Warning: This page contains spoilers for the November 24, 2025, game of Jeopardy! — please do not scroll down if you wish to avoid being spoiled. Please note that the game airs as early as noon Eastern in some U.S. television markets.
Here’s today’s Final Jeopardy (in the category Sports History) for Monday, November 24, 2025 (Season 42, Game 56):
He wasn’t yet a U.S. citizen when he was named an All-American & won 2 Olympic gold medals for the country
(correct response beneath the contestants)
Today’s Jeopardy! contestants:
Michael Kavanagh, a school principal originally from Woodhaven, New York
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Shannon Lawinger, a publishing editor from West Newton, Massachusetts
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Harrison Whitaker, a researcher originally from Terre Haute, Indiana (9-day total: $268,600)
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Andy’s Pregame Thoughts:
We’re entering into the final week of November this week with a 9-time champion at the champion’s lectern; that champion is Harrison Whitaker, who picked up $50,000 in a dominant victory on Friday. Today, he faces off against school principal Michael Kavanagh & publishing editor Shannon Lawinger in an attempt to become the 19th player to win at least 10 times in regular play on the show.
One thing that I am mildly concerned about, though, is how potential jet lag (after all, he is coming from England) might affect Harrison’s stamina. He definitely seemed like he was flagging a bit before bouncing back last Friday. Hopefully, he got a good night’s sleep in between tape days and has returned to the studio ready to go for today’s game. There’s one other thing that I noticed in last Friday’s game: he answered both of his Daily Doubles immediately; there was no time for any alternative thoughts to enter his head (and crowd out the correct response.) It seems to me that the quicker he plays, and the less time he gives himself to think of alternative responses, the better he does.
Additionally, because there appears to be confusion on this front in some circles of discourse on the Internet, the front page Jeopardy! website itself (if you scroll down to the “Mark Your Calendar” section) confirms that we are three weeks away from the start of postseason play. As a reminder, Second Chance begins December 15, Champions Wildcard begins January 5, and the Tournament of Champions begins January 19.
(Content continues below)
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Correct response: Who is Jim Thorpe?
More information about Final Jeopardy:
(The following write-up is original content and is copyright 2025 The Jeopardy! Fan. It may not be copied without linked attribution back to this page.)
Because Native Americans were not considered to be U.S. citizens until 1924, Jim Thorpe was not a U.S. citizen when he won the decathlon & pentathlon at the 1912 Olympics in Stockholm for the United States. In fact, the hailing of the winner of the Olympic decathlon as “World’s Greatest Athlete” stems from a report of the podium ceremony of those 1912 games, when King Gustav V of Sweden, when presenting Thorpe with his medals, reputedly said “Sir, you are the greatest athlete in the world” to Thorpe. After the games, Thorpe became a professional multi-sport star in the United States, playing in both MLB and the NFL.
Unfortunately for Thorpe, due to reports that eventually surfaced that he had played semi-pro baseball prior to the Olympics, Thorpe was stripped of his medals in 1913. While the medals were restored to his family in the 1980s, it took until 2022 for the IOC to fully reinstate Thorpe as the sole victor of both events.
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Game Recap & Tonight’s Game Stats:
Looking to find out who won Jeopardy! today? Here’s the Monday, November 24, 2025 Jeopardy! by the numbers, along with a recap:
Jeopardy! Round:
(Categories: The Bishop; Mountains; Turtle Talk; Somebody’s Business; This Category Stinks; German Humor)
Harrison found the Daily Double on Clue #3, getting it correct as he took an early lead. After 15 clues, the scores were Harrison $7,400 Michael $2,000 Shannon $800.
Statistics at the first break (15 clues):
Harrison 9 correct 0 incorrect
Michael 3 correct 0 incorrect
Shannon 2 correct 1 incorrect
Today’s interviews:
Michael is principal at the school that his children attend.
Shannon went to Fairfield University—the wild turkeys have a reputation there.
Harrison could recite the presidents in order before he could read.
Harrison kept his strong play going, bringing his score over five figures after 30 clues.
Statistics after the Jeopardy round:
Harrison 17 correct 2 incorrect
Michael 7 correct 0 incorrect
Shannon 4 correct 1 incorrect
Scores after the Jeopardy! Round:
Harrison $11,200
Michael $3,800
Shannon $1,400
Double Jeopardy! Round:
(Categories: In The Year 2000…; Classic Literature Reimaginings; World Languages; Iconic Eyewear; Filipino-American Musicians; Change The Last Letter)
Harrison missed both Daily Doubles in this round, making things much closer—but Harrison still got his runaway with a handful of clues left in the round.
Statistics after Double Jeopardy:
Harrison 34 correct 5 incorrect
Michael 11 correct 0 incorrect
Shannon 9 correct 1 incorrect
Total number of unplayed clues this season: 6 (0 today).
Scores going into Final:
Harrison $22,000
Michael $8,600
Shannon $6,200
It was important that Harrison had that runaway, as Michael was the only player correct in Final. Harrison is now a superchampion, and he’ll go for win #11 tomorrow!
Tonight’s results:
Shannon $6,200 – $3,000 = $3,200 (Who is :))
Michael $8,600 + $4,000 = $12,600 (Who is Jim Thorpe?)
Harrison $22,000 – $1,000 = $21,000 (Who is Olajuwon?) (10-day total: $289,600)
Other Miscellaneous Game Statistics:
Daily Double locations:
1) MOUNTAINS $600 (clue #3)
Harrison 1800 +1800 (Shannon 0 Michael 0)
2) CLASSIC LITERATURE REIMAGININGS $1600 (clue #2)
Harrison 12400 -4400 (Shannon 1400 Michael 3800)
3) WORLD LANGUAGES $1600 (clue #8, $24800 left on board)
Harrison 10800 -2800 (Shannon 3400 Michael 4600)
Overall Daily Double Efficiency for this game: 39
Clue Selection by Row, Before Daily Doubles Found:
J! Round:
Harrison 4 5 3*
Shannon
Michael
DJ! Round:
Harrison 4* 5† 3 4*
Shannon 3 3 2
Michael 4
† – selection in same category as Daily Double
Average Row of Clue Selection, Before Daily Doubles Found:
Harrison 4.00
Michael 4.00
Shannon 2.67
Unplayed clues:
J! Round: None!
DJ! Round: None!
Total Left On Board: $0
Number of clues left unrevealed this season: 6 (0.11 per episode average), 0 Daily Doubles
Game Stats:
Harrison $28,000 Coryat, 34 correct, 5 incorrect, 63.16% in first on buzzer (36/57), 0/0 on rebound attempts (on 1 rebound opportunity)
Michael $8,600 Coryat, 11 correct, 0 incorrect, 19.30% in first on buzzer (11/57), 0/0 on rebound attempts (on 4 rebound opportunities)
Shannon $6,200 Coryat, 9 correct, 1 incorrect, 15.79% in first on buzzer (9/57), 1/1 on rebound attempts (on 3 rebound opportunities)
Combined Coryat Score: $42,800
Lach Trash: $4,400 (on 4 Triple Stumpers)
Coryat lost to incorrect responses (less double-correct responses): $6,800
Lead Changes: 0
Times Tied: 0
Player Statistics:
Harrison Whitaker, career statistics:
292 correct, 31 incorrect
19/20 on rebound attempts (on 40 rebound opportunities)
47.37% in first on buzzer (270/570)
13/23 on Daily Doubles (Net Earned: $12,800)
7/10 in Final Jeopardy
Average Coryat: $24,220
Shannon Lawinger, career statistics:
9 correct, 2 incorrect
1/1 on rebound attempts (on 3 rebound opportunities)
15.79% in first on buzzer (9/57)
0/0 on Daily Doubles
0/1 in Final Jeopardy
Average Coryat: $6,200
Michael Kavanagh, career statistics:
12 correct, 0 incorrect
0/0 on rebound attempts (on 4 rebound opportunities)
19.30% in first on buzzer (11/57)
0/0 on Daily Doubles
1/1 in Final Jeopardy
Average Coryat: $8,600
Harrison Whitaker, to win:
11 games: 67.466%
12: 45.517%
13: 30.708%
14: 20.718%
15: 13.977%
Avg. streak: 12.074 games.
Andy’s Thoughts:
- Ken did explicitly say to Harrison that Olajuwon has just one gold medal, not two, and therefore does not fit the clue. (I’m presuming tape would have been stopped to check.)
- Today’s J!6 clues can be found at the monthly archive.
Final Jeopardy! wagering suggestions:
(Scores: Harrison $22,000 Michael $8,600 Shannon $6,200)
Harrison: Bet no more than $4,799. (Actual bet: $1,000)
Shannon: Bet between $0 and $1,399 and take second if Michael is incorrect in Final. (Actual bet: $3,000)
Michael: Standard cover bet over Shannon is $3,801. (Actual bet: $4,000)
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Was asked the same question when I appeared on the high school quiz show It’s Academic back in the day. I didn’t know the answer then, but fortunately my teammates did. I wasn’t about to miss it a second time!
I was also on “It’s Academic”, almost sixty years ago. Our team was obliterated.
Spent almost the entire 30 seconds trying to think of who it could be. Thorpe stuck in my head around the 15-20 second mark, but it didn’t make sense. Then I realized I had nothing better and just committed to it.
Glad I did!
The only thing that would throw me is if they meant “All-American before citizen, THEN 2 golds”, which brings people like Hakeem Olajuwon into the discussion. But Thorpe is most likely to be an answer on Jeopardy.
Also, I hate being white some days. Why were we such jerks back then? (Yes, I know, the words “back then” can be optional.)
When you say “back then” do you mean as far back as 2022?
I had no idea and was confused since I knew that you had to be a US citizen to compete for the US in the Olympics. In recent years they’ve even ‘fast tracked’ citizenship for athletes so they could compete for the US. I did not know the sad history about native Americans as late as the 20th century were not considered citizens.
I watched Jim Thorpe – All American starring Burt Lancaster. Was an easy get hence. There were many references besides the movie title like newspaper cuttings that mentioned All-American.
Glad to be with Harrison thinking Hakeem was the answer, I think the part that tripped me up was the All-American bit.