First …
http://theweek.com/articles/641564/dont-curmudgeon-olympics-are-awesome? … AMEN!
SO …
1-What renown playwright coined the term “Olympian” regarding athletes?
2-What do the rings in the Olympic symbol represent?
3-Modern Olympics were cancelled only three times in history (beginning 1896). Which years? Why?
4-What Olympic event appeared in 1900 only? (The popularity of Downton Abbey may evoke a resurgence?)
5-What collegiate activity and picnic game was once an Olympic event (1900-1920)?
6-Can you guess what year the photo-finish was initiated at Olympic games?
7-The 1936 Olympics are renown because of Jesse Owens running in Berlin. What else marked that year’s Olympics?
8-What is “Citius, Altius, Fortius”?
9-What sport is reappearing this year after a 112 year hiatus. Jim is thrilled.
10-What country just won its first-ever Olympic medal (and a gold one at that)? Sport?
And one “so you know” …
At the 1988 Games in Seoul, Canadian sailor Lawrence Lemieux was moving along at a quick clip, even though the seas were exceptionally rough. About halfway through the race, he seemed to have a firm grip on the silver medal when disaster struck.
Lemieux heard the cries of two Singaporean sailors competing in a different event nearby. One of them was clinging desperately to his boat, which had capsized under the six-foot waves. The other had drifted 50 feet away, swept off by the currents. Instead of staying in his race, Lemieux set course for the sailors and pulled them out of the water. His hope for a medal all but dashed, Lemieux waited for rescue boats to arrive. By the time they did, he’d fallen to 23rd place. But Lemieux’s bravery did not go unrewarded. The Olympic committee gave him the Pierre de Coubertin medal, a special award for sportsmanship.
Ready to “play the game”? Submit your answers to Peggy >>
