Winter Olympics

Need to pay attention to anyone who’s won three Olympic golds in a row. With Irina Rodnina it’s a matter of when, not if.

Questions

A relatively barren period for US gold medals in alpine skiing at the Winter Olympics, who won the women’s slalom in 2014 and the giant slalom in 2018? In the latter year, she also won a silver in the combined downhill and slalom event, finishing less than a second behind Swiss lady Michelle Gisin.

MIKAELA SHIFFRIN

A nephew of Olympic gold medal winning sisters Christine and Marielle, Frenchman Philippe Goitschel was in the medals at which demonstration event at the 1992 Winter Olympics? Swiss competitor Nicolas Bochatay died while warming up for this event when he crashed into a snow groomer.

SPEED SKIING

The only time Austria have won a speed skating gold at the Winter Olympics, Emese Hunyady shared the 1994 1,500m podium with Russian Svetlana Fedotkina and which German who took bronze? They had more success at longer events, taking home gold in the 3,000m and 5,000m in 1992 as well as the 3,000m in 1998.

GUNDA NIEMANN / NIEMANN-STIRNEMANN

A product of the hugely successful Sambo 70 skating club that has Eteri Tutberidze as head coach, which 2022 Olympic figure skating champion was the first female to land a quad Lutz in competition in 2018?

ANNA SHCHERBAKOVA

Despite the country’s long-track speed skating dominance, The Netherlands had failed to win an Olympic medal until 2014 at short-track. Later going on to set the 1,500m world record, who was the man who won that bronze in the 1,000m?

SJINKIE KNEGT

Viktor Ahn and Vladimir Grigorev completed a Russian one-two ahead of Dutchman Sjinkie Knegt in the 1,000m short-track at the Sochi Olympics. They teamed up with Semion Elistratos and Ruslan Zakharov to win gold in the relay, this being held over how many metres?

5,000

American Ted Ligety is a five-time World Cup champion and three-time World Championship winner in which specific event? He also grabbed the Olympic title in it at Sochi when he held off the challenge of French pair Steve Missillier and Alexis Pinturault after building up a big lead in his first run.

GIANT SLALOM

Teaming up with Natalia Mishkutionok in 1992 and Oksana Kazakova in 1998, who is the only male skater to win Olympic golds with two different partners?

ARTUR DMITRIEV

The pair later marrying though it ended in divorce, who partnered Irina Rodnina to Olympic gold in the figure skating pairs in both 1976 and 1980?

ALEXANDER ZAITSEV

Switching to skating with pairs silver medallist Lyudmila Smirnova after the event, who partnered Irina Rodnina when she won her first gold medal at the 1972 Olympics?

ALEXEI ULANOV

Biathlon at the 2018 Winter Olympics

If I write Martin Fourcade enough times will I recognise that he exists and be able to recall his name when required? And will I one day be able to distinguish biathletes from cross country skiers with certainty?

Questions

Won by French legend Martin Fourcade at the 2018 Winter Olympics, the men’s pursuit in biathlon takes place over what distance?

12.5km

Along with one for the pursuit, Martin Fourcade won another individual gold at the 2018 Olympics. In which biathlon event that takes place over 15km did this happen?

MASS START

Behind the times on gender equality, the women’s biathlon sprint, mass start and pursuit are all what distance shorter than the equivalent men’s event?

2.5km

A third 2018 gold for Martin Fourcade came in the biathlon mixed relay, with individual legs being carried put over what distance, the same as for the women’s relay? The men’s relay is over legs 1.5km longer.

6km

Although he successfully defended his pursuit gold in 2018, Martin Fourcade did not repeat his 2014 victory in the individual event. This takes place over what distance, the longest individual event in biathlon, with the women’s event being 5km shorter?

20km

Having great success four years later with multiple golds, which Norwegian took Martin Fourcade’s individual biathlon crown at the 2018 Winter Olympics?

JOHANNES THINGNES BØ

Germany topped the medal table in the biathlon at the 2018 Winter Olympics, with which male contributing a gold in the 10km sprint? As well as two other Olympic medals in relay events, he has five golds from the World Championships.

ARND PEIFFER

With Arnd Peiffer bagging one, which German woman added the two other gold medals that put Germany at the top of the biathlon medal table in Pyeongchang? These came in the sprint and pursuit, with a bronze in the individual seeing her reach the podium a third time.

LAURA DAHLMEIER

Which country won the men’s biathlon relay for the first time in 2018, and the women’s biathlon relay for the first time in 2022? Despite this period of success for both genders, they have not yet won the mixed relay.

SWEDEN

Although not successfully defending her individual title from 2018, which Swedish biathlete found herself among the gold medals four years later when she was part of the winning relay team?

HANNA ÖBERG

Her third gold after two consecutive sprint victories in 2010 and 2014, which Slovakian biathlete topped the podium in 2018 in the longer mass start?

ANASTASIYA KUZMINA

Including an alliterative three time individual gold medallist from past Olympics in their ranks, which country won the women’s biathlon relay gold in 2018?

BELARUS (The athlete is Darya Domracheva)

The event being introduced to the Winter Olympics in 2014, which country are the only ones apart from Norway to win the biathlon mixed relay, doing so in 2018?

FRANCE

World Curling Championship

Bring on the ‘Chess on ice’ questions. Or maybe don’t. It’s interesting to see who has been successful and which expected nations are completely missing.

Questions

Which country’s team have won the most World Curling Championships for both men and women, having 36 and 17 victories respectively, though none since 2018?

CANADA

Which country was the first winners of the women’s World Curling Championship when it was held in Perth in 1979, having to wait nearly thirty years between their second and third victories in 1983 and 2012, before becoming the most successful team in the 2010s, continuing that success into the next decade? Their men have amassed only 3 golds.

SWITZERLAND

With two victories, who are the only country to have won the women’s World Curling Championship from the British Isles, having two victories, their last in 2013? Their men have a much better record with five victories and are second overall in total medals.

SCOTLAND

Third in the all time medal table behind Canada and Switzerland if ranked by golds with 8, which country overtakes Switzerland if all women’s World Curling Championship medals are taken into  account? The reversal is true with the men who have 11 golds but lose out to Scotland in total medals.

SWEDEN

Who have the longest drought of past winners in the women’s World Curling Championship, with their only victory back in 1982 despite silvers and bronzes since?

DENMARK

Along with Sweden and Denmark which other Scandinavian nation has been successful at the Women’s World Curling Championship, having achieved back to back victories in 1990 and 1991? The men have won four times.

NORWAY

Out of the three Asian countries that have made the women’s World Curling Championship final, which is the only one to have taken the gold?

CHINA

Which country’s one and only victory in the women’s World Curling Championship came back in 2003, though they have been runner-up twice since? Their men have been successful in the event four times.

UNITED STATES

Which country is the only one to win the women’s World Curling Championship under two different names, doing so in 1988 and 2010?

GERMANY / WEST GERMANY

Women’s 500m speed skating golds

List learning exercise here as I forgot Bonnie Blair despite having remembered her before. I never realised 500m was a long-track event and that should be basic knowledge.

Questions

The first American woman to win the 500m in long-track speed skating since Bonnie Blair in 1994, who also became the first black woman to win an individual gold in the Winter Olympics when she was victorious in 2022?

ERIN JACKSON

The first to break the 37-second barrier at sea level, who is the only female Japanese long-track speed skater to win the 500m, doing so in an Olympic record time in 2018? She also won silver in the 1000m.

NAO KODAIRA

Still the current world record holder for the women’s 500m long-track speed skating, which South Korean won back to back golds in 2010 and 2014, narrowly failing to win a third when she was beaten into silver by Nao Kodaira in 2018?

LEE SANG-HWA

After her long-track speed skating career she went into politics becoming a deputy to the State Duma and has received sanctions from the EU and Canada, who is the only Russian woman to win the 500m at the Winter Olympics back in 2006?

SVETLANA ZHUROVA

Having to light her part of the cauldron at the closing ceremony of the 2010 Olympics because of a mechanical fault during the opening ceremony, which Canadian long-track speed skater won back to back 500m golds in 1998 and 2002?

CATRIONA LE MAY DOAN

Twice the bridesmaid, which Canadian long-track speed skater missed out on 500m gold behind the dominant athletes of Bonnie Blair in 1994 and compatriot Catriona Le May Doan in 1998?

SUSAN AUCH

During Bonnie Blair’s run of three consecutive 500m long-track speed skating golds she was challenged by which 1984 German gold medallist, who found herself adding to her medal collection in 1988 and 1992?

CHRISTA ROTHENBURGER / CHRISTA LUDING-ROTHENBURGER

Which East German long-track speed skater failed to defend her 500m title from 1980 when she was beaten by compatriot Christa Rothenburger in 1984, though she did go on to add to her golds in the 1000m and 1500m?

KARIN ENKE

Also notable for her World Championship victories in cycling, which American woman won the 500m long-track speed skating in 1976, ending up with a medal of each colour after her efforts in the 1000m and 1500m?

SHIELA YOUNG

Becoming the youngest champion in the history of long-track speed skating at 16 years of age, who was the first American woman to win the 500m in 1972? She was allowed a re-skate after being obstructed, though both performances would have seen her win gold.

ANNE HENNING

Which Soviet long-track speed skater won the 1968 gold medal in the 500m alongside a silver in the 1000m, finishing in third in 1972 when she tried to defend her title?

LYUDMILA TITOVA

The 500m gold was one of four at the 1964 Winter Olympics for which long-track speed skater from the Soviet Union, whose six overall titles ties her with Ireen Wüst at the top of the all time leaderboard for female gold medals?

LIDIYA SKOBLIKOVA

Also winning a silver in the 1000m, which Danzig-born German was the first ever winner of the women’s long-track speed skating 500m in 1960?

HELGA HAASE

Winter sport

Interesting the connections you can make from looking into one athlete. I did have a bunch of dull questions to revise for this, but unless I revamp them, they’re not getting posted here.

Questions

The only athlete to compete in all three Asian editions of the Olympics from 2018 to 2022, who won 2022 snowboarding gold in the half pipe after being the first athlete to land the ‘too dangerous’ triple cork in the Olympics, with the judging coming under scrutiny after a suspiciously low score in one of his runs? He had previously won back-to-back silvers in the same event, and in the Summer Olympics took part in the park skateboarding, where he finished 14th.

AYUMU HIRANO

Which figure skating jump named for a Danish-born Swede, involves a take-off from the back inside edge of one foot and landing on the back outside edge of the other? It is usually the first jump an athlete learns to double, and the first or second that they learn to triple.

SALCHOW

What is the surname of the Norwegian figure skater who invented the Axel jump, with a triple being completed by very few women and the first quadruple being landed in competition by American Ilia Malinin in 2022?

PAULSEN

Polish athlete Justyna Kowalczyk is the only skier to win which event four times in a row, with Finland’s Virpi Kuitunen being its first winner in 2007 and Swede Frida Karlsson the triumphant lady in 2023?

TOUR DE SKI

Won by Justyna Kowalczyk in 2010, what is the longest distance that women cross country skiers compete in at the Winter Olympics? In 2022 this distance saw victory for Norwegian Therese Johaug, one of three for her at the Beijing games.

30KM

Justyna Kowalcyzk won the second of her two Olympic golds in the 10km cross country in 2014, with 2022 star Therese Johaug also in the medals in 3rd. Which Swedish skier was sandwiched between them, who failed to defend her gold from the previous games though she did win one in the relay and added a third in the 15km skiathlon in 2018?

CHARLOTTE KALLA

Although not used to enhance her sporting performance, Justyna Kowalcyzk did fall foul of doping rules at the 2005 World Championship when she used dexamethasone to alleviate an achilles tendon problem. Dexamethasone was first synthesised by which Nobel Laureate, who was reocgnised in 1950 for his part in the discovery of cortisone?

PHILIP HENCH

Later apologising for making such statements while the 2010 Olympics were in progress, Justyna Kowalcyzk criticised which athlete for using anti-asthma drugs? This person went on to win five medals at the Games including three golds, though the Polish cross country skier did pip her in the 30km by less than a second.

MARIT BJØRGEN