100+ Summer Olympics Trivia Questions & Answers

Question: What city hosted the first modern Olympic Games in 1896?

Answer: Athens

Question: Who founded the International Olympic Committee in 1894?

Answer: Pierre de Coubertin

Question: In which year were women first officially allowed to compete at the Summer Olympics?

Answer: 1900

Question: Which American city hosted the 1904 Summer Olympics, the first Games held outside Europe?

Answer: St. Louis

Question: Which Greek marathon victor’s win in 1896 sparked major celebrations in the stadium?

Answer: Spiridon Louis

Question: Which Games introduced gold, silver, and bronze medals for the first three places?

Answer: 1904 St. Louis

Question: Which event in 1900 was integrated with the Paris World’s Fair and lasted over five months?

Answer: The 1900 Summer Olympics

Question: At which Games did women first compete in track and field events?

Answer: 1928 Amsterdam

Question: Which athlete won both decathlon and pentathlon at the 1912 Stockholm Games but was later stripped of his medals?

Answer: Jim Thorpe

Question: Which 1906 Games in Athens are not officially recognized by the IOC, though many historians do count them?

Answer: The Intercalated Games

Question: Which 1908 Games established the modern marathon distance of 42.195 km?

Answer: London 1908

Question: Which host city was originally awarded the canceled 1916 Summer Olympics?

Answer: Berlin

Question: Which 1936 Games were used by Nazi Germany to promote its ideology?

Answer: Berlin 1936

Question: Which athlete secured four gold medals in track and field at the 1936 Berlin Olympics?

Answer: Jesse Owens

Question: Which city hosted the first post–World War II Summer Olympics, in 1948?

Answer: London

Question: Which famous boxer, known then as Cassius Clay, won Olympic light-heavyweight gold in 1960?

Answer: Muhammad Ali

Question: Which 1964 host city was the first in Asia to stage a Summer Olympics?

Answer: Tokyo

Question: Which American high jumper introduced the Fosbury Flop at the 1968 Mexico City Games?

Answer: Dick Fosbury

Question: Which 1972 Olympics were overshadowed by a terrorist attack on Israeli athletes?

Answer: Munich

Question: Which U.S. swimmer won a record seven gold medals at the 1972 Munich Olympics?

Answer: Mark Spitz

Question: Which city became the first ever to host the Summer Olympics three times, in 2012?

Answer: London

Question: As of 2024, which country has hosted the Summer Olympics four times (1904, 1932, 1984, 1996)?

Answer: United States

Question: Which French city hosted in 1900, 1924, and again in 2024?

Answer: Paris

Question: Which continent has never hosted a Summer Olympics as of 2024?

Answer: Africa

Question: Which city was the first in South America to host a Summer Olympics, in 2016?

Answer: Rio de Janeiro

Question: Which country hosted the 1956 equestrian Olympic events in Stockholm due to quarantine regulations?

Answer: Sweden

Question: How many times had Asia hosted the Summer Olympics by the time of Tokyo 2020?

Answer: Four times

Question: Which U.S. city will host the Summer Games for a third time in 2028?

Answer: Los Angeles

Question: Which Australian city is scheduled to host the 2032 Summer Olympics?

Answer: Brisbane

Question: Which city in Asia first hosted the Summer Olympics in 1964?

Answer: Tokyo

Question: Which city in Latin America hosted the 1968 Summer Olympics?

Answer: Mexico City

Question: Which city was home to both the 1896 and 2004 Summer Olympics?

Answer: Athens

Question: Across how many continents have the Summer Olympics been held so far (by 2024)?

Answer: Five

Question: Which Games were partially co-hosted by Stockholm for the equestrian events?

Answer: 1956 Summer Olympics

Question: Which two cities, by 2024, have hosted the Summer Olympics three times each?

Answer: London and Paris

Question: Which Belgian city hosted the 1920 Summer Olympics soon after World War I?

Answer: Antwerp

Question: How many times had the United States hosted the Summer Olympics up to (and including) 2024?

Answer: Four

Question: Which Canadian city hosted the 1976 Summer Olympics?

Answer: Montreal

Question: Which Asian city hosted the 1988 Summer Olympics, the second in Asia to do so?

Answer: Seoul

Question: Which Dutch city hosted the 1928 Summer Olympics?

Answer: Amsterdam

Question: Which nation leads the all-time Summer Olympics medal count as of 2024?

Answer: United States

Question: Which American swimmer set a single-Games record of eight gold medals at Beijing 2008?

Answer: Michael Phelps

Question: Which Jamaican sprinter famously broke world records in both the 100m and 200m at the 2008 Olympics?

Answer: Usain Bolt

Question: Which country has won at least one gold medal at every Summer Olympics they’ve entered?

Answer: Great Britain

Question: Which Dutch sprinter won four gold medals at the 1948 London Games?

Answer: Fanny Blankers-Koen

Question: Which Romanian gymnast earned the first perfect 10 in Olympic history at the 1976 Montreal Games?

Answer: Nadia Comăneci

Question: Which Greek weightlifter became the most decorated in his sport with three gold and one bronze overall?

Answer: Pyrros Dimas

Question: Which distance runner from Finland repeated the 5,000m–10,000m double in both 1972 and 1976?

Answer: Lasse Virén

Question: Which Czech runner famously won the 5,000m, 10,000m, and marathon at Helsinki 1952?

Answer: Emil Zátopek

Question: Which American runner broke the 200m world record in a time of 19.32 at Atlanta 1996?

Answer: Michael Johnson

Question: Which Equatorial Guinean swimmer made headlines for completing the 100m freestyle in the slowest recorded Olympic time in 2000?

Answer: Eric “the Eel” Moussambani

Question: Who was the other Equatorial Guinean swimmer in 2000 who also received media attention for a record-slow swim?

Answer: Paula Barila Bolopa

Question: Which new 10 km swimming race was introduced at the 2008 Beijing Olympics?

Answer: Marathon swimming

Question: Which athlete earned six gold and two bronze at the 2004 Athens Olympics?

Answer: Michael Phelps

Question: Which Australian swimmer nicknamed the “Thorpedo” won multiple gold medals at the 2000 Sydney Games?

Answer: Ian Thorpe

Question: Which Indigenous Australian lit the stadium alight by winning the 400m at the 2000 Sydney Olympics?

Answer: Cathy Freeman

Question: Which British rower won gold medals at five consecutive Games up to 2000?

Answer: Steve Redgrave

Question: Which KGB-driven scandal allegedly involved posing as IOC anti-doping officials at the 1980 Moscow Games?

Answer: Soviet doping conspiracy

Question: Which Canadian sprinter lost his 1988 100m Olympic title due to a positive doping test?

Answer: Ben Johnson

Question: Which table tennis format replaced doubles at the 2008 Beijing Olympics?

Answer: Team events

Question: Which 1972 Olympics were overshadowed by a terrorist attack on Israeli athletes?

Answer: Munich

Question: Which 1980 Games were boycotted by 66 nations in protest of the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan?

Answer: Moscow

Question: Which 1976 Games were boycotted by many African nations over a New Zealand rugby tour of apartheid South Africa?

Answer: Montreal

Question: Which city hosted the 1996 Olympics that were marred by a bombing in Centennial Olympic Park?

Answer: Atlanta

Question: Which two countries were excluded from the 1948 London Olympics for their roles in World War II?

Answer: Germany and Japan

Question: Which athlete was disqualified at the 1908 marathon when officials helped him cross the finish line?

Answer: Dorando Pietri

Question: Which Canadian sprinter’s doping scandal overshadowed the 1988 Seoul Games?

Answer: Ben Johnson

Question: Which 1936 Olympics did Nazi Germany use as a propaganda showcase?

Answer: Berlin

Question: Which 1904 Olympics saw few top athletes outside North America due to the Russo–Japanese War and travel hurdles?

Answer: St. Louis

Question: Which nation led the boycott of the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics in retaliation for 1980?

Answer: Soviet Union

Question: Which men’s final at the 1972 Olympics was replayed in the last three seconds, awarding basketball gold to the USSR over the U.S.?

Answer: Men’s basketball

Question: Which 1976 Games in Canada saw massive cost overruns allegedly linked to corruption and poor construction?

Answer: Montreal

Question: Which U.S. team famously refused to accept their silver medals in the 1972 men’s basketball final?

Answer: The United States

Question: Which two Cold War adversaries boycotted each other’s Games in 1980 and 1984?

Answer: United States and Soviet Union

Question: Which water polo match at the 1956 Melbourne Games turned violent after the Soviet invasion of Hungary?

Answer: Hungary vs USSR

Question: Which boxer reportedly threw away his 1960 Olympic gold medal due to racial discrimination at home?

Answer: Muhammad Ali

Question: Which doping controversy involved revelations that the Soviet Union planned major steroid use for 1984?

Answer: Soviet state-sponsored doping

Question: Which city’s 1900 Olympics, stretching over five months, caused confusion about which events were official?

Answer: Paris

Question: Which Czech gymnast protested the Soviet anthem at the 1968 Games by turning her head down on the podium?

Answer: Věra Čáslavská

Question: Which 2020 Olympics had to be postponed to 2021 because of the COVID-19 pandemic?

Answer: Tokyo

Question: When did the first modern Olympics take place?

Answer: 1896 in Athens

Question: In which year was the Olympic Flag first flown at the Summer Olympics?

Answer: 1920 in Antwerp

Question: Which 1936 Summer Games introduced the Olympic Torch as part of a relay tradition?

Answer: Berlin 1936

Question: Which five interlocked symbol represents the coming together of five continents at the Olympic Games?

Answer: The Olympic Rings

Question: Which was the last Summer Olympics to award medals made entirely of solid gold?

Answer: 1912 Stockholm

Question: Which European city hosted the 2024 Summer Olympics for its third time overall?

Answer: Paris

Question: Which Olympic athlete earned eight gold medals at a single Summer Games in 2008?

Answer: Michael Phelps

Question: Which Black athlete won four gold medals in track and field at the 1936 Berlin Olympics?

Answer: Jesse Owens

Question: At which Summer Olympics did the first official Olympic Torch Relay take place?

Answer: Berlin 1936

Question: Which Olympic sport made its debut at the 1964 Tokyo Summer Olympics?

Answer: Judo

Question: Which Games were established partly due to the popularity of the Summer Olympics, focusing on cold-weather sports?

Answer: The Winter Olympics

Question: Which 1932 Games in the United States provided the first dedicated Olympic Village for athletes?

Answer: Los Angeles 1932

Question: Which French educator is regarded as the founder of the modern Olympics?

Answer: Baron Pierre de Coubertin

Question: Which Games featured an Opening Ceremony along the Seine and marked Paris hosting the Olympics for the third time?

Answer: Paris 2024 Olympics

Question: Which 1904 host city in the United States was the first outside Europe to stage the Summer Olympics?

Answer: St. Louis

Question: At which 1900 Summer Olympics did female athletes first officially participate?

Answer: Paris 1900

Question: Which 1920 host city did not invite Austria, Bulgaria, Germany, Hungary, or Turkey due to WWI?

Answer: Antwerp

Question: Which city’s 1932 Games were impacted by the Great Depression, leading to fewer competitors?

Answer: Los Angeles

Question: Which 1968 protest in Mexico City led to African-American medalists being expelled from the Games?

Answer: The Black Power salute

Question: Which athlete first achieved seven golds in a single Summer Games (in 1972), a record later surpassed by Phelps?

Answer: Mark Spitz