Olympian kids on ice

Q&A

Who is the youngest person to have represented his or her country?

A. A strong candidate must be Cecilia Colledge, the British figure skater, born in November 1920. In February 1932, aged 11 years three months, she was placed eighth in the Winter Olympic Games at Lake Placid. Four years later she won the silver medal at the Garmisch Olympics (1936) and was world champion in 1937. She now lives in the United States, and still holds the record of being the youngest competitor in any Olympic sport.

Only a month older, her compatriot Megan Taylor was 11 years four months when she finished seventh in the 1932 Olympics. She was world champion in 1938 and 1939, and died in 1993. - Dennis L Bird, Shoreham-by-Sea

Q. When did a white athlete last represent the United States in a major international competition at a distance of less than 800 metres? And who was the last white American athlete to win an Olympic medal?

A. The last white American Olympic gold medallist was not, as Vern Mapp suggests (Q&A, 17 September), Mike Larrabee. Eight years on in 1972 at Munich, Dave Wottle "the throttle" came off the final bend of the men's 800m final in last position, stepped on the gas and won by a matter of centimetres. The last white medallist was not Ralph Mann but Rick Wohlhuter in Montreal, 1976, again in the men's 800m, finishing third in 1:44.12. Steve Ovett was fifth. - Paul Williams, Hounslow

Q. Has any Test team failed to remove any of the opposing batsmen on the first day of a Test match, given a full day's play. If so, has any team then gone on to win the match?

A. There have been two recent instances that spring to mind of an opening partnership batting through the first day: W M Lawry and R M Simpson for Australia against West Indies in 1964-65 (eventual stand 382) and G R Marsh and M Taylor for Australia v England in 1989 (stand 329).

In the first case, Australia drew with West Indies and in the second, Australia beat England by an innings. In this Test, Mike Atherton and Devon Malcolm made their Test debuts. - David Rimmer, Middlesbrough

ANSWERS PLEASE

Q. What has happened to the Alfa-Romeo team which was so dominant in last year's Touring Car Championship? I remember that there was some controversy about the set-up of last year's Alfa. What was the result of this, and does it explain the team's sudden decline? - Richard Battye, Cambridge

Q. What was the background of Prince Monolulu, the racing tipster? He was a very popular figure at race meetings in the Forties, Fifties and Sixties. - Kevin Maguire, Batley

Q. Stockport County played Ipswich in the Coca-Cola Cup on Tuesday. This is the first time that County have played Ipswich in any competition and means they have played every other existing team in the Premiership and Endsleigh League, together with every club to have left the League since the Second World War. Can any club match this? - Graham Ellis, Southport

If you know the answers to any of these questions or have a sporting question of your own, write to: Q & A, Sports Desk, Independent on Sunday, 1 Canada Square, London E14 5DL. Fax: 0171-293 2894