Monday, September 14, 2026

Question: Grace Kelly’s father, a Philadelphia bricklayer, won three Olympic gold medals in what sport?

Answer: Rowing. After England’s Henley Royal Regatta rejected his 1920 entry, in part because he’d worked with his hands, John B. Kelly Sr. went to the Antwerp Olympics and won the single and double sculls within half an hour, a feat never repeated, then reportedly mailed his racing cap to King George V with the note “Greetings from a bricklayer.” He won a third gold in 1924. His son Jack took Olympic bronze and gave his name to Kelly Drive along the Schuylkill.