A quick warmup: Forgoing cancellations, the Summer Olympics are held once every ____ years.
The Ancient Olympic Games were held once every four years, at Olympia, Greece. Back then, time was counted in “Olympiads”, the four-year interval between the Games. The modern games are held every four years to honor the ancient Greek tradition.
Which Black Olympian crushed Adolf Hitler, in his own way?
Owens won four gold medals (4*100 meter relay, 100 meters, 200 meters and long jump) at the 1936 Summer Olympics, hosted in Berlin by Adolf Hitler, who thought he could prove the Nazi Supremacy over the other nations, but was proven wrong and humiliated, big-time!
What is the exact length of an Olympic marathon?
While the marathon used to be an approximate distance, in 1908 the British Royal Family had the marathon start at Windsor Castle, so that the royal children could watch the start from the comfort of their mini-thrones. The marathon ended at the Olympics stadium. In 1924, this slightly random distance became the Olympic Standard.
Which of these colors is not on the Olympic flag?
The colors of the Olympic flag are: the white background, blue, yellow, black, green and red. Those colors were chosen because every single country in the world has at least one of them on their flag!
Come on, old sport. Do you know how old was the oldest athlete ever to participate in the Olympics?
The Swedish Oscar Swahn was just 72 years, 281 days young when he participated in the shooting competition at the 1920 Antwerp Olympics. To this day there’s no age limit for participants in the Olympic Games, so as long as the International Sports Federation approves your age, you’re in!
With 28 Olympic medals (!!!) to their name, which athlete has won the most medals in Olympic history?
Michael Phelps, the swimming super star, started competing in the Olympics when he was just 15 years old, winning 5th place in the 200-meter butterfly finals. Four years later, he would already win his first gold medal and break a world record at the 400m individual medley at the 2004 Athens Olympics.
What happens if the fire on the Olympic torch goes out?
During the 1976 Summer Olympics, a rainstorm extinguished the Olympic flame. One of the officials actually re-lit the flame with a cigarette lighter, to much scandal and criticism. Thankfully, the organizers saved the day, doused the fire, and re-lit it with an official Olympian backup flame.
Which young gymnast set an American record by winning four! Gold medals in women’s gymnastics at the 2016 Rio Summer Olympics?
Simone Biles is the American Gymnast who’s earned the most medals, with over two dozen Olympic and World Championship wins! She started training in gymnastics when she was very young, and by the age of 16 was already crowned the all-around winner at the 2013 U.S. P&G Championships!
What is the meaning of “Citius, Altius, Fortius”, a.k.a. the Olympic motto?
In 1894, Pierre de Coubertin, the founder of the International Olympic Committee, proposed this as the motto for the first Olympic games. It would take 30 years until the motto would be introduced, at the 1924 Paris Olympics.
What did Muhammad Ali (known as Cassius Clay at the time) insist on wearing on the flight to the 1960 Olympic Games in Rome?
Apparently, the boxer was terrified of planes, with each flight becoming an entire operation dedicated convincing him to board the plane. He was so scared, that he actually went to buy a parachute from an army store just before boarding. Thankfully, it worked out, leading him to win the Gold in the Olympics!
Golden Ticket Time! If the gold medal isn’t made of gold, then what is it primarily made of?
Golden Olympic medals must be made of at least 92.5% silver, 6 percent gold, and just about 6 grams of pure gold. The last time pure gold was awarded at the Olympics was way back in 2012!
Who was the first official Olympic mascot?
Waldi, a blue, green, orange and yellow Daschund, was apparently created during a Christmas party held by the Munich Games Organising Committee! According to the Olympics Committee, the mascots represent the values, culture and history of the host city, but mostly they’re there to bring the ‘aww’ to the aww-lympics.
When did the U.S. boycott the Olympics?
In 1980, the US boycotted the Summer Olympics in Moscow, over the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. Only 80 nations were represented that year, with 66 countries boycotting the games entirely!
When did basketball become an official Olympic Sport?
Nothing but net! Since 1936, basketball has been a men’s field in the Olympics. Not surprisingly, the United States is the most successful country in Olympic Basketball, with the teams winning 15 out of 18 tournaments they participated in.
Up to 2021, which is the latest nation to join the Olympics?
In the 2016 Rio Summer Olympics, the Southeastern Europe nation of Kosovo joined the Olympics. The country sent a delegation of 8 athletes - 5 women and three men. By the end of the Games, Judoka Majlinda Kelmendi became the first Kosovan athlete to win an Olympic gold medal!
When were female athletes first allowed to participate in the Olympics?
Hélène de Pourtalès, in 1900, was the first woman to compete and to become an Olympic champ. She was a member of the winning team in the first 1 to 2 ton sailing event, on May 22, 1900 at the Paris 1900 Summer Olympics. That year, out of 997, only 22 were women!
How much did Paul McCartney earn for performing at the London 2012 Opening Ceremony?
Apparently, Paul offered to perform for free, but contract formalities cause the committee to set the funny fee of exactly 1 pound. But don’t feel too sorry for him, the Opening Ceremonies had a shocking 900 million people as a global audience.
After World War II, which two nations were *not* invited to participate in the 1948 London Summer Olympics?
After a 12-year hiatus, caused by World War II, the 1948 Olympics were the first Games to be held since the 1936 Berlin Olympics. These games are called “The Austerity Games”, seeing as the economic climate and post-war rationing called for desperate measures.
Hans-Gunnar Liljenwall, a Swedish pentathlete, was found positive for the use of performance-enhancing drugs at the 1968 Summer Olympics. What drug did he take?
Apparently, Liljenwall drank ‘two beers to calm the nerves’ before his pistol shooting event, causing the Swedish team to be disqualified and return the bronze medals he earned.
Where does the torch relay begin?
A few months before the opening ceremony, the Olympic fire is ignited by eleven women at the Temple of Hera. There, they kindle the first Olympic Torch with sunlight, by concentrating its rays with a parabolic mirror. This is to honor the sacred fire that was kept burning through the ancient Olympics, on the altar of the sanctuary of Hestia.
Which worldwide company was the first to sponsor the Olympics?
The Coca-Cola company has supported each and every Olympics year since the 1928 Olympics in Amsterdam! That year, a freighter who carried the U.S. Olympics team also carried 1,000 cases of Coca-Cola, and since then, the two have been inseparable.
What scandal happened at the 2008 Beijing Olympics?
Then 9 years old, Lin Miaoke appeared on the Beijing stage ‘performing’ a song. Several days later, the show’s musical director revealed that the real voice behind the performance was actually Yang Peiyi’s voice, but that she wasn’t ‘cute’ enough.
What did U.S. sprinters Tommie Smith and John Carlos protest during the 1968 Mexico City Olympics?
With the U.S. national anthem playing in the background, the first and third place winners stood on the podiums barefooted, raised a black glove and bowed their heads. Meanwhile, second-place winner Peter Norman from Australia wore a human rights badge.
For which two countries did weightlifter Kakhi Kakhiashvili win two gold medals?
Kakhi Kakhiashvili was born in the Georgian SSR, and later became a citizen of Greece. He won three consecutive gold medals, making him one of only four weightlifting competitors to do so!
In which Olympics did women compete in all of the Games for the first time?
When women’s boxing finally joined the Games’ repertoire, the 2012 Games in London were the first to include women in all of the sports. Those Games are called “The Women’s Olympics”, with many athletes breaking records and stereotypes alike.
Why was Marion Jones, an American sprinter in the 2000 Sydney Olympics, stripped of all of her Olympic titles?
Jones was the first woman to win five track-and field medals at the games, but in 2007 she pleaded guilty to having lied to federal investigators about drug use and admitted that she took steroids. She later served six months in prison.
Which famous character did Johnny Weissmuller, a five-gold-medal-winner in the 1920s, play in 12 movies?
Weissmuller set 67 world records in swimming! The Associated Press selected him as the greatest swimmer of the first half of the 20th century. When he finished swimming, he started acting - with his starring role in the 1932 film “Tarzan the Ape Man”.
Which of these is *not* an official Olympic sport?
Motorboating actually *was* an Olympic sport, but for three races only during the 1908 Games. The only two nations were on board - Great Britain and France, and of the three races held, usually only one boat finished each of the races.
What is the name of the committee in charge of organizing the Olympics?
The International Olympic Committee’s vision is to build a better world through sports. It was founded by Pierre de Coubertin at the Paris Universal Exposition of 1889, and five years later, he designated Athens, Greece to be the first host of the 1896 Olympics.
Which of the following Olympic Games was cancelled?
Due to World Wars I and II, the 1916, 1940 and 1944 Olympic Games were cancelled. Surprisingly enough, the 2020 Tokyo Games were only postponed due to COVID19, but not cancelled.