How much do you know about the Olympics? Find out in our quiz

The sun sets over the Olympic rings in Rio. Photograph: Clive Rose/Getty Images

1. Which athlete has won the most Olympic medals?

   1. Carl Lewis

   2. Mark Spitz

   3. Michael Phelps

   4. Larisa Latynina

2. Why did Bobby Pearce slow down during his rowing race at the 1928 Olympics in Amsterdam?

   1. To wave to a fellow competitor's wife in the crowd

   2. To let a family of ducks pass by in the water

   3. As he dropped his oar into the water

   4. His glasses fell off and he needed to find them in the boat

3. What did Muhammad Ali (Cassius Clay at the time) wear while flying to Rome for the 1960 Games?

   1. Nothing

   2. His boxing gloves

   3. A world title belt

   4. A parachute

4. Which metal makes up 92.5% of an Olympic gold medal?

   1. Gold

   2. Silver

   3. Bronze

   4. Copper

5. Which of these countries has not hosted the summer Olympics?

   1. Finland

   2. Mexico

   3. India

   4. Belgium

6. The first 12 ancient Olympics only featured one event. What was it?

   1. An eight-lap chariot race

   2. A wrestling competition

   3. The discus throw

   4. A sprint from one end of the stadium to the other

7. The ancient Games featured a competition for which musicians?

   1. Guitarists

   2. Trumpeters

   3. Singers

   4. Drummers

8. Which city has held the modern Games three times?

   1. Athens

   2. London

   3. Los Angeles

   4. Tokyo

9. Fourteen countries competed in the first modern Games in 1896. Which country topped the medal table?

   1. Germany

   2. USA

   3. Great Britain

   4. Australia

10. Complete the sequence of 100m winners: Linford Christie, Donovan Bailey, Maurice Greene …

    1. Usain Bolt

    2. Justin Gatlin

    3. Ato Boldon

    4. Asafa Powell

11. Which of these sports has never featured at the Olympics?

    1. Motorcycle racing

    2. Croquet

    3. Squash

    4. Swimming obstacle race

12. How many athletes are competing at the Games in Rio?

    1. 2,016

    2. 4,686

    3. 10,500

    4. 20,160

13. In which event did Baron Pierre de Coubertin, the president of the IOC and founder of the modern Olympic movement, win a gold medal at the 1912 Games?

    1. 800m sprint

    2. Shot putt

    3. Marathon

    4. Mixed literature

14. Hans-Gunnar Liljenwall was the first Olympic athlete to be suspended for drug use. Which banned substance had he consumed?

    1. Cocaine

    2. Alcohol

    3. Marijuana

    4. Paracetamol

15. Seventy-five of the 206 national Olympic committees have never won a medal at the Olympics. Which of these countries has the largest population?

    1. Madagascar

    2. Bangladesh

    3. Albania

    4. Palestine

16. Which of these animals were used in the 1900 Olympics?

    1. Elephants

    2. Cats

    3. Pigeons

    4. Parrots

17. Rio 2016 will be the third summer Games held in the southern hemisphere. Which city hosted the first?

    1. Melbourne

    2. Sydney

    3. Tokyo

    4. Seoul

18. Why did Pierre de Coubertin, the father of the modern Games and the creator of the five Olympic rings, use the colours blue, yellow, black, green and red?

    1. The rings were meant to be white with a black trim but his kids coloured them in with crayons and he approved

    2. He drew them while looking at blue, yellow, black, green and red plants in his garden

    3. To incorporate at least one colour from the flag of each competing country

    4. As he thought every other colour was 'needless embellishment'

19. Golf is back at the Olympics this year. When did it last feature?

    1. 776

    2. 1904

    3. 1980

    4. 1996

20. The 1956 Olympics were hosted by Melbourne. Where were the equestrian events held?

    1. Sydney

    2. Canberra

    3. Wellington

    4. Stockholm

21. Athletes from Greece always walk on first during the parade of nations at opening ceremonies. Which country's athletes go last?

    1. France

    2. Zimbabwe

    3. Refugee athletes

    4. The hosts

22. Who was Team GB's flag bearer in the opening ceremony at London 2012?

    1. Ben Ainslie

    2. Jessica Ennis

    3. Chris Hoy

    4. Bradley Wiggins

23. Women first competed in the modern Olympics in 1900 but only in 'ladylike sports'. Which three?

    1. Breast stroke, back stroke and front crawl swimming events

    2. 100m, 200m and 400m running races

    3. Tennis, sailing and golf

    4. Shooting, archery and synchronised swimming

24. Which of these athletes has won an Olympic gold medal?

    1. Floyd Mayweather Jr.

    2. Paula Radcliffe

    3. Lionel Messi

    4. Steve Cram

25. In which sport do men and women compete against each other on equal terms?

    1. Archery

    2. Shooting

    3. Golf

    4. Equestrianism

Solutions

1:C - Phelps has won a staggering 18 golds – plus two silver and two bronze medals., 2:B - He still won the race by 30 seconds., 3:D - He was scared of flying so picked up the parachute from an army surplus store before the trip. He won gold., 4:B - Gold medals must be plated with at least six grams of gold but, like the silver medals, they are mostly made from silver., 5:C - The US, meanwhile, has hosted four summer Olympics and four winter Olympics., 6:D - The race across the 'stadion' was about 200m long., 7:B - The musicians would be judged on their sound quality and projection – and the winners were given the honour of announcing the sporting champions at the prize-giving event on the final day of the Games., 8:B - In 1908, 1948 and 2012., 9:B - USA won 11 golds to finish in front of Greece (10), Germany (six), France (five) and Great Britain (two) in the medal table., 10:B - Gatlin won in 2004 with a time of 9.85s. The top four runners all finished below 9.90s., 11:C - Not for their lack of trying., 12:C - And they've been given 350,000 condoms – which the IOC believes to be 'sufficient to encourage athletes to practice safe sex while in Brazil for the Olympic Games', 13:D - Art competitions were introduced in 1912, with events in literature, sculpture, painting, architecture and music. De Coubertin won for his poem Ode to Sport. , 14:B - Liljenwall reportedly had "two beers" to calm his nerves before the pistol shooting event., 15:B - The county has 161m inhabitants but no Olympic medals – yet. Golfer Siddikur Rahman will be trying to change that this summer., 16:C - They were used as targets in the shooting event., 17:A - In 1956., 18:C - Pierre de Coubertin said in 1931: 'This design is symbolic; the five colours are those that appear on at least one of all the national flags of the world at the present time united by Olympism.', 19:B - The competition featured 77 golfers from two countries – USA and Canada., 20:D - The Australian authorities are not keen on bringing animals into the country. Just ask Johnny Depp., 21:D - Brazil will be led out by modern pentathlete Yane Marques., 22:C - Ben Ainslie was the flag bearer for the closing ceremony., 23:C - Margaret Abbott entered and won the tournament as she was in Paris with her mother – who also entered. Margaret did not know the competition was anything to do with the Games and died in 1955 without knowing she was an Olympic champion., 24:C - Messi played in the Argentina team that beat Nigeria in the football event at the Beijing Games in 2008. Ángel Di María scored the winner., 25:D - When Colonel Harry Llewellyn won Great Britain's only gold medal winner at the 1952 Olympics, his horse, Foxhunter, was sent a congratulatory telegram from Winston Churchill.

Scores