Athletics & Track and Field Quiz

1. Who holds the men's 100m world record, set in Berlin in 2009?

1. Asafa Powell
2. Justin Gatlin
3. Usain Bolt
4. Yohan Blake

2. What is the standard marathon distance?

1. 25 miles / 40.2 km
2. 26 miles / 41.8 km
3. 26.2 miles / 42.195 km
4. 26.5 miles / 42.6 km

3. Jesse Owens won four gold medals at which controversial Olympic Games?

1. 1932 Los Angeles
2. 1936 Berlin
3. 1948 London
4. 1952 Helsinki

4. What is the decathlon?

1. A 10-event athletics competition over two days
2. A 10,000m track race
3. A 10km running race
4. A relay race with 10 runners

5. Roger Bannister became famous in 1954 for what achievement?

1. Breaking the 10-second barrier in the 100m
2. Running the first sub-4-minute mile
3. Setting the marathon world record
4. Winning four Olympic gold medals

6. What distance is a standard sprint hurdles race for men at the Olympics?

1. 100m hurdles
2. 110m hurdles
3. 120m hurdles
4. 200m hurdles

7. What is a 'personal best' (PB) in athletics?

1. A world record set by one country
2. An unofficial time set in training
3. Finishing in the top three of any race
4. The best result an athlete has ever achieved in a particular event

8. Who was the first woman to run the Boston Marathon officially?

1. Grete Waitz
2. Joan Benoit
3. Kathrine Switzer
4. Wilma Rudolph

9. The high jump 'Fosbury Flop' technique was introduced by Dick Fosbury at which Olympics?

1. 1960 Rome
2. 1964 Tokyo
3. 1968 Mexico City
4. 1972 Munich

10. What is the world record for the men's pole vault (approximate)?

1. 5.80m
2. 6.00m
3. 6.21m
4. 6.50m

11. Which athlete won three long sprint gold medals at the 2016 Rio Olympics?

1. LaShawn Merritt
2. Michael Johnson
3. Usain Bolt
4. Wayde van Niekerk

12. How many laps of a standard 400m track does a 1500m race involve?

1. 3
2. 3 and 3/4
3. 4
4. 4 and 1/4

13. The heptathlon is a seven-event competition. Which gender competes in the heptathlon at the Olympics?

1. Both men and women
2. Men only
3. Neither — it's only at World Championships
4. Women only

14. Eliud Kipchoge is famous for being the first person to run a marathon in under two hours. Where did this happen?

1. Berlin Marathon 2018
2. London Marathon 2020
3. Tokyo Olympics 2021
4. Vienna, INEOS 1:59 Challenge 2019

15. What is the 'triple jump' sequence of movements?

1. Hop, step, and jump
2. Jump, tumble, and land
3. Sprint, vault, and jump
4. Three long jumps in a row

16. What does 'DNF' stand for in athletics results?

1. Did Not Finish
2. Did Not Foul
3. Did Not Function
4. Did Not Qualify (Failed)

17. Which athlete won 9 Olympic gold medals across the 1988, 1992, and 1996 Games in sprinting and jumping?

1. Carl Lewis
2. Linford Christie
3. Maurice Greene
4. Michael Johnson

18. How high are the hurdles in the women's 100m hurdles event?

1. 106.7 cm (3'6")
2. 76.2 cm (2'6")
3. 84 cm (2'9")
4. 91.4 cm (3'0")

19. The steeplechase in athletics involves running 3000m with how many obstacles per lap?

1. 3
2. 4
3. 5
4. 6

20. Florence Griffith-Joyner (Flo-Jo) set the women's 100m world record in 1988. What was her time?

1. 10.40s
2. 10.49s
3. 10.61s
4. 10.72s