Quiz2Know

Famous figures

Legendary Athletes and Sports Icons

Test your recollection of historic achievements, world records, and unforgettable careers of the greatest athletes.

This is a free, 14-question multiple-choice quiz. Answer each question to see whether you got it right, with an explanation for every answer. There is no sign-up and no time limit — take it as many times as you like, and scroll down for the full answer key once you are done.

Question 1 of 14

0 correct

Which American heavyweight boxer declared himself 'The Greatest' and famously fought George Foreman in the 1974 'Rumble in the Jungle'?

Press A–D to choose · Enter to submit

Answer key & explanations

Every question in this quiz, with the correct answer marked and an explanation of why it is right. Use it to revise before or after taking the quiz above.

  1. 1.Which American heavyweight boxer declared himself 'The Greatest' and famously fought George Foreman in the 1974 'Rumble in the Jungle'?

    • AJoe Frazier
    • BMuhammad Ali✓ Correct
    • CSonny Liston
    • DMike Tyson

    Correct answer: Muhammad Ali

    Muhammad Ali employed his 'rope-a-dope' strategy to knock out George Foreman in Kinshasa, regaining the world heavyweight championship.

  2. 2.Who is the Brazilian football forward nicknamed 'The King' (O Rei) who remains the only player to win three FIFA World Cups (1958, 1962, 1970)?

    • AGarrincha
    • BZico
    • CPelé✓ Correct
    • DRonaldo Nazário

    Correct answer: Pelé

    Pelé burst onto the global stage as a 17-year-old in 1958 and scored over 1,200 career goals across official and friendly fixtures.

  3. 3.Which Jamaican sprinter broke world records in both the 100m (9.58s) and 200m (19.19s) at the 2009 World Championships in Berlin?

    • AAsafa Powell
    • BYohan Blake
    • CUsain Bolt✓ Correct
    • DTyson Gay

    Correct answer: Usain Bolt

    Usain Bolt dominated international sprinting from 2008 to 2016, collecting eight Olympic gold medals and eleven World Championship titles.

  4. 4.Which American swimmer is the most decorated Olympian of all time, amassing 28 medals, including 23 golds, between 2004 and 2016?

    • AMark Spitz
    • BRyan Lochte
    • CMichael Phelps✓ Correct
    • DIan Thorpe

    Correct answer: Michael Phelps

    Michael Phelps set a single-Games record by winning eight gold medals at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, eclipsing Mark Spitz's 1972 haul.

  5. 5.Which basketball shooting guard led the Chicago Bulls to six NBA championships during two separate three-peats in the 1990s?

    • AMagic Johnson
    • BKareem Abdul-Jabbar
    • CMichael Jordan✓ Correct
    • DKobe Bryant

    Correct answer: Michael Jordan

    Michael Jordan won five regular-season MVPs and six Finals MVPs, widely regarded as the athlete who popularized the NBA globally.

  6. 6.Which American tennis player captured 23 Grand Slam singles titles in the Open Era, starting with the 1999 US Open?

    • AVenus Williams
    • BSerena Williams✓ Correct
    • CSteffi Graf
    • DMartina Navratilova

    Correct answer: Serena Williams

    Serena Williams dominated women's tennis across four decades, holding the record for the most Grand Slam singles titles in the Open Era.

  7. 7.Who is the Argentinian football superstar who captained his nation to victory at the 2022 FIFA World Cup and won eight Ballon d'Or awards?

    • ADiego Maradona
    • BLionel Messi✓ Correct
    • CGabriel Batistuta
    • DSergio Agüero

    Correct answer: Lionel Messi

    Lionel Messi scored seven goals at the 2022 Qatar tournament, earning the Golden Ball as the competition's best player.

  8. 8.Which Canadian ice hockey center, known as 'The Great One', holds the NHL records for career goals (894) and career points (2,857)?

    • AMario Lemieux
    • BWayne Gretzky✓ Correct
    • CGordie Howe
    • DBobby Orr

    Correct answer: Wayne Gretzky

    Wayne Gretzky has more career assists than any other NHL player has total points, leading the Edmonton Oilers to four Stanley Cup titles.

  9. 9.Which Swiss tennis champion won 20 Grand Slam singles titles, including eight Wimbledon championships, before retiring in 2022?

    • ARafael Nadal
    • BNovak Djokovic
    • CRoger Federer✓ Correct
    • DStan Wawrinka

    Correct answer: Roger Federer

    Roger Federer spent 310 weeks at world No. 1 and was celebrated for his fluid, single-handed backhand and court elegance.

  10. 10.Who became the first person to break the four-minute mile barrier on May 6, 1954, running a time of 3:59.4 in Oxford?

    • AJohn Landy
    • BRoger Bannister✓ Correct
    • CPeter Snell
    • DSebastian Coe

    Correct answer: Roger Bannister

    British medical student Roger Bannister achieved the long-deemed impossible sub-four-minute mile assisted by pacemakers Chris Chataway and Chris Brasher.

  11. 11.Which American track legend won four gold medals (100m, 200m, long jump, 4x100m relay) at the 1936 Berlin Olympics?

    • AJesse Owens✓ Correct
    • BCarl Lewis
    • CRalph Metcalfe
    • DJim Thorpe

    Correct answer: Jesse Owens

    Jesse Owens dispelled Nazi theories of Aryan racial superiority by dominating the track events in front of Adolf Hitler in Berlin.

  12. 12.Which Romanian gymnast became the first athlete to score a perfect 10.0 in Olympic gymnastics at the 1976 Montreal Games?

    • AOlga Korbut
    • BNadia Comăneci✓ Correct
    • CSimona Amânar
    • DNellie Kim

    Correct answer: Nadia Comăneci

    Fourteen-year-old Nadia Comăneci scored seven perfect 10s in Montreal, causing the electronic scoreboard to display '1.00' because it could not handle 10.

  13. 13.Which American artistic gymnast has won over 30 Olympic and World Championship medals, performing multiple eponymous skills?

    • AGabby Douglas
    • BAly Raisman
    • CSimone Biles✓ Correct
    • DSunisa Lee

    Correct answer: Simone Biles

    Simone Biles is recognized as the most decorated gymnast in history, having five distinct gymnastics elements named after her in the Code of Points.

  14. 14.Which Brazilian Formula 1 driver won three World Championships with McLaren before his fatal crash at Imola in 1994?

    • ANelson Piquet
    • BEmerson Fittipaldi
    • CAyrton Senna✓ Correct
    • DRubens Barrichello

    Correct answer: Ayrton Senna

    Ayrton Senna was renowned for his extraordinary qualifying pace and wet-weather driving mastery, capturing titles in 1988, 1990, and 1991.

More free quizzes