An 0lympian Challenge
On your marks, get
set, test your knowledge
BY WILLIAM GILDEA
READERS DIGEST JULY 1996
1) The 1996 Olympics in Atlanta was fourth time
the United States has hosted the summer Games. Los Angeles was the site
in both 1932 and 1984- What was the other city and year?
(a) St. Louis in 1904. Go to 10.
(b) Chicago in 1912. Go to 17.
2) Name the new Olympic sports that will be introduced
in Atlanta.
(a) Bowling, golf, lacrosse. Go to 16.
(b) Beach volleyball, mountain biking, and softball.
Go to 33.
3) Bullseye. George Patton, an Army lieutenant
in 1912, placed third in running, fourth in fencing, sixth in riding and
seventh in swimming. But the West Point graduate finished only 21st in shooting.
Jump to 34.
4) After British middleweight boxer, Chris Finnegan
won a gold medal in Mexico City in 1968, he was unable to give a urine sample
for drug testing. What did Olympic officials do?
(a) Accompanied him to a restaurant where, after
a beer, he gave them the sample in the bathroom. Try 39
(b) Stripped him of his medal after waiting without
result for six hours. Look at 25.
5) Kelly, brother of Princess Grace of Monaco,
took the bronze medal, but he didn't have to rescue Ivanov. Start rowing
again at 12.
6) You're off by 100 years. There will be 271
medal events in Atlanta. Taking into account relay teams and team sports,
616 gold medals will be awarded. Go back to 30.
7) What is the only city below the equator to
host the Olympics?
(a) Buenos Aires. Go to 14.
(b) Melbourne. Try 40.
8) Speaking of the marathon, what is the origin
of the race's traditional distance of 26 miles, 385 yards?
(a) It was the distance the Greek courier Pheidippides
ran to Athens with news of the Greek victory over the Persians at the Battle
of Marathon in 490 B.C. Speed on to 11.
(b) It was the distance from Windsor Castle, start
of the race, to Shepherd's Bush Stadium, London, and site of the 1908 Olympics.
Race to 15.
9) No, but Sweden's King Gustav praised Jim Thorpe
as "the greatest living athlete" after Thorpe won both a track
pentathlon and the decathlon in Stockholm in 1912. Back to 35.
10) Right. The 1904 Olympics were held in conjunction
with the St. Louis World's Fair, but only 13 nations took part. In contrast,
the Atlanta Olympics will have athletes from a record 197 countries. Go
to 13.
11) The marathon was born of the legend of Pheidippides'
run, after which he supposedly shouted "Rejoice, we conquer!"
and then dropped dead. But Pheidippides ran only 25 miles. Jog back to 8.
12) Vyacheslav Ivanov of the Soviet Union made
a sensational come-from behind sprint in the final 2oo meters to win the
1956 Olympic singles rowing championship. The 18-year-old was so happy when
he received his gold medal that he jumped up and down and dropped his medal
into the lake. What happened next?
(a) Ivanov dived into the water to try to recover
the medal, struck his head on a rock and was rescued by famed rower Jack
Kelly, Jr., of Philadelphia. Dive to 5.
(b) Ivanov dived to the bottom of the lake, but
failed to find his medal. Bob up at 28.
13) Fred Lorz was first to finish the 1904 marathon
in St. Louis. But as he was about to receive a championship cup, Lorz confessed
that the real winner was still out on the course. What had Lorz done?
(a) Taken a shortcut. Skip to 19.
(b) Accepted a ride in a car. Go to 24.
14) Buenos Aires has never been an Olympic site.
Skip to 40.
15) Correct. Until the 1908 Games in London, the
marathon distance was usually 25 miles. That year it was fixed at 26 miles,
385 yards so the royal family could watch the start of the race from Windsor
Castle. Now dash to 18.
16) Bowling has never been part of the Olympics.
Golf was played in the 1900 and 1904 Games. Lacrosse was an Olympic sport
in 1904 and 1908. Go back to 2.
17) Close, but no. Chicago was supposed to be
the site of the 1904 Games, but President Theodore Roosevelt favored another
city. Go back to 1.
18) Which of the following boxers who went on
to become professional heavyweight champions failed to win an Olympic gold
medal?
(a) Muhammad Ali. Go to 29.
(b) Evander Holyfield. Go to 22.
(c) George Foreman. Go to 26.
19) Lorz did not take a shortcut, but you can.
Run to 24.
20) You stumbled. Go back to 12.
21) Yes, In fact, officials twice put a
few seconds back on the clock, giving the Soviet Union three opportunities
to win. The Americans refused their silver medals in protest at the awards
ceremony. Go to 35.
22) Right on the nose. Evander Holyfield had to
settle for a bronze medal in the 1984 Games in Los Angeles. But he will
have a second Olympic appearance in Atlanta, his hometown. He will be featured
as one of the final three torchbearers to carry the Olympic flame. Go to
4.
23) No. In 1924 Finnish runner Paavo Nurmi turned
in the first five-gold performance in Olympic history, but the "Flying
Finn" didn't make this statement. Try 35 again.
24) Lorz led the early part of the race, but the
summer heat forced him to drop out halfway. He accepted a ride in an automobile
to the finish line. About five miles from the finish, the car broke down.
Lorz jogged to the finish line-where he was hailed briefly, as the winner.
Run back to 8.
25) No. Today, there is a one-hour time limit
for giving a sample. Then as now, testing officials are required to remain
with the athlete. Try 4 again.
26) Wrong. George Foreman was the heavyweight
champion at the Mexico City Olympics in 1968, when he was perceived to answer
"black power" protesters by carrying an American flag in the ring.
Return to 18.
27) Correct. Winners received silver medals in
1896 at Athens, the only time in the history of the modern Games that gold
medals were not awarded. Greece's King George I bestowed silver medals on
the winners and bronze medals on the runners-up. Go to 12.
28) Yes. Ivanov dived after his medal but couldn't
find it. The International Olympic Committee gave him a replacement medal
after the Games. He won the gold twice more, in 1960 and 1964 - and hung
on to both. Back to 2.
29) Ouch. Muhammad Ali, then known as Cassius
Clay, won the gold medal in the light-heavyweight division in 1960 in Rome.
Try 18 again.
30) How many gold medals were awarded at the first
modern Olympics, held in Athens in 1896?
(a) Zero. Go to 27.
(b) Forty-four. Go to 37-
(c) Two hundred seventy-7one. Go to 6.
31) You missed. Go back to 34.
32) Why didn't World War II general George S.
Patton, competing in the 1912 Stockholm Olympics, place better than fifth
in the pentathlon, the five-sport event composed of fencing, horseback riding,
pistol shooting, running and swimming?
(a) He suffered a stab wound in fencing. On to
36.
(b) His horse broke a leg. Go to 20.
(c) He couldn't shoot straight. Fly over to 3.
33) Correct. Beach volleyball will be a medal
sport for the Atlanta Games only. Mountain biking has been granted a permanent
berth in the Olympics, starting with Atlanta. Softball has been granted
medal status for Atlanta, but only for women's fast pitch. Go to 32.
34) In Munich in 1972, an improbable end broke
America’s 62-game winning streak in basketball to the championship
game against the Soviet Union. What happened?
(a) Officials put time back on the clock after
the game had apparently ended with the Americans winning, and the Soviets
then scored the winning basket.
Go to 21.
(b) A Soviet player swished a 75-foot shot at
the buzzer. Go to 31.
35) What Olympic immortal said, "Before I
was even into my teens, my goal was to be the greatest athlete that ever
lived"?
(a) Paavo Nurmi. Go to 23.
(b) Jim Thorpe. Try 9.
(c) Babe Didrikson Zaharias. Go to 38.
36) Fortunately for Patton, no. Go back to 32.
37) There were 44 winners in the 1896 Olympics,
but they did not receive gold medals. Go back to 30.
38) Yes. In 1950 the Associated Press named Babe
the greatest female athlete of the first half-century. In the 1932 Games
in Los Angeles she won the gold in the 80 meter hurdles and the javelin
throw, and took a silver in the high jump. She went on to star in golf,
basketball, baseball, swimming, diving, billiards and other sports. For
the final event, go to 7.
39) Yes. The beer finally worked for Finnegan
at 1:40 a.m. Go to 30.
40) Melbourne, in 1956. Sydney will be the second,
in 2000. See you there.
E-Mail Doug Sparks.