— J Jones, Wrexham
A In the UK it all depends on the Home Office. An athlete would be eligible for consideration once he or she becomes a British citizen. That process can take between two and three years from the time a foreign national arrives in Britain. Of course, depending on individual circumstances, there can be exceptions. Malachi Davis, who was born in Sacramento, is a member of Britain’s team in Athens because his mother was born in London. He was selected two weeks after receiving his passport, even though he had never been to Britain before
— Spokesman, UK Athletics
A Pole vaulter Tatiana Grigorieva was the most notable ‘import’ in Sydney 2000. She emigrated from Russia to Australia in 1997 to join her boyfriend Viktor Christiakov, also a pole vaulter. She had previously been a 400m hurdler, but took up pole vaulting Down Under. Within 12 months, she was one of the world’s best, finishing second in the 1998 Goodwill Games in New York before winning a bronze medal at the 1999 world championships. At the 2000 Games, she won the silver medal for her adoptive country in the first women’s Olympic pole vault. As her popularity has grown, lucrative modelling contracts and sponsorships have seen her profile rise even higher
— Tom Sosnowski, Salford
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Q Apart from Johnny Weissmuller, have any other Olympic gold medallists become film stars?
— Derek Leighton, Heddon-on-the-Wall, Northumberland
A Clarence ‘Buster’ Crabbe was spotted by Hollywood after a successful Olympics. At the 1932 Games, he won gold in the 400m freestyle and later went on to make 175 films, including an outing as Tarzan, right with Maureen O’Sullivan, although he is best remembered for playing Buck Rogers and Flash Gordon. Fellow American Glenn Morris won the decathlon at the 1936 Games and enjoyed a brief film career, including the 1938 feature Tarzan’s Revenge. Another Olympian-turned-Tarzan was Herman Brix, who won a shot-put silver medal at the 1928 Games, and later starred in The New Adventures of Tarzan. Carl Lewis, who won 10 Olympic medals, has also tried his hand at acting, appearing in the low-budget Atomic Twister (2002) as a security guard. Norwegian ice skater Sonja Henie, who won figure skating gold medals at three successive Winter Olympics from 1928, starred in a series of skating movies
— John Dunhill, Huddersfield
Q What is the difference between a canoe and a kayak?
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— Roger Lee, Manchester
A Kayaks were originally developed by Eskimos in Greenland — the word means ‘man’s boat’. The word canoe stems from ‘kenu’, which means dugout. The first canoes are thought to have been used by Carib Indians and native North Americans and were made by hollowing out large logs. A canoe is paddled while kneeling and using a single flat blade on one end of the shaft, whereas a kayak is paddled sitting down using a curved blade on each end of the paddle. Both boats can be covered. At the Olympics there are flatwater and slalom events for each type of boat. Canoes have one and two-person disciplines, while the kayaks have one, two and four-person disciplines. Only men compete in the canoe flatwater and slalom racing, and there are 12 events in total, nine for men and three for women. Flatwater races centre on basic speed, with competitors paddling over the Olympic distances of 500m or 1,000m. The more spectacular slalom events are split over distances of 250m to 400m, with competitors trying to avoid touching the series of 18 to 25 gates with their paddle, boat, head or body
— Jane Robinson, Jedburgh
Q Has there been a 6-6 draw in the Premiership or the former League Division One? — Martin Prentice, Sheffield A It occurred on April 21, 1930, when Arsenal played Leicester City at Filbert Street. Leicester were on the way to finishing seventh. They scored 86 goals but conceded 90, so the match against Arsenal, who were to finish 14th, typified the entertainment on offer at Filbert Street that year. Hugh Adcock and Arthur Lochhead each scored twice for City with Ernie Hine and Len Barry also weighing in. Arsenal’s David Halliday, who would later become a manager at Leicester, scored four goals and Cliff Bastin grabbed the other two. Halliday was dropped for Arsenal’s next game — the FA Cup final against Huddersfield Town, Arsenal won 2-0. Jack Lambert, who replaced Halliday in the team, scored Arsenal’s second goal
— Mohammed Sadiq, Hinckley
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Q Who is the oldest player to compete in the Ryder Cup?
— Clement Frederick, Ipswich
A Ray Floyd played in the 1993 match at The Belfry when he was 51 years and 20 days old. It was the last of his eight appearances (a US record shared with Billy Casper and Lanny Wadkins) and turned out to be memorable. Captain Tom Watson picked him because he felt Floyd’s experience would give his side an advantage, but Watson — seven years younger than Floyd — was criticised because it was felt Floyd’s best days were behind him. The USA won 15-13, and Floyd contributed three points, including a two-hole win in the singles against Jose Maria Olazabal. The oldest player to represent Europe was Ted Ray, who was 50 years two months and five days old when the 1927 match started. Jay Haas has been picked for the 2004 American Ryder Cup team. Haas, aged 50, is playing the most consistent golf of his life and came within a whisker of making the team automatically
— Trevor Rushby, Great Yarmouth
Send questions or answers to Peter Boyle, Q & A, The Sunday Times Sport, 1 Pennington Street, London E98 1ST, or e-mail peter.boyle@sunday-times.co.uk
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Q Has an Olympian ever ridden the winner of the Aintree Grand National?
— James Healy, Galway
Q Is the baseball film A League of Their Own based on a true story?
— Debbie Smith, Colchester
Q Which club has had the most European Footballers of the Year?
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— Laurence Stevenson, Preston
Q Who is the boxing champion buried in St Mary’s churchyard, Woolwich?
— David Harrison, St Neots
Q When was the first Scottish League match under floodlights?
— Gavin Arthurs, Milngavie