Ask Audrey

Anything you want to know about the Olympics but were afraid to ask?

As BBC Sport's resident Olympic statistician, Audrey will do her best to answer everything and anything you want to know.

Audrey has worked for BBC Sport for over 25 years, and has been involved in the BBC coverage of several Olympics.

So if you have a burning question about any Olympic event - large or small - or merely want to know more about a past competition, drop her a line.

Whatever the sport, never fear. Audrey can solve your brain-teaser.

William & Elaine McKenzie, of the UK ask:

We have been watching the Diving Competitions on BBC over the past week and have been trying desperately to work out how the scores have been awarded. Even though the commentary has been very informative, we are still no closer to getting a solution. Could you please inform us on how the scoring is worked out and how the Diving Degree of Difficulty figures in the calculation.

A panel of seven judges award marks out of ten for each dive attempted, depending on such factors as take-off, execution and entry into the water. The marks are then multiplied by the degree of difficulty of the chosen dive to reach a final score.

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Tony O'Hagan, of the UK asks:

The Montreal Olympics of 1976 were said to be so expensive that the city would be paying for them until the Year 2000. Has Montreal cleared the debt?

As a result of poor planning, overambition and corruption, the Montreal Games ended up costing about $1,400 million - four times more than the original budget. The unfortunate citizens of Montreal are still footing the bill - it's hoped the debt will finally be cleared by 2006.

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Peter Norcott, from England asks:

Just a quick question, which has got us, scratching our heads: We were asked which 5 Olympic events are won by going backwards? The only one we could come up with was swimming - the backstroke! Can you put us out of our misery?

Well, there's all the rowing events (unless you're a cox), and you could argue that the High Jump (Fosbury Flop style) and Shot are won by moving backwards. If you include discontinued events, there's also the Tug of War, which was contested from 1900 to 1920.

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Gareth Pugh, from England asks:

In Tokyo, Lynn Davies won the men's long jump gold medal. How far did he jump and what is the current British long jump record?

Lynn Davies, known as "Lynn the Leap", won the 1964 long jump with a personal best 26 feet, 5 and three quarter inches (8.07 metres). He was the first Welshman ever to win an individual Olympic gold medal. Davies still holds the British record with a leap of 8.23, which he recorded in 1968. Not surprisingly, it's the oldest British record in the book.

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Chris Boulter , from England asks:

Could you tell me if Lawn Green Bowls has been included in the Olympics as an event and if so when?

No, Bowls has never been in the Olympics.

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Charlie Askew, from the UK asks:

In the gymnastics, what qualifications do the judges have that allows them to judge the competition? Are they established athletes themselves or do they just read it all up in a book?

As in the other events involving judging, most of the officials are ex-gymnasts themselves, though obviously they have to be familiar with current rules and regulations as well.

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Paul Reynolds, from the UK asks:

I have been watching the rowing events, and was wondering why do the rowing events not have a world or Olympic record?

Because Olympic regattas - and indeed other international regattas - are held in such contrasting water and weather conditions as to render records meaningless. Penrith Lakes - where the Sydney events were held - is an artificial water feature built in a former quarry. Previous Olympic events have been staged on rivers with running water (eg the Seine in Paris and the Thames at Henley) or on natural lakes.

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Karen from the UK asks:

Is Dance sport (ballroom and latin american dancing) an olympic introduction sport this year, to become a full olympic sport in the 2004 olympics?

Dance sport was proposed for inclusion in Sydney, but didn't make it in the end. It may well be proposed again for 2004, but will no doubt face tough competition from other aspiring Olympic sports.

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Helen from England asks:

I heard somewhere that Australia did not win a single gold medal in the 1976 Olympics, which was the catalyst for the setting up of the Australian Institute of Sport. Am I correct?

Amazingly, Australia won only five medals in Montreal - one silver and four bronzes. This comparative failure did indeed inspire the founding of the Australian Institute of Sport.

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Jim McCree from the UK asks:

From memory 8 golds is the best the UK has achieved in the last 50 years. Is that correct?

Britain's best return in the last 50 years was the six gold medals won in Melbourne in 1956.

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Huw Evans from Wales asks:

Where is the IOC based, and is there an olympic museum open to the public ?

In Lausanne, Switzerland, where the Olympic Museum is also to be found.

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Tom Lonnen from the UK asks:

Which athlete threw away his gold medal in the Rome 1960 Olympics?

One Cassius Marcellus Clay, who won the gold medal in the Light Heavyweight boxing. Clay threw the medal into the Ohio river from the middle of the Jefferson County Bridge on the Kentucky/Indiana border after a violent encounter with a white racist gang. In 1996, at the Atlanta Games, the IOC presented Muhammad Ali (as Clay became) with a replacement medal.

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Chris Moore from England asks:

What is the most (and least) number of medals that Britain has won in any modern olympics?

The most was 146, in London in 1908; the least, just two at St Louis in 1904, which was very poorly attended.

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Robin from the UK asks:

What is the difference between rowing and sculling?

Scullers have two oars each, but rowers use only one oar each.

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Kevin Mahon from Manchester asks:

What is the official javelin world record?

It is 98.48 metres, set by Jan Zelezny in 1996. Zelezny, of the Czech Republic, has won his third consecutive Olympic gold in Sydney - his winning throw of 90.17 metres broke his own Olympic record.

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Anthony Smith from Ireland asks:

Was the mile ever a track event in any Olympics?

No, it's always been the 1,500 metres or "metric mile" - actually 1,640 yards, one foot and three inches.

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James Ireland from England asks:

How are the horses featured in the equestrian sports transported around the world?

They normally travel by air, by specialist carrier. The aeroplanes are specially adapted to provide comfortable stable facilities for the horses, who are normally accompanied by their grooms. Quarantine regulations must be observed, and the horses need a few days to acclimatise at the end of their journey. There is so much international racing these days (as well as other equestrian competition) that many horses are accustomed to a jet-setting life!

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Angela Morris from England asks:

What is the significance of the five Olympic rings?

The Olympic symbol of five interlocking rings on a white ground can be seen on the Olympic flag. The five rings represent the five continents; they are coloured (from left to right) blue, yellow, black, green and red, which includes the national colours of every nation.

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Ralph Handscomb from Wales asks:

Who are the reigning Olympic Rugby champions?

Not Wales alas - surprisingly, the United States are the reigning champions, by virtue of the fact they won the gold medal when rugby was last included in the Games, in Paris in 1924.

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Henry from the UK asks:

How many Gold Medals are there to be won in this Olympics?

302

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Andrew Jones from Wales asks:

At the Olympics in 1996 who won the gold medal in the wrestling?

There were actually 20 gold medals for wrestling in 1996 - ten in each of the two disciplines. Basically, any hold is permitted in freestyle wrestling, but in Greco-Roman, holds below the waist are banned. Traditionally, the Soviet nations and the United States have won the most medals.

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Angela Humphreys from England asks:

Which rower won the coxless pairs gold medal with Steve Redgrave in the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics?

Andrew Holmes won the coxless pairs gold medal with Steve Redgrave in Seoul in 1988. They were both part of the victorious coxed four in 1984.

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Joanne Lloyd from England asks:

Have the Summer and Winter Olympics always been 2 years apart? If not, when did this first occur and why?

The Winter Olympics were first held in Chamonix, France in 1924. Until 1992, they were always held in the same year as the Summer Games, but since the Lillehammer Games of 1994 they have been two years apart for ease of organisation and to keep the Olympics in the public eye.

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Martin Irvine from the UK asks:

I remember as a youngster watching Lillian Board come from behind in a 4x400m relay to win gold, I think, for Britain. It was a magnificent race. Am I remembering correctly and was this at the Mexico Olympics? And can you tell me her career highlights?

Lillian Board went to Mexico as the favourite for the individual 400m, but was pipped on the line by Colette Besson of France, despite recording a British record time of 52.12 seconds. In 1969, she won the European 800m title as well as anchoring the 4x400 metres relay to a thrilling victory over France. Both teams were credited with a world record time of 3:30.8. Blonde and attractive, Board was very much the golden girl of British athletics at that time and in 1970 she was awarded an MBE in the New Year's honours list. Later that year she became ill and stomach cancer was diagnosed. She died on Boxing Day 1970 at the tragically early age of 22.

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