Notable British sportspeople: Life in the UK test revision
What the Life in the UK test can ask about this topic, explained in plain English.
We have 16 checked facts on this topic, and 3 of them are Test Traps.
Here are the 5 that come up most.
The facts to know
What did Dame Ellen MacArthur achieve in 2004?
She became the fastest person to sail around the world single-handed.
MacArthur sailed alone, non-stop, around the entire globe faster than anyone before her. Note the word 'fastest'. She wasn't the first to do it (that was Chichester, then Knox-Johnston), she was the quickest.
Test Trap. MacArthur was the FASTEST to sail solo round the world (2004). Chichester was the FIRST (1966/67); Knox-Johnston the first NON-STOP.
Why it matters: 'Fastest' versus 'first' is a trap. Three different sailors hold three different records.
Memory hook: MacArthur: fastest alone around the world.
Official handbook: Chapter 4, section 4.7, page 65
In which sport did Sir Chris Hoy win six Olympic gold medals?
Cycling.
Hoy was a track cyclist: the fast, explosive events inside a velodrome. Six Olympic golds made him one of Britain's most successful Olympians ever. Like Jackie Stewart, he's Scottish.
Test Trap. Chris Hoy won six Olympic cycling golds; Bradley Wiggins was the first Briton to win the Tour de France. Two cyclists, two different claims to fame.
Why it matters: Two famous British cyclists are in this list (Hoy and Wiggins). Know which achievement belongs to which.
Memory hook: Hoy: six golds on the track, Scotland's cycling king.
Official handbook: Chapter 4, section 4.7, page 65
What did Bradley Wiggins become the first Briton to do, in 2012?
Win the Tour de France.
2012 was Wiggins's golden year: he won the Tour de France, no Briton ever had, and then won Olympic gold in London a few weeks later. Road racing and track racing, in the same summer.
Test Trap. Wiggins = first Briton to win the Tour de France. Hoy = six Olympic golds. Don't swap the two cyclists.
Why it matters: 'First Briton to win the Tour de France' is the exact claim the test will use.
Memory hook: Wiggins, 2012: first Briton in the yellow jersey.
Official handbook: Chapter 4, section 4.7, page 65
What was Sir Roger Bannister the first man in the world to do?
Run a mile in under four minutes.
Many people believed the four-minute mile was physically impossible. Bannister broke it in 1954 in Oxford, and within a few years others followed, proof that the barrier was as much in the mind as in the legs.
Why it matters: The first sub-four-minute mile is asked with its year, 1954.
Memory hook: Bannister, 1954: four minutes, beaten.
Official handbook: Chapter 4, section 4.7, page 64
In which sport did Sir Jackie Stewart win three world championships?
Formula 1 motor racing.
Stewart is one of Britain's greatest racing drivers, with three Formula 1 world titles. He's also Scottish: the handbook often notes a sportsperson's nation, and that can be part of the question.
Why it matters: Sport, nation and number of titles can all be tested from this one fact.
Memory hook: Stewart: Scottish, speedy, three times champion.
Official handbook: Chapter 4, section 4.7, page 64
11 more facts on Notable British sportspeople are in the Complete Study Guide.
Try 3 practice questions
Question 1
What did Andy Murray achieve by winning the 2012 US Open?
He became the first Briton ever to win a Grand Slam
He became the first British man to win a Grand Slam singles title since 1936
He became the youngest ever Grand Slam winner
He became the first Scot to play at Wimbledon
Show the answer
Answer: He became the first British man to win a Grand Slam singles title since 1936
Seventy-six years is a long wait. No British man had won a Grand Slam singles title since 1936 until Murray won the US Open in 2012. The same summer he took Olympic gold in London — a breakthrough year.
Official handbook: Chapter 4, section 4.7, page 65
Question 2
How many gold medals did Paralympian David Weir win over two Paralympic Games?
Four
Eleven
Two
Six
Show the answer
Answer: Six
Weir dominated wheelchair racing at the 2008 and 2012 Paralympics, winning six golds. Like Tanni Grey-Thompson, he has also won the London Marathon six times, a detail the two of them share.
Official handbook: Chapter 4, section 4.7, page 65
Question 3
In which sport did Ellie Simmonds win Paralympic gold in 2008 and 2012?
Wheelchair racing
Athletics
Swimming
Cycling
Show the answer
Answer: Swimming
Simmonds was just 13 when she won two golds at the 2008 Beijing Paralympics, the youngest in the British team. She repeated her success at home in London four years later.
Official handbook: Chapter 4, section 4.7, page 65
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