Quiz: how well do you know world sport?

Sport is a global obsession, and nothing seems to bring the world together like a sporting event. From the large nations of the United States, and China, to smaller nations such as Palau and Vanuatu, sport transcends culture, language, and history.

While Australia is a sport-mad country and has several strong domestic competitions, world sport allows us to venture outside of our own boarders and see how we fare against the best on earth.

The lead up to the current global sporting event has caused some challenges for our athletes in terms of training and travel. Dr Lyndell Bruce, from Deakin’s Centre for Sport Research, says the ever-changing restrictions and uncertainty has forced these people to rethink how they prepared.

‘Some have taken creative approaches to pivot their regimes to maintain their training loads such as swimmers training in the backyard pool or athletes creating skills challenges in and around their home,’ she says.

‘However, others might not have been able to adapt their training due to the challenges, not just the physical but the social and emotional.’

For world-class athletes, aiming for gold is only one reason that training is so important. Injury is a risk that looms over any athlete, but a lack of consistent training can leave them more susceptible. Dr Bruce says that if the athletes have been able to be creative, they should be able to avoid that risk.

‘If athletes have been able to resume some resemblance of ‘normal’ training there won’t be a higher risk of injury,’ she says.

‘A lot of sports have been able to resume some level of competition in 2021, so it’s likely most athletes have competed in the lead up… and should have a good base to compete off.’

While we’re sitting at home, cheering our Aussies on for gold, test your knowledge and try to ace this quiz about world sport.