Free printable reading comprehension stories with a sports theme. Print the reading passage for offline use or test comprehension with the online quiz. Recommended level: 4th Grade and up
The Medals of Eternal Friendship
Japanese pole vaulters Shuhei Nishida and Sueo Oe competed in the 1936 Berlin Olympics. An American won the gold medal, but the Japanese teammates tied for second place.
They didn't want to compete with each other for second and third place, but continued to jump until it became too dark to continue. At 9 p.m. the judges ended the competition and told the Japanese team to decide who would be given second place.
The team decided that Nishida would win second place because he cleared 4 meters and 25 centimeters in his first jump. Oe cleared the same height, but in his second jump. For the Olympic records, Nishida took the silver and Oe took the bronze. Neither one of them was happy with that result.
When the friends returned to Japan, they came up with a plan. They took their medals to a jeweler who cut them both in half. Then they joined half of the silver medal with half of the bronze medal, creating a half-silver, half-bronze medal for each of them. The medals became known as the Medals of Eternal Friendship.
When were the Summer Olympic Games in Berlin? 1936 1976 2012 1936
Which country won the 1936 Olympic gold medal in pole vaulting? Germany Japan United States United States
What was Shuhei's and Sueo's home country? Australia Germany Japan Japan
What do you think "eternal" means? forever nighttime fake forever
Why did the pole vaulting competition stop? The athletes got too tired. It got too dark outside. Someone cheated. It got too dark outside.
In the Olympic records, who won the silver medal for pole vaulting? Earle Meadows Shuhei Nishida Sueo Oe Shuhei Nishida
Why did the friends have their medals cut in half? They wanted to destroy the medals. They wanted to put the halves in a frame. They each wanted to have the same half-silver, half-bronze medal. They each wanted to have the same half-silver, half-bronze medal.
Why were the friends unhappy with the official results of the event? because they wanted to win a gold medal because someone cheated because it was really a tie for 2nd place because it was really a tie for 2nd place
