Athletics & Track and Field Quiz

Question 1

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

Accepted Answer

Usain Bolt

Answer

Asafa Powell

Answer

Justin Gatlin

Answer

Yohan Blake

Question 2

What is the standard marathon distance?

Accepted Answer

26.2 miles / 42.195 km

Answer

26 miles / 41.8 km

Answer

25 miles / 40.2 km

Answer

26.5 miles / 42.6 km

Question 3

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

Accepted Answer

1936 Berlin

Answer

1932 Los Angeles

Answer

1948 London

Answer

1952 Helsinki

Question 4

What is the decathlon?

Accepted Answer

A 10-event athletics competition over two days

Answer

A 10km running race

Answer

A 10,000m track race

Answer

A relay race with 10 runners

Question 5

Roger Bannister became famous in 1954 for what achievement?

Accepted Answer

Running the first sub-4-minute mile

Answer

Breaking the 10-second barrier in the 100m

Answer

Winning four Olympic gold medals

Answer

Setting the marathon world record

Question 6

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

Accepted Answer

110m hurdles

Answer

100m hurdles

Answer

120m hurdles

Answer

200m hurdles

Question 7

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

Accepted Answer

The best result an athlete has ever achieved in a particular event

Answer

A world record set by one country

Answer

Finishing in the top three of any race

Answer

An unofficial time set in training

Question 8

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

Accepted Answer

Kathrine Switzer

Answer

Wilma Rudolph

Answer

Joan Benoit

Answer

Grete Waitz

Question 9

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

Accepted Answer

1968 Mexico City

Answer

1960 Rome

Answer

1964 Tokyo

Answer

1972 Munich

Question 10

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

Accepted Answer

6.21m

Answer

5.80m

Answer

6.00m

Answer

6.50m

Question 11

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

Accepted Answer

Usain Bolt

Answer

Wayde van Niekerk

Answer

Michael Johnson

Answer

LaShawn Merritt

Question 12

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

Accepted Answer

3 and 3/4

Answer

3

Answer

4

Answer

4 and 1/4

Question 13

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

Accepted Answer

Women only

Answer

Men only

Answer

Both men and women

Answer

Neither — it's only at World Championships

Question 14

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

Accepted Answer

Vienna, INEOS 1:59 Challenge 2019

Answer

Berlin Marathon 2018

Answer

London Marathon 2020

Answer

Tokyo Olympics 2021

Question 15

What is the 'triple jump' sequence of movements?

Accepted Answer

Hop, step, and jump

Answer

Three long jumps in a row

Answer

Sprint, vault, and jump

Answer

Jump, tumble, and land

Question 16

What does 'DNF' stand for in athletics results?

Accepted Answer

Did Not Finish

Answer

Did Not Foul

Answer

Did Not Qualify (Failed)

Answer

Did Not Function

Question 17

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

Accepted Answer

Carl Lewis

Answer

Michael Johnson

Answer

Maurice Greene

Answer

Linford Christie

Question 18

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

Accepted Answer

84 cm (2'9")

Answer

76.2 cm (2'6")

Answer

91.4 cm (3'0")

Answer

106.7 cm (3'6")

Question 19

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

Accepted Answer

5

Answer

3

Answer

4

Answer

6

Question 20

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

Accepted Answer

10.49s

Answer

10.40s

Answer

10.61s

Answer

10.72s