Winter Olympics 2014

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Every 4th winter, the world’s best snowboarders, skiers, skaters and sledders migrate to the frozen parts of the world to find out who deserves the gold medal. This year, they’re all going to a small town in Russia — Sochi, for the Winter Olympics. At http://www.sochi2014.com/en you can see the schedule and learn about the athletes, but that’s just the beginning. Let’s test your knowledge about the Winter Olympics and then watch some videos from prior Winter Olympics.

1. T/F Tropical countries don’t compete in the winter Olympics. Answer: False. There are athletes from Jamaica and the Virgin Islands listed on the roster, at http://bit.ly/1e84fgM

2. Which country has the most Winter Olympics medals?  Hint. It’s not the USA, Russia or China. The answer is at http://bit.ly/1f0MrZ3.

3. How many Winter Olympic sports are there? The answer is at http://bit.ly/1jiRrM3. Hint, there’s not nearly as many as the Summer Olympics, and the fraction 15/41 is a clue. Also, you should know that there are eight new sports at this year’s Olympics, listed here http://bit.ly/1mmaFxk.

4. If you win a gold medal, is it really gold? At http://cnnmon.ie/1jpS7PM you learn that, by weight, a “gold” medal is a mixture of metals; mostly silver. It is coated with real gold. The real value of a gold medal is symbolic.

5. Can a kid enter the Olympics?  According to Yun Mi Kim of Korea, the answer is yes. She was 13 when she won her speed skating gold medal. At http://bit.ly/1mmb82u you can learn the ages of all past medal winners, young and old.

Applications

Make a torch at http://bit.ly/LJopay

Try some Olympic trivia at http://bit.ly/1dOySeL and http://bit.ly/1e9vKcA

Follow the news on twitter by following tweets by NBC Sports at #NBCOlympics

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