranjeet effectively became the first person to break his father’s
long standing record. Ranjeet though left athletics to pursue a masters in
computer science and international relations. He is today a successful
businessman.
• Who is Ranjeet’s father?

ANSWER
Gurbachan Singh Randhawa
• Gurbachan Singh set the
national record for the 110m
hurdles in the 1964 Olympic
final. It remained an official
record till 2001 when it was
broken by Gurpreet Singh.
• Only recently did an Indian
breach the 14 second mark in
the 110m hurdles.

QUESTION # 37 – 2 points
• This is a final table of a
sport which made its debut
at the 1912 Olympics.
• Name this US athlete whose
name has been blanked out
and which sport is this?

ANSWER
Modern Pentathlon & George S Patton
• Modern Pentathlon (pistol
shooting, fencing, 200 m freestyle
swimming, show jumping, and a
3 km cross-country run).
• George S Patton was famous as a
General for United States Army at
WW II. The movie 1970 ‘Patton’
is based on him.

QUESTION # 38 – 2 points
• This gentleman on the right had
taken up a herculean task of setting
up this place as a Olympic venue. He
managed it in such a way that, the
event is remembered to be one of the
most innovative Olympics to this
date.
• Name him and which edition of
Olympics am I talking about?

ANSWER
• Walt Disney
• 1960 Squaw Valley Winter Olympics.

QUESTION # 39 – 1 point
• Two of the landmark events occurred during this race.
• One was the first All-Black Athletics finals in an Olympic event.
• Name the other most significant event.

ANSWER
JIM HINES breaking the 10s barrier
• Jim Hines becomes the first to
break the 10 second barrier in
the 100m race officially.
• Official reading read 9.95 s
which stood for the next 15
years. It was at the 1968 Mexico
City Olympics.

QUESTION # 40 – 2 points
• This is one of the
controversial incidents of
the recently concluded
Summer Olympics. Here
the referee is shown with
a ‘black card’.
• Only two Olympic
sports employs the use of
‘black cards’. Name the
two sports.

ANSWER
BADMINTON AND FENCING

QUESTION # 41 - 1 point
• Identify the man
encircled in green.

ANSWER
SPIRIDON LOUIS
• Winner of the marathon at the
1896 Olympics.

QUESTION # 42 – 1 point
• She may have been the perfect athlete in her sport, she may have
become more famous than her country's most popular character and
been patronised by many including the most influential person in the
government, but the demands of her sporting schedule had repressed
her soul. She seldom smiled, never cried and as a teenager attempted
suicide by drinking bleach. On recovery, she said she was glad about
what she had done, because her time in hospital temporarily spared
her the rigours of training. In all she participated in two Olympic
Games. Who is this athlete?

ANSWER
NADIA COMANECI

QUESTION # 43 - 1 point
• Image from a place called W-Bar in Beijing.
Who owns this place?

ANSWER
Jan - Ove Waldner
• Considered by many to be the
greatest Table Tennis player of
all time.
• He is the only non-Asian gold
medal winner in the table-
tennis event. He won gold in
1992.

QUESTION # 44 – 1 point
What’s happening here? Connect the two photographs.
A B

ANSWER
• Jim Thorpe’s two gold medals won
in 1912 is being reinstated after a
gap of 67 years.
• His two gold medals were taken off
in 1913 because he received money
(playing in league) prior to taking
part in the 1912 Olympics, thereby
losing the amateur status.
• His daughter is receiving the medals.

QUESTION # 45 - 1 point
• In the 1968 Olympics, India fielded a hockey team with 2
Gurbux Singh’s and 3 Balbir Singh’s.
• How were they differentiated by the All India Radio
Commentators? This was also used by the officials at the
Olympics while filling up the team sheets.

ANSWER
• ‚Balbir Services, Balbir Railways and Balbir
Punjab Police.‛ - Domestic teams.

QUESTION # 46 - 1 point
• She made a much more
happy Olympic
appearance 36 years after
participating in one.
Who is the athlete in
question?

ANSWER
Princess Anne
• She presented her
daughter Princess Zara
Phillips with the silver
medal at this year’s
Olympics.
• Princess Anne had
finished 24th in her event
in 1976.

QUESTION # 47 – 1 point
NAME THE OLYMPIAN IN THE VIDEO

ANSWER
KATARINA WITT – Winter
Olympic Champion.

QUESTION # 48 - 1 point
• This was considered the biggest controversy of its time. He not
only bribed his way to ensure that the Olympics were postponed
by 2 years, but also bribed his way to Olympic Laurels.
• He competed in an Olympics but did not finish the race. He was
still proclaimed the winner on the grounds that he would have
won had he been able to complete the race.
• He died the following year, and his name was expunged from the
victor list.
• Who is this mahapurusha?

ANSWER
Nero, the Roman Emperor
• He participated in the games in
67AD. Died in 68AD.
• He participated in the 10 horse
chariot race in 67AD which nearly
killed him.

QUESTION # 49 – 1 point
• Born in a Nazi occupied country, he chose ‘surgery’ as his
profession. Apart from being a 3-time Olympic veteran in sailing, he
was crowned as the national champion sixteen times. He has also
represented his country’s Rugby Union team. Who is this
Olympian?

ANSWER
• Jacques Rogge –
the current IOC
President.
• He participated in
the 1968, 1972 and
1976 Olympics.

QUESTION # 50 - STAGE II
• Connect questions 9, 18, 27, 36 and 45
• 1 point with just the Stage II.
• 2 points with two correct answers and Stage II.
• 3 points with three correct answers and Stage II.
• 4 points with four correct answers and Stage II.
• 5 points with five correct answers and Stage II.

ANSWER
Indian Flag bearers at the Opening
Ceremony
• Zafar Iqbal – 1984 Olympics
• Anju Bobby George – 2004 Olympics
• Pargat Singh – 1992 Olympics
• Gurbachan Singh Randhawa – 1964
Olympics
• Balbir Singh Sr – 1952 & 1956
Olympics

THE END