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Hard Sports Trivia Questions
The hard questions from our sports set, 15 of them, each with the answer and an explanation below the game.
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Keys 1-4 pick an answer, Enter moves on. Nothing is saved to an account.
The hard band covers named trophies, record holders and the specifics people rarely check: the diameter of a basketball hoop, the maximum snooker break, which years the Olympics were cancelled. All of them are fixed facts rather than opinion.
15 hard sports trivia questions with answers
Who won the marathon at the first modern Olympics in 1896?
Answer: Spyridon Louis A Greek water carrier, whose win made him a national hero overnight.
Which athlete has won the most Olympic gold medals of all time?
Answer: Michael Phelps The swimmer finished his career with 23 golds and 28 medals in total.
Which horse race is billed as "the most exciting two minutes in sports"?
Answer: The Kentucky Derby The Churchill Downs race has been run since 1875.
Who ran the first sub-four-minute mile in 1954?
Answer: Roger Bannister The medical student clocked 3:59.4 at Iffley Road in Oxford.
At which golf tournament is the winner given a green jacket?
Answer: The Masters Augusta National has handed one to the champion since 1949.
Which country won the 1966 FIFA World Cup?
Answer: England England beat West Germany 4-2 after extra time at Wembley.
What is the maximum break in a standard frame of snooker?
Answer: 147 Fifteen reds each followed by a black, then the colours in order.
The NFL's championship trophy is named after which coach?
Answer: Vince Lombardi It was renamed in 1971 after the Green Bay coach's death.
The Olympic Games were cancelled in which two years because of the Second World War?
Answer: 1940 and 1944 The 1916 Games were also lost, to the First World War.
The Fosbury Flop is a technique used in which event?
Answer: High jump Dick Fosbury's backwards clearance won gold in 1968 and quickly became standard.
What is the internal diameter of a basketball hoop?
Answer: 18 inches That is roughly twice the diameter of the ball itself.
Which country has hosted the Summer Olympics the most times?
Answer: The United States St Louis, Los Angeles twice and Atlanta make four editions.
How many squares are on a standard chessboard?
Answer: 64 Eight rows of eight, alternating light and dark.
In which sport would you compete for the Ryder Cup?
Answer: Golf It is a team match between Europe and the United States, first played in 1927.
The Ashes is a Test series contested between England and which country?
Answer: Australia The name comes from a mock obituary for English cricket printed in 1882.
Answer key
- Spyridon Louis
- Michael Phelps
- The Kentucky Derby
- Roger Bannister
- The Masters
- England
- 147
- Vince Lombardi
- 1940 and 1944
- High jump
- 18 inches
- The United States
- 64
- Golf
- Australia
How to play
- Pick a mode: multiple choice, true or false, a 60-second sprint, or the daily quiz.
- Answer with a tap, or press 1 to 4 on a keyboard. The right answer appears straight away with a line explaining it.
- Finish the round to see your score, copy the result grid, and step up a difficulty.
- Hosting a night? The full sports list and a separate answer key are printed below, and the print layout drops the game and keeps the paper.
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