Question 1

True or false: Track and Field's 4x100 meter relay world record for men is 36.84 seconds, set by Jamaica in 2012.

Accepted Answer

True. Usain Bolt, Yohan Blake, and team ran 36.84 s at the 2012 London Olympics, the current outdoor world record.

Question 2

True or false: Track and Field's 1500 meter run is exactly one mile.

Accepted Answer

False. A mile is 1609 meters; 1500 meters is about 0.932 miles. The metric mile is a nickname, not exact.

Question 3

True or false: Track and Field's women's marathon was added to the Olympic program in 1972.

Accepted Answer

False. The women's marathon debuted at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics, not 1972. The 1972 Games had no women's marathon.

Question 4

True or false: Track and Field's starting blocks were invented in the 1970s.

Accepted Answer

False. Starting blocks were invented in 1927 by George Breshnahan and William Tuttle, not the 1970s.

Question 5

True or false: Track and Field's 400 meter hurdles event has 12 hurdles.

Accepted Answer

False. Both men's and women's 400 m hurdles have exactly 10 hurdles, each 35 meters apart after the first run-up.

Question 6

True or false: Track and Field's marathon distance of 26.2 miles originated from the 1908 London Olympics.

Accepted Answer

True. The 1908 Olympics set the marathon at 26 miles 385 yards to accommodate the royal family, later standardizing to 26.2 miles.

Question 7

True or false: Track and Field's 3000 meter steeplechase includes 28 barriers and 7 water jumps.

Accepted Answer

True. The steeplechase has 28 fixed barriers and 7 water jumps per race, totaling 35 obstacles over 3000 meters.

Question 8

True or false: Track and Field's javelin was redesigned in 1986 to reduce distances after throws exceeded 100 meters.

Accepted Answer

True. After Uwe Hohn threw 104.80 m in 1984, the IAAF shifted the javelin's center of gravity to shorten flights.

Track and Field Trivia Questions