The Amazing Race 17 is the seventeenth season of the American reality competition show The Amazing Race. Hosted by Phil Keoghan, it featured eleven teams of two, each with a pre-existing relationship, competing in a race around the world to win US$1,000,000. This season visited four continents and ten countries and traveled over during twelve legs. Starting in Gloucester, Massachusetts, racers traveled through England, Ghana, Sweden, Norway, Russia, Oman, Bangladesh, Hong Kong, and South Korea before returning to the United States and finishing in Greater Los Angeles. New elements introduced in this season include the Express Pass, which was awarded to the winners of the first leg and allowed them to skip the task of their choosing, and the Double U-Turn. The season premiered on CBS on September 26, 2010, with a special 90-minute premiere, and concluded on December 12, 2010.
Anesthesiologists Natalie Strand and Katherine Chang were the winners of this season, becoming the first all-female team to win The Amazing Race. Home shopping hosts Brook Roberts and Claire Champlin finished in second place while dating couple Jill Haney and Thomas Wolfard finished in third place.
Production Development and filming
CBS renewed the 17th season of The Amazing Race on January 25, 2010. The season spanned while racing across four continents with first-time visits to Ghana and Bangladesh. Teams also crossed the Arctic Circle for the first time in the show's history.
Filming began on May 26, 2010, with the starting line at the Eastern Point Yacht Club in Gloucester, Massachusetts, and finished on June 15, 2010, in Los Angeles, California.
Prior to the season's broadcast, CBS posted a short preview video clip from an episode on the Internet, showing Brook & Claire competing at a watermelon launching challenge using an elastic slingshot. The clip showed Claire being hit in the face full-on with a watermelon after it failed to launch correctly from the slingshot, leaving her momentarily stunned but otherwise not seriously injured. The clip spread virally on the Internet.
Two new game elements were introduced in season 17. The first was the Express Pass, which was awarded to the team who finished first on the first Leg. The Express Pass allowed the team to skip any one task before Leg 8. The other new element was the Double U-Turn, where two teams were able to use U-Turns in a single leg.
Contestants
The cast included a team of home shopping hosts; Internet entertainer Kevin Wu (popularly known as "KevJumba") and his father, Michael; Cirque du Soleil director and choreographer Ron Kellum; Ivy League a cappella singers, and a birth mother and daughter who recently reunited following an adoption twenty years earlier. There were also three beauty queens competing: Mallory Ervin, who competed in Miss America 2010; Brook Roberts, who competed in Miss America 2005; and Stephanie Smith, who was Miss South Carolina USA 2009.
Chad Waltrip proposed to Stephanie Smith during the eighth leg, and she accepted. They got married on November 20, 2010.
ContestantsAgeRelationshipHometownStatus 45Best Friends Los Angeles, CaliforniaEliminated 1st(in Ledbury, England) 42 Tucson, Arizona 43Birth Mom & DaughterAtlanta, GeorgiaEliminated 2nd(in Accra, Ghana) 21 22Ivy League A Cappella Singers Chesterland, OhioEliminated 3rd(in Riksgränsen, Sweden) 22 Cranford, New Jersey 23Beach Volleyball Partners Rahway, New JerseyEliminated 4th(in Ankenesstranda, Norway) 24 Moorestown, New Jersey 58Father & SonSugar Land, TexasEliminated 5th(in Saint Petersburg, Russia) 20 53Father & Daughter Morganfield, KentuckyEliminated 6th(in Muscat, Oman) 24 Lexington, Kentucky 26Newly Dating (Legs 1-8)Engaged (Legs 8-9)Fort Lauderdale, FloridaEliminated 7th(in Dhaka, Bangladesh) 23 26DatingHenderson, NevadaEliminated 8th(in Seoul, South Korea) 26 27DatingMarina Del Rey, CaliforniaThird place 30 27Home Shopping Hosts San Diego, CaliforniaRunners-up 30 Reno, Nevada 31Doctors Newport Beach, CaliforniaWinners 35 Santa Monica, California Future appearances Gary & Mallory raced again in The Amazing Race: Unfinished Business. Mallory also returned on the second All-Star edition, racing with Mark Jackson from season 20 as a last-minute replacement when his original partner, Bopper Minton, was deemed too sick to compete. Brook and Claire appeared on The Amazing Race: 25 Years Around the World.
Outside of The Amazing Race, Mallory appeared on the Discovery Channel reality show Backyard Oil in 2013. On May 25, 2016, Nat & Kat and Brook & Claire appeared on an Amazing Race-themed primetime special of The Price Is Right.
Results The following teams are listed with their placements in each leg. Placements are listed in finishing order. A placement with a dagger () indicates that the team was eliminated. An placement with a double-dagger () indicates that the team was the last to arrive at a Pit Stop in a non-elimination leg, and had to perform a Speed Bump task in the following leg. A indicates that the team won the Fast Forward. A indicates that the team used an Express Pass on that leg to bypass one of their tasks. A indicates that the team used the U-Turn and a indicates the team on the receiving end of the U-Turn. +Team placement (by leg) Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Nat & Kat2nd7th8th1st1st4th1st5th3rd1st3rd1st Brook & Claire4th1st6th3rd5th2nd2nd4th4th3rd2nd2nd Jill & Thomas1st5th7th5th3rd1st5th2nd1st2nd1st3rd Nick & Vicki10th8th5th6th6th3rd3rd2nd Chad & Stephanie8th4th3rd7th7th5th6th1st Gary & Mallory6th9th2nd2nd2nd6th4th Michael & Kevin7th3rd4th4th3rd Katie & Rachel5th2nd4th8th Connor & Jonathan3rd6th1st Andie & Jenna9th Ron & Tony Notes
Race summary
Leg 1 (United States → England)
Episode 1: "They Don't Call It The Amazing Race For Nothin!" (September 26, 2010) Prize: Express Pass (awarded to Jill & Thomas) Eliminated: Ron & Tony Locations Gloucester, Massachusetts (Eastern Point Yacht Club) (Starting Line) Boston → London, England Amesbury (Stonehenge) Ledbury (Eastnor Castle) Episode summary Teams set off from the Eastern Point Yacht Club in Gloucester, Massachusetts, and drove to Logan International Airport, where they had to book one of two flights to London, England. The first three teams were booked on one flight, while the other teams were booked on a second flight that departed a half-hour later. Once in London, teams had to drive to Stonehenge in order to find their clue, which was a riddle: "Find the castle that is the opposite of Nor'easter". They had to figure out that their next destination was Eastnor Castle. At Eastnor Castle, teams had to climb a ladder on an exterior wall while peasants atop the wall taunted them and poured dirty water on them. Once teams scaled the wall, they had to retrieve a medieval flag, use a coracle to cross the castle's moat, and bring the flag to a knight, who gave them their next clue. In this season's first Roadblock, one team member had to travel on horseback to a tournament area. There, they had to use a giant slingshot to launch a watermelon and knock over a suit of armor standing away in order to receive their next clue, which directed them to search the nearby castle grounds for the Pit Stop. Additional notes While performing the Roadblock, Claire's slingshot became twisted and launched the watermelon back at her, where it smacked her in the face. CBS released a clip of this scene before the season premiere and it became a viral phenomenon. Claire was stunned, but not otherwise seriously injured. Ron & Tony were unable to perform the coracle task. Already in last place, production informed them to swim across the moat without applying a penalty. Ron then performed the Roadblock, which was unaired.
Leg 2 (England → Ghana)
Episode 2: "A Kiss Saves the Day" (October 3, 2010) Prize: A trip to Oahu & Kauai (awarded to Brook & Claire) Eliminated: Andie & Jenna Locations Ledbury (Eastnor Castle) London → Accra, Ghana Accra (Kwame Nkrumah Memorial Park) Accra (Makola Market) Teshie (Peace Motor Spare Parts) Teshie (Adom Electronics Emmanuel's Woodshop & Hello Coffin Showroom) Accra (Kaneshie Market) Episode summary At the start of this leg, teams were instructed to fly to Accra, Ghana. Once there, teams had to travel to the Kwame Nkrumah Memorial Park and find their next clue, which directed them to the Makola Market. In this leg's Roadblock, one team member had to sell enough sunglasses to make GH₵15 (roughly $10) in order to receive their next clue. After the Roadblock, teams had to travel to Peace Motor Spare Parts in Teshie and find their next clue. This season's first Detour was a choice between Tune In or Check Out. In Tune In, teams had to travel to Adom Electronics, pick up a television antenna, bring it to a specified house, and set it up to the customer's preference. Once the television picked up a proper signal, the homeowner gave teams their next clue. In Check Out, teams had to bring a fantasy coffin from Emmanuel's Woodshop to a showroom across town in order to receive their next clue. After the Detour, teams had to check in at the Pit Stop: Kaneshie Market.
Leg 3 (Ghana)
Episode 3: "In Phil We Trust" (October 10, 2010) Prize: US$5,000 for each team member (awarded to Connor & Jonathan) Locations Accra (Kaneshie Market) Accra (Jamestown – Akotoku Boxing Academy) Dodowa (Supply Depot) Dodowa (Asebi D/A Primary School) Doryumu (Home of Awusa Ntso) Episode summary At the start of this leg, teams had to travel to the Akotoku Boxing Academy in Jamestown, where they found their next clue. In this leg's Roadblock, one team member had to perform a boxing workout. After wrapping their hands properly, they had to punch a punching bag and then jump rope for 60 seconds on each exercise without stopping in order to receive their next clue from their boxing trainer. After the Roadblock, teams had to travel to the supply depot in Dodowa, where they had to load up two wheelbarrows with building supplies and then deliver them to the Asebi D/A Primary School. Once there, teams had to join a geography class studying a map of Africa. While the children located other nations in Africa, teams had to correctly locate Ghana on the map in order to receive their next clue. This leg's Detour was a choice between Bicycle Parts or Language Arts. In Bicycle Parts, both team members had to use a stick to roll a bicycle wheel's rim down the length of a soccer field and back without touching the rim with their hands or letting it fall over in order to receive their next clue. In Language Arts, teams chose a proverb with eight highlighted phrases that corresponded to a series of eight Adinkra symbols. Using a nearby decoder key, teams had to locate the eight symbols in a massive word search-like puzzle and circle the correct set of Adinkra symbols in order to receive their next clue. After the Detour, teams had to check in at the Pit Stop: the home of Awusa Ntso in Doryumu. After checking in, teams helped renovate the school that they visited during this leg. Additional note This was a non-elimination leg.
Leg 4 (Ghana → Sweden)
Episode 4: "We Should Have Brought Gloves and Butt Pads" (October 17, 2010) Prize: A trip to Belize (awarded to Nat & Kat) Eliminated: Connor & Jonathan Locations Doryumu (Home of Awusa Ntso) Accra → Kiruna, Sweden Jukkasjärvi (Icehotel) Poikkijärvi (Fjellborg's Lodge) Riksgränsen (Vassijaure Railway Station) Riksgränsen (Riksgränsen Ski Resort) Riksgränsen (Swedish–Norwegian Border) Episode summary At the start of this leg, teams were instructed to fly to Kiruna, Sweden. Once there, teams had drive to the Icehotel in Jukkasjärvi, where they had to pick up a block of ice from the storage room. Teams then had to figure out that their next location was etched on their block of ice: Pietaras Järvivägen Fjellborgs Vid Väkkäräjärvi (Fjellborg's Lodge in Poikkijärvi).