Suvam Pal - The Ultimate Olympic Quiz Book

To my beloved parents, Anita and Rana Ranjan Pal,
dear brother Ritam for tolerating my idiosyncrasies
over the years and supporting me through thick and
thin, and my cute angel 'Richie Rich' for sprinkling
the pixie dust on me

The 1988 Seoul Olympics baptized and introduced me to the worlds biggest sporting event. And what an introduction it was! For Seoul portrayed the myriad hues of the Greatest Show on Earth most brilliantly. It was the final hurrah of two dominant powerhouses - the Soviet Union and East Germany - before their national character changed to create new entities and the first boycott-free Games as these Games saw the entry of both the Peoples Republic of China and Chinese Taipei after a series of boycotts in previous games over the use of the word China in their names. It turned out to be the biggest fall from grace in the history of the Games as well, with one of the most prolific Olympic champions, Ben Johnson, falling prey to the nemesis of sporting spirit: doping. In those Ramayana days of Doordarshan, I found my heroes and superheroes in Carl Lewis, Sergey Bubka, Matt Biondi, Kristin Otto, Florence Griffith-Joyner and Naim Suleymanoglu, apart from having a crush, probably my first, on a certain Svetlana Boginskaya - the svelte Soviet gymnast and winner of four medals in the capital of South Korea.

In the process I became a sports maniac despite being a citizen of a uni-sport country which eats, sleeps, breathes and swears by the game of cricket. My enthusiasm eventually compelled me to pursue a career in sports journalism, and when everybody from my fraternity was gunning for that exalted position of a cricket correspondent, I was happy being part of the coverage of the lesser mortals of sport. This not only enriched my knowledge and understanding of the sports and the Olympics but also made me a far more intense and passionate sport lover.

The same fervour took me to Goa last year after I got the information that the fallen hero of Seoul, Ben Johnson, had been spotted in the idyllic, picturesque beaches of a western Indian state. Despite having no clue about Bens whereabouts, I went on a wild-goose chase to track down the man who was once the fastest sprinter on earth, promising an exclusive interview with him to my office. A number of overenthusiastic phone calls to hotels and random people eventually gave my paparazzi self some invaluable leads. When I finally got to meet Ben, I identified him instantly thanks to the sparkling jaguar eyes that had entranced a billion television viewers in 1988. How that 9.79-second race incredibly changed his life, what was the real reason behind his unimaginable pace in that race (which even today stands as one of the fastest races in history, although not legally), how he was caught in the crossfire between shoe sponsors, what it takes to be on top and what fall from grace really entails, a candid Ben told me all during our two-hour long interaction.

Immensely touched by Bens story, I decided to write this book in an attempt to put together the numerous little-known and unknown stories of the Olympic Games. Being an avid quizzer, it just made sense for me to write this in a quiz format, a format that would also enable sport fanatics to test their knowledge about the Olympics. Moreover with the London 2012 Olympics round the corner, I believe this book will, with its Olympic trivia and factoids, give every sports fan the opportunity to feel closer to the greatest sports extravaganza in the world as he or she gears up for the upcoming Games. Apart from trying my best to be as factually correct as possible by gathering information from the best available reference material internationally (in case of a disputed or debated fact, I chose to stick to the data approved by the International Olympic Committee), I have attempted to create a book in which the questions go beyond mere results, numbers and other statistics and data.

Although there are not too many Indians in the league of extraordinary Olympians, being an Indian I have also dedicated two chapters to our countrymens fascinating feats at the Games. I must admit that the recent emergence of Indian athletes in the international level, especially their success at the 2008 Beijing Olympics and the 2010 Commonwealth Games, has made me optimistic about Indias prospects in London. I sincerely hope that all of us get to see more Indian names being added to the glorious list of Olympic icons in the years to come.

SUVAM PAL
Mumbai

Born as a series of inter-state competitions among warring Greek federal city-states, the ancient Olympic Games embodied Creek masculinity and the cultures passion for sports, penchant for power and hunger for success. The legends of the ancient Games are sprinkled with fascinating tales of guts, grit, glory and chivalry, involving the high and mighty gods, and the debonair demi-gods. An unchronicled beginning, a celebration of Greek culture and heritage for over a thousand years brought to an abrupt end, courtesy a ruthless Roman emperor the ancient Olympics saw it all.

1. The Olympic Games started as a series of athletic competitions held for the representatives of various city-states of ancient Greece in honour of a Greek god. Name him/her.

2. There is no record of the official date when the Games might have begun, but historians have agreed on a particular year of inception for the ancient Olympics. Which year was it?

3. With six titles under his belt, he was arguably the most prolific champion of the ancient Games. This legendary wrestler from Croton won his first title in boys wrestling in 540 BC and later won five more, from 532 BC to 516 BC. What was his name?

4. In which Shakespearean play did the ancient Olympic legend Milo find a reference?

5. The Greek legend Milo was the pupil of a renowned philosopher and mathematician, whose daughter Myia he married. Name the philosopher.

6. Name the only event that took place at the first Olympics in 776 BC and was the only Olympic sport till 724 BC.

7. Who was the first ever Olympic champion in the recorded history of the Games?

Glorious Olympian, inglorious death

His invincibility in the Olympic arena was legendary and, for the ancient Greeks, he personified strength and power being immortalized in numerous fantastic fables and tales. But Milo of Croton had a less-than-glorious death. Once, he was wandering through the forest and found an old tree trunk with wedges inserted in it to split the wood. In an attempt to test his strength, an over-confident Milo tried to split apart the wood. He succeeded in loosening the wedges, but the trunk closed on his hands, trapping him and eventually, as the legend goes, the Olympic great fell prey to wild beasts. The tragedy was depicted in, among many other portrayals, an eighteenth-century oil painting by Joseph-Benot Suve and a work by the eighteenth-century Irish painter James Barry.

8. Women were not allowed to compete in or even watch the Olympic Games, but they had their own Games which were held in honour of Goddess Hera in the stadium at Olympia. What was it called?