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Rocket's record and marital bliss at Wimbledon

Denis Law is the second-highest goalscorer in the FA Cup © Getty Images

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Who scored six goals in an FA Cup tie - but lost? asked Terry Moorhead from Ilford
This one is a bit of a sports-quiz staple: the answer is Denis Law, who scored six times for Manchester City against Luton Town in an FA Cup fourth-round match in January 1961. The catch is that the match was abandoned because of a waterlogged pitch after 69 minutes, with Manchester City leading 6-2. Luton won the replay 3-1 (Law again found the net for Manchester City). Law's six goals do not count in the official records: if they did he would now be considered the leading FA Cup goalscorer of the 20th century with 47. As it is, without those six goals Law lies second, behind Ian Rush (44).

Has a married couple ever won the mixed doubles at Wimbledon? Or a brother and sister? asked Jenny Gayton from Swindon
The answer here is yes, and yes! The only married couple to win the mixed doubles at Wimbledon were Leslie and Kitty Godfree, who triumphed in 1926, when they beat highly rated American pairings in the semis and final. They had been married earlier in the year. It was a superb Wimbledon for Mrs Godfree, who also won the women's singles, beating Spain's Lili de Alvarez in the final (she also won it in 1924, as Miss McKane). She missed out on the triple crown when she lost in the final of the women's doubles. Leslie Godfree was a solid player who represented Great Britain in the Davis Cup: one of his other claims to fame is that he was one of the players in the first match on the new (and current) Centre Court at Wimbledon when it was opened in 1922. The story goes that he served the first ball into the net, and trotted up to fetch it himself and kept it as a souvenir.

There have also been three pairs of siblings who have won the mixed doubles title at Wimbledon. John and Tracy Austin won in 1980, when Tracy was 17. The Czechs Cyril Suk and his sister Helena Sukova took the title together in 1996 and 1997, while in 2004 it was won by Wayne and Cara Black from Zimbabwe.

Is the Arlington Million the world's richest horse race? asked Chris Johnstone from Brighton
When it was first run in 1981, the Arlington Million - which, as the tin says, did indeed offer a first prize of $US1,000,000 - was the richest horse race around. But it has since been overtaken: it won't surprise too many people to learn that the richest race nowadays takes place in the United Arab Emirates. The Dubai World Cup - won in 2010 by the Brazilian horse Gloria de Campeao - has a first prize of $US10,000,000. Britain's richest race is the Epsom Derby, where the winning owner receives £1,250,000.

Ronnie O'Sullivan has recorded ten maximum breaks in his career © Getty Images

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Ronnie O'Sullivan made a maximum 147 break in the snooker World Open the other day, and I know he's done it before. Has he recorded more 147s than anyone else? asked James Hatfield from Norwich
That 147 in the World Open last week - which "Rocket Ronnie" initially looked disinclined to complete as there wasn't much of a prize for a maximum break - was O'Sullivan's tenth 147 in official professional tournament play, breaking the previous mark of nine which he shared with Stephen Hendry. O'Sullivan's first 147 came in the World Championship in 1997. Records for this date from 1982, when Steve Davis completed the first televised 147 against John Spencer in the Lada Classic, although there had been maximum breaks before that: the great Joe Davis compiled the first officially recognised one in 1955.

How many women have done the sprint double at the Olympic Games? asked Dave Fenner from Oxford
This has only been possible since 1948, as prior to that there was no women's 200-metre event on what was a small Olympic programme. And the first to do the double was in 1948: Fanny Blankers-Koen, the "Flying Dutchwoman", stormed home to win both sprints at the London Games by comfortable margins. At the next Olympics, in Helsinki in 1952, the Australian Marjorie Jackson - known as the "Lithgow Flash" after her home town in New South Wales - completed the double too, and in Melbourne in 1956 the honour went to the 18-year-old Betty Cuthbert, another Australian. In 1960, the American Wilma Rudolph - who had had to wear a leg-brace after a bout of polio as a child - won both sprints in Rome. The run of double champions was broken when the American Wyomia Tyus won the 100m but not the 200 in both 1964 and 1968, then in 1972 the powerful East German Renate Stecher pipped Australia's Raelene Boyle in both events. Since then, though, only one woman has completed the sprint double at the Olympics: the late Florence Griffith-Joyner stormed home in both the 100 and 200m at Seoul in 1988. At Sydney in 2000 the American Marion Jones finished first in both, but was subsequently disqualified when she admitted using performance-enhancing drugs.

I know about the men's golf majors, but which events make up women's golf's Grand Slam? asked Judy Cooper from Worcester
Since 2001 the four women's golf majors have been the Kraft Nabisco Championship (which started life as the Colgate-Dinah Shore Winner's Circle in 1972), the LPGA Championship (first contested in 1955), the US Women's Open (first played 1946), and the Women's British Open (instituted 1976). The British Open has only been counted as an official major since 2001: before that the du Maurier Classic, which was played in Canada each year, was considered one from 1979, and that was preceded by the Western Open (1930-1967). The now-discontinued Titleholders Championship was also considered a major for a while (1937-1966, and 1972). The Kraft Nabisco Championship is held each year at Mission Hills in California, while the other three tournaments are more nomadic.

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