Fastest Olympic times in athletics

What you’ll be tested on

From explosive 100m finishes to punishing distance races, this quiz focuses on the fastest Olympic times in athletics and the moments that produced them. You’ll see questions that connect events, athletes, and record-setting finals across different Olympic editions.

Each question gives you 4 options and there’s no timer, so you can think through close calls and era-to-era comparisons without pressure.

Skills you’ll practice

You’ll sharpen your ability to recall which events produced the quickest Olympic-winning times, spot patterns across decades, and separate world-record fame from Olympic-record reality.

• Matching athletes to their fastest Olympic performances
• Distinguishing Olympic records from world records and season bests
• Recognizing which events tend to produce the biggest time drops
• Avoiding mix-ups between heats, semifinals, and finals
• Remembering host-year context that influenced standout results

Difficulty, length, and common pitfalls

Difficulty is balanced as “Mixed,” blending well-known headline performances with less-remembered events and years. Choose your preferred question count and difficulty before starting if you want a quicker warm-up or a deeper full-length challenge.

Common mistakes include confusing relay splits with official relay times, assuming a famous world record equals the Olympic fastest, and mixing up similar event names (e.g., 1500m vs 5000m) when recalling times.