Olympic Games Trivia 2 – Olympics (1936-1976)

The previous trivia focused on the early days and the inter war years of Olympics. This segment will test your knowledge and run through from the Olympics in Berlin 1936 to Montreal 1976.

1. The ruling Nazi Party in Germany in 1936 decided to film the games and it was commissioned to a German filmmaker Leni Riefenstahl. It was released as a documentary two years later. What was this movie?

2. Born in Oakville, Alabama, this American sprinter and long jumper won a record 4 gold medals at Berlin 1936, defying the Aryan ideologies.

3. Nicknamed as the ‘Flying Housewife’, this 30 year old and mother of two, bagged 4 gold medals including 100m, 200m, 80m hurdles and 4×100 relay at London 1948. Apart from Olympics, her 5 European titles and 58 Dutch championships saw her setting or tying 12 world records. Later in 1999 she was voted as the “Female Athlete of the Century” by IAAF.

4. At London 1948, 17 year old, Bob Mathias of USA became the youngest ever gold medalist for athletics in Olympic history. When asked how he would celebrate it, he famously replied “I’ll start shaving I guess”. In which event did he win gold?

5. Ceylonese athlete Duncan White, after training for a mere 3 months, missed out on a gold by 0.7 after losing to an American who is said to have been training for 4 years. Who surpassed White to win gold at the 400m hurdle event at London 1948?

6. Known as ‘Czech Locomotive’, ‘The Engine’, ‘Beast of Prague’ this Czechoslovakian long distance runner won the 5000m, 10000m and the marathon at the same Olympic games, so far he is the only person to achieve such feat.

7. These teams made their debut in the Summer Olympics at Helsinki 1952.

8. The 1956 Melbourne Games became the first Olympics to be held in the Southern Hemisphere and the first to be held outside Europe or North America. Which of the following statements are not true about Melbourne 1956?

9. Aladar Gerevich of Hungary won his 6th consecutive gold medal at Rome 1960, becoming the only athlete to win the same event six times. Which sport/event did Gerevich dominate?

10. Nicknamed ‘The Black Pearl’, ‘The Black Gazelle’, ‘Fastest Woman on Earth’, a former polio patient grabbed 100m, 200m and 4x100m Golds at Rome 1960. Who was she?

11. This Ethiopian ran barefoot to win the Olympic marathon in Rome 1960, becoming the first ever gold medalist from Africa.

12. To symbolize Japan’s postwar reconstruction and peace, this Japanese athlete, born on 6th August 1945, day the atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima, lit the Olympic cauldron during the opening ceremony at Tokyo 1964.

13. What is not true about the 1964 Games in Tokyo?

14. When Mexico City became the highest elevated city ever to host a Summer Olympic, an American athlete won gold at the long jump event. Dubbed as the ‘Jump of the Century’ his 8.9m world record stood for 23 years until Mike Powell broke it in 1991. Name this athlete.

15. At Mexico 1968, he became the first sprinter to break the 10-second barrier in 100m.

16. The 1972 Munich Olympics are most talked about for the hostage incident and the eventual killing of Israeli athletes by a terrorist organization called ‘Black September’. How many athletes lost their lives on probably the darkest day in Olympic history?

17. Following a controversial final at Munich 1972, USSR ended a long domination of USA in Olympic Basketball. A 21 year old center, scored the winning basket to seal a 51-50 win for the Soviets in this game. He was later drafted by New Orleans Jazz in 1975 before he died of a rare variety of cancer Cardiac Sarcoma at the age of 26 in 1978. Name the famous player who was later inducted to the FIBA Hall of Fame and named among the Greatest FIBA Players of all time.

18. Born in Colombo, Ceylon in 1954, this Scotsman is known as Scotland’s greatest swimmer. Spending his childhood in Sri Lanka and as a member of the Colombo Swimming Club, he exceled his swimming skills before moving to UK. In 1976, he won the gold medal for the 200m breast stroke at Montreal bettering his silver medal he won for the same event at Munich in 1972.

19. At Montreal 1976, a 14 year old Romanian gymnast scored a ‘Perfect 10’, the first in Olympic history. Who was she?

20. Which statement is true about Montreal Games in 1976?

Stay tuned for the next segment!

Answers

1. Olympia
2. Jesse Owens
3. Fanny Blankers-Koen
4. Decathlon
5. Roy Cochran
6. Emil Zatopek
7. USSR, China, Israel, Saarland
8. ‘Golden Girl’ Betty Cuthbert won four Olympic gold medals
9. Fencing
10. Wilma Rudolph
11. Abebe Bikila
12. Yoshinori Sakai
13. Muhammad Ali won his only Olympic gold medal for boxing
14. Bob Beamon
15. Jim Hines
16. 11
17. Alexander Belov
18. David Wilkie
19. Nadia Comaneci
20. Canada became the first ever host nation not win a single gold medal in an Olympic