‘Jeopardy!’ Notebook: On Day 37, Dayton native delivers ‘gold medal worthy’ performance

Amy Schneider, an Oakland, California engineering manager with roots in Dayton, is the reigning "Jeopardy!” champion.

Credit: CONTRIBUTED

Credit: CONTRIBUTED

Amy Schneider, an Oakland, California engineering manager with roots in Dayton, is the reigning "Jeopardy!” champion.

Dayton native Amy Schneider did not miss her chance to blow as she scored big on “Jeopardy!” Jan. 20 earning a 37-day total of $1,253,200.

“It’s been another outstanding week so far for our returning champion Amy Schneider,” said host Ken Jennings at the outset. “Three more runaway wins, taking her to a total of 36, 108 more correct responses this week, taking her to a total of 1,164. And, yet, with all those numbers, the one thing I can’t stop thinking about is the thing Amy said she thinks about before the start of every show. The lyrics to ‘Lose Yourself’ by Eminem. Well, today’s show is another shot for you Amy.”

During the interview portion, the Chaminade-Julienne graduate revealed why she felt “Jeopardy!” is her personal Olympics.

“This is sort of the peak of my performance, I’m not going to be this good at anything else probably,” she said. “But something I thought about during Matt Amodio’s streak occurred to me. At some point, somebody is going to beat your streak. But to me, the analogy is basically, like, Bob Beamon’s long jump was eventually beaten, but that’s still the most impressive long jump of all-time because it was just so far ahead of what anybody else was doing in that time period.”

“I love this analogy where I’m a gold medalist,” Jennings replied. “I also am not ever gonna be on that medal platform.”

At the end of Double Jeopardy!, Schneider, who swept all three Daily Doubles, blew the competition away with a staggering $46,400. Her nearest competitor lagged far behind with $3,000.

In Final Jeopardy!, the clue in the category of Words in American History: “The 1890 Census reported that ‘the unsettled area has been so broken into… that there can hardly be said to be a’ this”: Schneider correctly answered frontier. She wagered $25,000, raising her total to $71,400 for the episode.

“Wow, that’s a personal best, certainly gold medal worthy,” Jennings exclaimed. “If there’s a ‘Jeopardy!’ Olympian, you are one of them.”

She can be seen on “Jeopardy!” weeknights at 7:30 p.m. on WDTN Channel 2.

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