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Mother's Day

Kim Clijsters made a stunning return to tennis when winning the 2009 US Open © Getty Images

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• Profile: Kim Clijsters

Who was the last mother before Kim Clijsters in 2009 to win a Grand Slam singles tennis title? asked Claire Roper from London
The victory of Kim Clijsters (or Mrs Lynch as we prefer to call her in our house - she's married to the American basketball player Brian Lynch) over Caroline Wozniacki in the 2009 US Open final made her the first mother to win a Grand Slam singles title since 1980, when the Australian Evonne Goolagong Cawley defeated Chris Evert Lloyd in the final at Wimbledon. Cawley was the first mother to win Wimbledon since Dorothea Lambert Chambers in 1914.

Is it true or just an urban myth that CB Fry held the world long-jump record for many years? asked Daniel Sewter from Worcester
Charles Burgess Fry was a brilliant all-round sportsman who, in addition to his athletics prowess, captained England at cricket, played international football, and good-class rugby too. He was also reputedly once offered the throne of Albania! While up at Oxford in March 1893 Fry equalled the then world-best for the long jump - 23ft 6½ins or 7.17m - which had been set in 1891 by the American Charles Reber. Their shared mark lasted until September 1894, when the Irishman John Mooney leapt 7.21m in a meeting in America. So while it's not true to say that the record lasted "years", it is correct that Fry held it for a time.

Have the winner of the Brownlow Medal and the Coleman Medal both come from the Premiership-winning team in the same year? asked Adam Nicholson via Facebook
Nice to have an Aussie Rules question at last! The short answer is no, the winner of the Brownlow Medal (awarded to the "best and fairest" player in the regular AFL season, and voted on by the on-field umpires) and the Coleman Medal (given to the leading goalscorer in the regular season) have never both come from the year's Premiership-winning side. The Coleman was introduced in 1981, but the winners were backdated to 1955, the year of the prolific scorer John Coleman's enforced retirement. The Brownlow - named after the Geelong player and later league president Charles Brownlow - is older, being first awarded in 1924. Since 1955 the Brownlow winner has come from the Premiership-winning side on only eight occasions, most recently in 2009 when Gary Ablett of Geelong won it. The only man to win both medals in the same year is Tony "Plugger" Lockett of St Kilda - he's also the only full-forward ever to win the Brownlow - in 1987 (and even then he had to share the Brownlow, with John Platten of Hawthorn).

CB Fry was a dab hand at a host of sports © Getty Images

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Was Martin Kaymer the first German to win a golf major? asked Clive White from Margate
Martin Kaymer's close-run victory in the recent PGA Championship at Whistling Straits in Wisconsin actually made him the second German golfer to win one of golf's majors. The first was Bernhard Langer - still a force in the game now at 53 - who won the US Masters in 1985 and 1993.

Who has been the easiest winner of the world snooker championship at the Crucible? asked Dave Moore from Nottingham
The most one-sided final in the world snooker championship since it moved to the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield in 1977 was in 1989, when Steve Davis hammered John Parrott by 18 frames to three (Parrott got some revenge two years later, beating Davis in the semi-final on his way to winning the title). Davis also beat Cliff Thorburn 18-6 in 1983, while Stephen Hendry walloped Jimmy White 18-5 in 1993.

Has anyone ever played Test cricket and international football for England on the same ground? asked Brian Cross from Leicester
I thought the answer here must be no, as very few Test grounds have staged international football, but it's always dangerous to assume that ... because I'd forgotten that the first football international (in 1870) and 11 other 19th-century England games were staged at The Oval. And in one of those, in March 1877, the Honourable Alfred Lyttelton scored England's only goal in a 3-1 defeat by Scotland. Three years later Lyttelton made his cricket Test debut for England. In total Lyttelton played four Tests for England, all of them in London (two more at The Oval, and one at Lord's). He was a wicketkeeper, but in his final Test took his pads off and - bowling underarm lobs while WG Grace kept wicket - took four Australian wickets for 19.

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