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Young at heart

Ken Rosewall won the Australian Open as a 37-year-old © Getty Images

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Who is the youngest and oldest winner of the Australian Open tennis? asked Mark Diamond
The trick here, at least on the men's side, is that it's the same person: Ken Rosewall won the Australian Championships in 1953 when he was 18, and 19 years later won what was now called the Australian Open. Both wins were on the grass at Kooyong, in Melbourne. In the 1972 final, 37-year-old Rosewall faced another Aussie, Mal Anderson, who was 36. Actually Rosewall almost missed that match, as I discovered from the recent book Muscles, published last year by the Slattery Media Group: "The car carrying him, Wilma and sons Glenn and Brett broke down a mile or so from the courts. They were able to flag down a taxi, but there were so many cars on the road headed towards Kooyong they soon found themselves stuck in traffic jams. In the end Rosewall hailed a motorcycle policeman, who didn't recognise him and told the tennis star: 'There's no point going to the tennis mate, you can't get in.' Fortunately, Rosewall persuaded the officer that he was required at the courts, and was given a police escort to the gate."

Has the Epsom Derby ever finished in a dead-heat? asked David Greaves
On two occasions - both well before the photo-finish became standard - the stewards were unable to separate two horses at the end of the Derby. In 1828 Cadland and The Colonel were adjudged to have tied, but there was a run-off later the same day which Cadland won by half a length. In 1884 another dead heat was decreed, between Harvester and St Gatien, and this time the shared result stood when the owners agreed to share the prizemoney. The closest result in recent years was in 2006, when Sir Percy edged out the 66-1 shot Dragon Dancer by a short head.

Which golfer has won the Open on the most different courses? asked Kevin Harris
The Channel Islander Harry Vardon holds the record for the most Open victories, with six - but they came at only three courses, Prestwick (three wins), St George's Sandwich (two) and Muirfield. Four men have won five Opens. Two of them were Vardon's partners in the so-called "Great Triumvirate" of golfers who dominated the sport in Britain before the First World War: James Braid won at Muirfield twice, St Andrews twice and Prestwick, while JH Taylor was victorious at three venues - St Andrews twice, Deal, St George's and Hoylake. The Australian Peter Thomson won five Opens between 1954 and 1965, on four different courses (two at Birkdale and one each at Hoylake, Lytham and St Andrews). But the last man to complete a quintet of Open victories actually did so on a record five different courses: Tom Watson won at Carnoustie in 1975, Turnberry in 1977, Muirfield in 1980, Troon in 1982 and Birkdale (his sole victory in England) in 1983.

Tom Watson has won on five Open venues © Getty Images

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Which British footballer has won the most international caps? asked Michael Corcoran
The leader on this particular list remains Peter Shilton, the long-serving goalkeeper who won the last of his 125 caps for England at the 1990 World Cup. Six other players have won 100 caps for England: David Beckham (115), Bobby Moore (108), Bobby Charlton (106), Billy Wright (105), Steven Gerrard (102) and Ashley Cole (101). The most-capped players for the other home countries are Pat Jennings (119 for Northern Ireland), Kenny Dalglish (102 for Scotland) and Neville Southall (92 for Wales). The Republic of Ireland doesn't count as "British", but it may be of interest to note that goalkeeper Shay Given also won 125 caps, while the much-travelled striker Robbie Keane recently won his 123rd. Three other Irishmen (Kevin Kilbane, Steve Staunton and Damien Duff) also played 100 or more times. The most-capped player worldwide is the Egyptian midfielder Ahmed Hassan, who won 184 caps (as recognised by FIFA) between 1995 and 2012

Has anyone set an outdoor world athletics world record since the London Olympics? asked Peter McKinley
The only one in an event competed for at the Olympics was set by the American Aries Merritt, with a time of 12.80 in the 110 metres hurdles at the Van Damme Memorial meeting in Brussels in September 2012, not long after the 2012 Games. Merritt, the gold medallist in London, shaved seven-hundredths of a second off the old record, set by his predecessor as Olympic champion, Dayron Robles of Cuba.

Who has won the speedway world championship most often? asked Ben Cooper
Two men have won the world individual speedway title on six occasions. The New Zealander Ivan Mauger started with a hat-trick, winning in 1968-69-70, and added further titles in 1972, 1977 and 1979. Mauger's haul was equalled in 2005 by the Swede Tony Rickardsson. He won the first of his six titles in 1994, the last year the world championship was a one-off event: since then it's been a year-long Grand Prix-style season. Denmark's Hans Nielsen finished on the podium in a record 12 world championships - he won four, was second six times and third twice.

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