Olympic champion Scott Hamilton responds to hilarious gaffe when Jeopardy contestant identifies him as Mary Lou Retton: 'It was the hair, wasn't it?'

A Jeopardy contestant was left red-faced after an embarassing gaffe where she identified Olympic figure skater Scott Hamilton as Olympic gymnast Mary Lou Retton.

During Thursday's episode, in the category '40 Years Ago,' a photo of a triumphant Scott Hamilton was shown after winning his gold medal in the Men's Singles competition during the 1984 Winter Olympics in Sarajevo.

The 'answer' read, 'At the Winter Olympics, this American won gold with a four and a half minute program that featured multiple triple jumps.'

Contestant Deb Bilodeau gave a rather unsure response of, 'Who is Mary Lou Retton?' before host Ken Jennings said it was Scott Hamilton.

The clip - which also showed Bilodeau laugh and say, 'Sorry' - was posted on Jeopardy's Instagram, with Hamilton himself responding, 'It was the hair, wasn't it?' 

A Jeopardy contestant was left red-faced after an embarassing gaffe where she identified Olympic figure skater Scott Hamilton as Olympic gymnast Mary Lou Retton

During Thursday's episode, in the category '40 Years Ago,' a photo of a triumphant Scott Hamilton was shown after winning his gold medal in the Men's Singles competition during the 1984 Winter Olympics in Sarajevo.

The 'answer' read, 'At the Winter Olympics, this American won gold with a four and a half minute program that featured multiple triple jumps.'

Contestant Deb Bilodeau gave a rather unsure response of, 'Who is Mary Lou Retton?' before host Ken Jennings said it was Scott Hamilton

The clip - which also showed Bilodeau laugh and say, 'Sorry' - was posted on Jeopardy's Instagram, with Hamilton himself responding, 'It was the hair, wasn't it?'

Even the show poked fun at the mistake, with the caption of their post reading in all caps, 'THE VIDEO SCREENS ARE FAR AWAY, OK?' 

Later in the episode, Bilodeau tried to make amends to the figure skater with an on-air apology.

'Apologies to Scott Hamilton. I did lose my glasses the day before I came down here. My boyfriend was trying to get me to buy glasses here, so that’s that,' she said.

She also took to Instagram and commented on the post, stating, 'I am nearsighted! sorry again @scotthamilton84.'

Mary Lou Retton did end up winning a gold medal at the 1984 Olympics as well, though it was the 1984 Summer Olympics, held in Los Angeles.

The gymnast took home the gold medal in the all-around competition, making her the first American woman to ever win gold in the all-around.

She also took home two silver medals and two bronze medals, and she was dubbed 'America's Sweetheart.'

Both Hamilton and Retton have been facing health issues in recent years, with Hamilton deciding not to seek treatment for his benign brain tumor in 2017.

Later in the episode, Bilodeau tried to make amends to the figure skater with an on-air apology

'Apologies to Scott Hamilton. I did lose my glasses the day before I came down here. My boyfriend was trying to get me to buy glasses here, so that’s that,' she said

She also took to Instagram and commented on the post, stating, 'I am nearsighted! sorry again @scotthamilton84'

Retton also made headlines last fall when she was hospitalized and nearly died after suffering from a rare form of pneumonia. 

As for Bilodeau, she recovered just fine from the unfortunate error, winning that episode.

She would also go on to win Group 2 of the Jeopardy Champions' Wildcard Tournament, which secured her place in the 2024 Tournament of Champions. 

The Tournament of Champions started on February 23, with Bilodeau set to play her next game on Wednesday, March 6.