Trivia Medium 32 questions · about 45 minutes · free PDF

Olympics Trivia Questions

Thirty-two questions on the Olympic Games, ancient and modern: host cities, the rings, the flame and the motto, Summer and Winter sports, the Paralympics and the athletes who made history.

Three rounds go from the basics to a round for experts. Each answer comes with a fun fact for the host to read out.

Play online → Download the host sheet

The online version marks itself. The sheets are yours to print.

Print it

Three PDFs, A4, black and white on purpose — the right answer is marked with a filled box and bold text, not with colour, so it survives an office printer.

Host sheet

Every question with the answer under it, plus a line of context to say out loud once the answer is in. Keep it face down.

PDF, 59 KB

Question sheet

The same quiz without the key — for anyone who would rather read along than listen.

PDF, 49 KB

Team answer sheet

Numbered lines and a tick box. Print one per team, and one more for the swap at the end of each round.

PDF, 26 KB

What This Quiz Covers

The ancient and modern Games
Host cities
Symbols and traditions
Summer and Winter sports
The Paralympics
Legendary Olympians

All 32 questions and answers

Each answer is hidden until you open it, so you can read the questions out or test yourself first. The line under each answer is the fun fact to share once it is in.

Round 1 · The Basics

1
How many rings are there in the Olympic symbol?
- AFive
- BFour
- CSix
- DSeven
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A — Five
The five interlocking rings stand for the five inhabited continents united by Olympism, and their six colours (including the white background) were chosen because at least one of them appeared in every national flag of the time.
2
In which city were the first modern Olympic Games held in 1896?
- ALondon
- BRome
- CParis
- DAthens
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D — Athens
Athens was chosen to link the revived Games to their Greek roots, and the events took place in the marble Panathenaic Stadium.
3
The ancient Olympic Games were held at Olympia in honour of which god?
- APoseidon
- BHermes
- CZeus
- DApollo
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C — Zeus
Olympia was the sanctuary of Zeus, home to his giant ivory-and-gold statue, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.
4
Which medal is awarded to the third-place finisher at the Olympic Games?
- APewter
- BBronze
- CSilver
- DCopper
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B — Bronze
The gold–silver–bronze ranking was standardised from the 1904 St. Louis Games onwards; in 1896 winners actually received silver medals and runners-up bronze.
5
Which city hosted the Summer Olympic Games of 2024?
- ATokyo
- BParis
- CLos Angeles
- DMadrid
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B — Paris
Paris 2024 marked the French capital's third Summer Games, exactly 100 years after it last hosted in 1924.
6
What does the Olympic motto 'Citius, Altius, Fortius' mean in English?
- ASwifter, Longer, Bolder
- BHigher, Farther, Faster
- CStronger, Braver, Better
- DFaster, Higher, Stronger
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D — Faster, Higher, Stronger
The Latin phrase was proposed by Pierre de Coubertin's friend Henri Didon, and in 2021 the IOC added the word 'Communiter' ('Together') to it.
7
Where is the Olympic flame traditionally lit before every torch relay?
- AIn the host city's main stadium
- BAt the IOC headquarters
- CIn ancient Olympia, Greece
- DAt Mount Olympus
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C — In ancient Olympia, Greece
The flame is kindled at the ruins of the Temple of Hera in Olympia using a parabolic mirror that concentrates the sun's rays, symbolising its 'pure' origin.
8
Which city hosted the first Olympic Winter Games in 1924?
- AChamonix, France
- BOslo, Norway
- CLake Placid, USA
- DSt. Moritz, Switzerland
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A — Chamonix, France
The Chamonix event was originally billed as 'International Winter Sports Week' and was only retroactively recognised as the first Winter Olympics.
9
By tradition, which country's team enters first in the Parade of Nations at the Opening Ceremony?
- AFrance
- BSwitzerland
- CThe host nation
- DGreece
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D — Greece
Greece leads the parade as the birthplace of the Olympics, while the host nation traditionally enters last.
10
The Winter Olympic sport of biathlon combines cross-country skiing with which other discipline?
- ARifle shooting
- BSki jumping
- CSpeed skating
- DArchery
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A — Rifle shooting
Biathlon grew out of Scandinavian military ski patrols, and missed shots cost athletes either penalty loops or added time.
11
What is the official distance of the Olympic marathon?
- A40.000 km
- B45.500 km
- C42.195 km
- D38.600 km
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C — 42.195 km
The odd distance (26 miles 385 yards) comes from the 1908 London course and was fixed as the world standard in 1921.
12
Which swimmer won eight gold medals at a single Games in Beijing in 2008?
- AIan Thorpe
- BMichael Phelps
- CMark Spitz
- DRyan Lochte
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B — Michael Phelps
Phelps's eight golds in 2008 broke Mark Spitz's 1972 record of seven at one Games.

Round 2 · Sports, Symbols and the Paralympics

13
Which American athlete won four gold medals at the 1936 Berlin Olympics?
- ACarl Lewis
- BBob Beamon
- CJesse Owens
- DRalph Boston
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C — Jesse Owens
Owens took the 100 m, 200 m, long jump and 4x100 m relay, a sweep that directly contradicted Nazi propaganda about racial superiority.
14
Who scored the first perfect 10 in Olympic gymnastics, at the 1976 Montreal Games?
- AOlga Korbut
- BNadia Comăneci
- CVěra Čáslavská
- DLudmilla Tourischeva
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B — Nadia Comăneci
The scoreboard in Montreal could only display three digits, so Comăneci's 10.00 on the uneven bars appeared as '1.00'.
15
Which city hosted the Summer Olympics in 1908, 1948 and 2012?
- ATokyo
- BParis
- CLos Angeles
- DLondon
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D — London
London became the first city to host three Summer Games, with the 1948 edition nicknamed the 'Austerity Games' because of post-war rationing.
16
In which city were the first officially recognised Paralympic Games held in 1960?
- ARome
- BHeidelberg
- CTokyo
- DStoke Mandeville
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A — Rome
Rome 1960 followed the same host city as the Olympics for the first time, evolving from the Stoke Mandeville Games for wheelchair athletes founded by Dr Ludwig Guttmann.
17
What are the three curved shapes that form the Paralympic symbol called?
- AAspiros
- BNikes
- CVitae
- DAgitos
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D — Agitos
'Agito' is Latin for 'I move', and the three red, blue and green crescents circling a central point echo the Paralympic motto 'Spirit in Motion'.
18
Which of these is a Paralympic sport with no equivalent in the Olympic programme?
- AGoalball
- BTable tennis
- CArchery
- DRowing
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A — Goalball
Goalball was invented for blind veterans, is played with a ball containing bells, and requires all players to wear eyeshades so the arena must stay silent during play.
19
In which sliding sport do athletes race head-first down the ice track?
- ASnowboard cross
- BSkeleton
- CBobsleigh
- DLuge
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B — Skeleton
Skeleton riders go head-first and face-down, while luge athletes slide feet-first on their backs.
20
Which of these is NOT one of the three weapons used in Olympic fencing?
- AFoil
- BÉpée
- CRapier
- DSabre
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C — Rapier
Olympic fencing uses only foil, épée and sabre, each with its own target area; the rapier is a historical duelling sword, not a modern competition weapon.
21
Which sport returned to the Olympic programme in 2016 after a 112-year absence?
- AGolf
- BTug of war
- CRugby union (15s)
- DPolo
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A — Golf
Golf had last been contested in 1904 in St. Louis before its comeback in Rio de Janeiro in 2016.
22
In which city is the headquarters of the International Olympic Committee located?
- AAthens
- BLausanne
- CGeneva
- DBrussels
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B — Lausanne
Lausanne has been the IOC's home since 1915 and is officially nicknamed the 'Olympic Capital'.
23
In which Olympic sport do men and women compete directly against each other in the same medal events?
- AJudo
- BAthletics
- CEquestrian
- DShooting
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C — Equestrian
Equestrian events are mixed because the horse is considered an equal partner, so riders of any gender compete in the same classes.
24
At the 1968 Mexico City Games, Dick Fosbury won high jump gold using a revolutionary technique known as the…
- AStraddle
- BScissors kick
- CWestern roll
- DFosbury Flop
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D — Fosbury Flop
Going over the bar backwards was only practical once deep foam landing mats replaced sand and sawdust pits, and today virtually every elite high jumper uses the Flop.
25
What prize did victors receive at the ancient Olympic Games in Olympia?
- AA bronze shield
- BA gold coin
- CA laurel crown from Delphi
- DA wreath of wild olive leaves
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D — A wreath of wild olive leaves
The 'kotinos', cut from a sacred wild olive tree near the Temple of Zeus, carried enormous prestige — the real rewards came later from the athlete's home city.
26
In which year's Games was the Olympic torch relay from Olympia to the host city staged for the first time?
- A1936 Berlin
- B1896 Athens
- C1948 London
- D1920 Antwerp
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A — 1936 Berlin
The relay was devised for Berlin 1936 by organiser Carl Diem and has been part of every Games since, even though the flame itself had burned in stadiums since 1928.

Round 3 · For the Experts

27
At which Games were solid gold medals awarded for the last time?
- A1936 Berlin
- B1896 Athens
- C1912 Stockholm
- D1924 Paris
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C — 1912 Stockholm
Since 1912 'gold' medals have been made mainly of silver with a thin gold plating, which must weigh at least six grams.
28
What was the name of the first official Olympic mascot, a dachshund introduced at the 1972 Munich Games?
- AHodori
- BWaldi
- CMisha
- DSchuss
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B — Waldi
Waldi's striped, multicoloured body reflected the Munich Games' colours, and the dachshund was chosen for its qualities of resistance, tenacity and agility.
29
Which of these was a genuine Olympic medal event between 1900 and 1920?
- ADarts
- BTug of war
- CPole climbing
- DChess
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B — Tug of war
Tug of war was contested at five Games from 1900 to 1920, with Great Britain the most successful nation before the event was dropped.
30
Which Soviet gymnast won 18 Olympic medals between 1956 and 1964, a total that stood as the overall record for nearly half a century?
- APolina Astakhova
- BOlga Korbut
- CLarisa Latynina
- DLyudmila Turishcheva
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C — Larisa Latynina
Latynina's nine golds, five silvers and four bronzes remained the all-time Olympic record until Michael Phelps passed her tally in 2012.
31
Which of the following is NOT a discipline of the modern pentathlon?
- AArchery
- BShooting
- CFencing
- DSwimming
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A — Archery
Modern pentathlon, invented by Pierre de Coubertin to test the skills of a 19th-century cavalry officer, combines fencing, swimming, riding (being replaced after 2024) and the combined shooting-and-running 'laser run' — archery has never been part of it.
32
The ancient Olympic Games were finally abolished around AD 393 by which Roman emperor?
- AConstantine the Great
- BNero
- CHadrian
- DTheodosius I
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D — Theodosius I
Theodosius I banned pagan festivals as part of making Christianity the empire's official religion, ending a cycle of Games that had run for roughly 12 centuries.

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