Winter Olympic odyssey

quiz whiz

With the Pyeongchang Games in full swing, it’s time to test your Winter Olympic knowledge with our sporty little quiz.

1. The Winter Olympics are being held in Pyeongchang County, South Korea, this year from 9th February to 25th February. Which edition of the Winter Olympic Games is this?

A. 13th

B. 23rd

C. 33rd

D. 43rd

2. Where were the first Winter Olympics held?

A. France

B. Canada

C. United States

D. Greece

3. The Winter Olympics, like the Summer Olympics, take place every four years, with the winter games and summer games alternating at a two year gap. But until when were the Winter and Summer Olympics held in the same year?

A. 1936

B. 1942

C. 1976

D. 1992

4. Which country has won the most Winter Olympic medals ever?

A. United States

B. United Kingdom

C. Norway

D. China

5. Who is the most medalled athlete of all time in Winter Olympic history?

A. Ole Einar Bjørndalen

B. Raisa Smetanina

C. Stefania Belmondo

D. Claudia Pechstein

6. Soohorang, a white tiger, is the mascot of the 2018 Winter Olympics. What does his name mean?

A. Smart tiger

B. Protection tiger

C. Fierce tiger

D. Peace tiger

7. Which new discipline has been added to the Winter Olympics this year?

A. Big air snowboarding

B. Mixed doubles curling

C. Mass start speed skating

D. Mixed team alpine skiing

8. Which country has been banned from this year’s Olympics by the International Olympic Committee (IOC)?

A. North Korea

B. Ukraine

C. Russia

D. Myanmar

9. How many medals has Pakistan won at the Winter Olympics?

A. 0

B. 0

C. 0

D. 0

10. Muhammad Abbas was Pakistani’s first athlete to compete in the Winter Olympics. Which sport did he compete in?

A. Alpine skiing

B. Freestyle skiing

C. Figure skating

D. Speed skating

11. How many Pakistani athletes are competing in the 2018 Winter Olympics?

A. 0

B. 2

C. 4

D. 8

12. Where will the next Winter Olympics be held?

A. Istanbul, Turkey

B. Tokyo, Japan

C. Beijing, China

D. Madrid, Spain

*****

Answers:

1. B

This year, the Winter Olympics are being held for the 23rd time. The 2018 Winter Olympics are, in fact, officially known as the XXIII Olympic Winter Games. 2,952 athletes from 92 National Olympic Committees are slated to compete in 102 events in 15 sports discipline altogether in the 2018 Games.

2. A

The Games were first held in Chamonix, France in 1924, and were held every four years from 1924 to 1936, before being interrupted in 1940 and 1944 by World War II, and subsequently resumed in 1948.

3. D

The Summer and Winter Olympics were held in the same year until quite recently: the 1992 Games were the last to be held in the same year. In 1986, the International Olympic Committee voted to separate the Summer and Winter Games and place them in alternating even-numbered years. This change became effective from the 1994 Games, held in Lillehammer, Norway, which became the first Winter Olympics to be held separately from the Summer Games.

4. C

Over 40 countries have won medals at the Winter Olympics, but the country topping the all-time Winter medal count is Norway. Out of the more than 2800 medals awarded since 1924, Norway has won 329 of them.

The U.S. is second in the tally (282 medals) and Germany is third (228 medals).

5. A

Norwegian biathlon champion Ole Einar Bjørndalen (born in 1974), the most successful biathlete of all time, is also the most medalled Olympian in the history of the Winter Olympic Games. He competed in six Olympics from 1994 to 2014, and won 13 medals – 8 gold, 4 silver, and 1 bronze.

6. B

Soohorang (수호랑), a white tiger, gets his name from the Korean words “sooho” which means “protection” and “horangi” which means tiger.

The mascot of this year’s Winter Paralympics is Bandabi (반다비), an Asiatic black bear. His name is derived from the Korean words “bandal” which mean “half-moon” and “bi” which connotes commemoration to celebrate the games.

The Games motto is “Passion. Connected.”

7. A, B, C, and D

All four of these disciplines have been added to the Winter Olympics this year

8. C

In December 2017, the IOC suspended the Russian Olympic Committee due to the state-sponsored doping scandal. Russian athletes whitelisted by the IOC were allowed to compete neutrally in Pyeongchang, but not under the Russian flag.

9. 0

Sigh.

10. A

Alpine skier Muhammad Abbas (born in 1986) was Pakistan’s first competitor at the Winter Olympic Games in 2010. He finished in 79th place out of the 103 skiers in the men’s giant slalom event.

11. B

Skier Muhammad Karim has qualified for the Alpine skiing men’s giant slalom event, and Syed Haman Shah has qualified for cross-country skiing, men’s 15km freestyle event.

12. C

Beijing will be the host city for the XXIV Olympic Winter Games, and will become the first city to host both the Summer and Winter Olympics.

- S.A.

Us Magazine, The News - 16th February, 2018