2012: The Sporting Year In Questions

1. Finally.... who won X Factor 2012? It's not a sport, but we just want you to admit to yourself that no matter how much you try to avoid it, you ALL know the answer...!

James Arthur (the guy with the bad teeth)

Jahmene Douglas (the tiny guy with the big head)

Rylan Clark (the guy who makes Alan Carr look homophobic)

2. Bradley Wiggins won out in the Tour de France, and earned the honour of being able to hit a giant bell at the Olympics opening ceremony. True or false, though - Wiggins only won two stages en route to his victory.

True

False

3. Golf now, and the Ryder Cup took most of the sport's headlines in the year (more on that later), but who won the Masters tournament in Augusta?

Adam Scott

Rory McIlroy

Louis Oosthuizen

Bubba Watson

4. Onto May, and it's the FA Cup final. No, not that one. The women's showpiece event saw which team lift the trophy for the first time in their history?

Bournemouth

Bristol

Bedford

Birmingham

5. Sticking with the Six Nations, and it's time for a true or false - Grand Slam winners Wales conceded the least points and scored the most tries.

True

False

Ireland actually scored three more tries

Explanation

Ireland actually scored three more tries

6. The World Indoor Championships took place in Istanbul in March as well, and many of Team GB's superstars-in-waiting were in action. How did Jess Ennis get on in her pentathlon attempts?

Gold

Silver

Bronze

7. Into June, and David Nalbandian covered himself in whatever the opposite of glory is (words aren't our strong point here at the mag) when he kicked an advertising hoarding straight into a linejudge and got disqualified in the Aegon Championships final. Who was he playing against though?

Grigor Dimitrov

Marin Cilic

Sam Querrey

Xavier Malisse

8. OLYMPICS time! That's right, the pinnacle of 2012 in so many ways got under way in July (seems a long time ago now, doesn't it?!). Can you remember who won Team GB's first medal though?

Rebecca Adlington

Heather Stanning & Helen Glover

Lizzie Armitstead

9. Here's a tricky one to get your head round. Ricky Hatton's comeback ended in defeat, and his retirement (pretty sure we've heard that one before), but which Ukrainian fighter did he lose to (pronunciation optional)?

Vyacheslav Senchenko

Yuriy Nuzhnenko

Viktor Sydorenko

10. August saw the Premier League return under a could of post-Olympic pessimism that disappeared within one kick of the ball. Who scored the first goal of the season though?

Robin van Persie

Kevin Nolan

Shane Long

Michu

11. The year's silverware was kicked off at the PDC World Championships on 2nd January, but which player lifted the darts title to get 2012 underway? (and yes, all these nicknames are genuine!)

Phil "The Power" Taylor

Adrian "Jackpot" Lewis

Andy "The Hammer" Hamilton

Simon "The Wizard" Whitlock

12. Or was the Ryder Cup the pinnacle of the sporting year? Oh Christ, we don't know anymore. The weekend action in Medinah was certainly up there with the greatest Sundays of all time. How many matches did Team Europe win to complete their epic comeback?

6

7

8

10

13. Time to switch continents now, as we were off to Africa for the Cup of Nations. Who lifted the trophy in 2012?

Zambia

Ivory Coast

Mali

Gabon

14. Onto March, and the mean machines of F1 were back in action in Melbourne. Sebastian Vettel went on to lift the drivers' championship, but who won the season's first race?

Sebastian Vettel, obviously

Jenson Button

Lewis Hamilton

Fernando Alonso

15. April also means the Grand National, as millions of people worldwide throw their money away getting behind the jockey wearing the nicest colours in that morning's pull-out guide. Who won the race in 2012 though?

Neptune Collognes

Sunnyhillboy

Ballabriggs

Seabass

16. And who won Team GB's LAST medal at the Games?

Anthony Joshua

Fred Evans

Samantha Murray

17. The FA Cup 3rd round always throws up a few shocks to break you out of that New Year slump. Which of the following teams were NOT beaten by lower league opponents?

West Ham

Reading

Wigan

Stoke

Stoke beat Gillingham 3-1

Explanation

Stoke beat Gillingham 3-1

18. The Six Nations was back as well - as it generally is - in February, and a new look England beat the Scots to kick off Stuart Lancaster's reign. Who scored England's only try in Murrayfield?

Chris Ashton

Charlie Hodgson

Chris Robshaw

Manu Tuilagi

19. Euro 2012 was football's showpiece event of the year, and Spain romped home to victory to silence their doubters, particularly the way they dismantled the Italians in the final. The tournament was memorable for the many goalfests it threw up, but how many games ended 0-0?

None

One

Two

Three

20. The British Grand Prix came from Silverstone, as it tends to do. We all know Mark Webber won (we all know that, right?), but who sat on pole for the race?

Webber

Lewis Hamilton

Fernando Alonso

Sebastian Vettel

21. Fast forward to February now, and the Carling Cup final (there are some non-football questions to come, we promise!). Liverpool were taken to penalties before seeing off Cardiff as the two Gerrard cousins went head to head. How did the duo get on in the shootout though?

Both scored

Only Anthony scored

Only Steven scored

Both missed

22. Then just when you thought it was over, the Paralympics came crashing into our lives and took over our TVs once again. Who got Team GB off the mark in their medal hunt?

Darren Kenny

Sarah Storey

Ellie Simmonds

Mark Colbourne