The Biggest Loser: Battle of the Ages is the twelfth season of the NBC reality television series entitled The Biggest Loser. The contestants competed to win a $250,000 prize, which was awarded to John Rhode, the contestant with the highest percentage of weight lost. It premiered on September 20, 2011. Along with existing trainer Bob Harper, two new trainers (Anna Kournikova and Dolvett Quince.) joined this season. The 15 contestants this season were divided into three groups of five by their ages: those who are 30 and under were initially trained by Quince, those who are between 31–49 were initially trained by Harper, and those who are 50 and over were initially trained by Kournikova. This season marked the first time since season 5 that America did not have to vote on who would become a finalist. For the first time ever in Biggest Loser history, all 3 finalists were men.

Contestants Contestant Team Trios Status Total votes Debbie Lounds, 60, Ann Arbor, MichiganBlue Team Eliminated Week 1 3/5 Johnny Forger, 65, Canton, MassachusettsBlue Team Eliminated Week 2 2/4 Patrick Ferrari, 26, Albany, OregonRed Team Eliminated Week 3 3/5 Mike Danley, 62, Spencerville, IndianaBlue Team Eliminated Week 4 2/3 Courtney Rainville, 24, Scottsdale, ArizonaRed Team Eliminated Week 5 3/4 Jennifer Rumple, 39, Alameda, CaliforniaBlack Team Eliminated Week 6 6/10 Jessica Limpert, 26, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Red TeamRed Team Eliminated Week 7 4/6 Joe Mitchell, 46, Knoxville, TennesseeBlack TeamBlue Team Eliminated Week 8 3/5 † Bonnie Griffin, 63, Picayune, MississippiBlue TeamRed Team Eliminated Week 9 3/5 Ramon Medeiros, Returned Wk. 12, 27, Florence, ColoradoRed TeamBlue TeamEliminated Week 10 2/4 Sunny Sinclair, 41, Frisco, Texas Black Team Blue Team Eliminated Week 11 2/3 Rebecca 'Becky' Comet, 51, Benton, ArkansasBlue TeamBlack Team Eliminated Week 12 Vencent 'Vinny' Hickerson, 27, Nashville, TennesseeRed TeamBlack Team Eliminated Week 12 Ramon Medeiros, 27, Florence, ColoradoRed TeamBlue Team2nd Runner-Up Antone Davis, 44, Knoxville, TennesseeBlack TeamBlack TeamRunner-Up John Rhode, 40, Mesa, ArizonaBlack TeamRed TeamBiggest Loser

The "Total Votes" column indicates the number of votes cast against the contestant when he/she was eliminated. This contestant fell below the Red Line and was eliminated before the finale.

The red team is contestants who are ages 30 and younger (trained by Dolvett Quince), the black team is contestants who are ages 31–49 (trained by Bob Harper), and the blue team is contestants who are ages 50 and older (trained by Anna Kournikova). As of Week 7, two contestants stayed on the same teams, while the remaining seven swapped teams.

Weigh-ins

Contestant Age Height StartingBMI EndingBMI StartWeight Week Weightlost Percentagelost 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 FinaleJohn40 6'4" 445408393375 366354344329319310305296 267225220 49.44% Antone44 6'5" 447 415405389381377369353348339331 32329324520245.19%Ramon27 5'11" 355 338329322311304302286 280273268 23920115443.38% Vinny27 6'0" 426 405400390382372367355345335 32431428624218443.19% Becky51 5'6" 238 228223214212204203192186182 1771721621508836.97%Sunny41 5'8" 277 261255245241227232218216 207202201 17110638.27%Bonnie63 5'4" 254 250247240233229228221213208 1777730.31% Joe46 5'10" 348 326 324 307 301 294286271269 21513338.22% Jessica26 5'8" 254 239232221219213 209201 1748031.50%Jennifer39 5'7" 330 311 305 289 282 274 270 18514543.94% Courtney24 5'6" 270 254 247 240 237 231 1838732.22% Mike62 5'11" 309 297290 273268 226 83 26.86% Patrick26 6'2" 387 367361350 23615139.02% Johnny65 6'0" 328 311313 2319729.57% Debbie60 5'6" 239 233 2063313.81%

Notes The Black Team is trained by Bob, the Red Team is trained by Dolvett, and the Blue Team is trained by Anna. Sunny's 6.03% weight loss in week 7 was counted as −3.96% due to her weight gain the previous week so Becky's valid −5.42% weight loss made her the biggest loser of the week.

Standings Week's Biggest Loser (Team or Individuals) Week's Biggest Loser & Immunity Immunity (Challenge or Weigh-In) One of the last two people eliminated before the finale Results from At-Home players

BMI Underweight (less than 18.5 BMI) Normal (18.5 – 24.9 BMI) Overweight (25 – 29.9 BMI) Obese Class I (30 – 34.9 BMI) Obese Class II (35 – 39.9 BMI) Obese Class III (greater than 40 BMI)

Winners $250,000 Winner (among the finalists) $100,000 Winner (among the eliminated contestants)

Weigh-In Figures History ContestantWeek 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 FinaleJohn −37−15 −18 −9 −12 −10 −15 −10 −9 −5 −9 −29 −42 Antone −32 −10 −16 −8 −4 −8 −16 −5 −9 −8 −8 −30 −48Ramon −17−9 −7 −11 −7 −2 −16 −6 −7 −5 -29 −38 Vinny −21−5 −10 −8 −10 −5 −12 −10 −10 −11 −10 −28 -44Becky −10−5 −9 −2 −8 −1−11 −6 −4 −5 −5 −10 -12 Sunny −16−6 −10 −4 −14 +5 −14 −2 −9 −5 −1 -30Bonnie −4−3 −7 −7 −4 −1 −7−8 −5 -31 Joe −22−2 −17 −6 −7 −8 −15 −2 -54Jessica −15−7 −11 −2 −6 −4 −8 -27 Jennifer −19−6 −16 −7 −8 −4 -85Courtney −16−7 −7 −3 −6 -48Mike −12−7 −17 −5 -45Patrick −20−6 −11 -114Johnny −17+2 -82Debbie −6-27 Notes Sunny's 14 lb. weight loss in week 7 was displayed as 9 lbs. due to her weight gain the previous week. Bonnie's 5 lb. weight loss in week 9 was displayed as 4 lbs. due to the one lb. disadvantage. Vinny's 11 lb. weight loss in week 10 was displayed as 14 lbs. due to the three lb. advantage. John's 5 lb. weight loss in week 10 was displayed as 6 lbs. due to the one lb. advantage. Sunny's 5 lb. weight loss in week 10 was displayed as 4 lbs. due to the one lb. disadvantage. John's 9 lb. weight loss in week 11 was displayed as 10 lbs. due to the one lb. advantage.

Weigh-In Percentage History ContestantWeek 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 FinaleJohn −8.31%−3.68% −4.58% −2.40% −3.28% −2.82% −4.36% −3.04% −2.82% −1.61% −2.95% −9.80% −15.73%Antone −7.16%−2.41% −3.95% −2.06% −1.05% −2.12% −4.34% −1.42% −2.59% −2.63% −2.42% −9.29% −16.38%Ramon −4.79%−2.66% −2.13% −3.42% −2.25% −0.66% −5.30% −2.10% −2.50% −1.83% -10.82% −15.90%Vinny −4.93%−1.23% −2.50% −2.05% −2.62% −1.34% −3.27% −2.82% −2.90% −3.28% −3.09% −8.92% -15.38%Becky −4.20%−2.19% −4.04% −0.93% −3.77% −0.49% −5.42% −2.75% −2.15% −3.13% −2.99% −5.81% -7.41%Sunny −5.78%−2.30% −3.92% −1.63% −5.81% +2.20% −6.03% −0.92% −4.17% −2.42% −0.50%-14.93%Bonnie −1.57%−1.20% −2.83% −2.92% −1.72% −0.44% −3.07% −3.62% −2.35% -14.90%Joe −6.32%−0.61% −5.25% −1.95% −2.33% −2.72% −5.24% −0.74% -20.07%Jessica −5.91%−2.93% −4.74% −0.90% −2.74% −1.88% −3.83%-13.43%Jennifer −5.76%−1.93% −5.25% −2.42% −2.84% −1.46%-31.48%Courtney −5.93%−2.76% −2.83% −1.25% −2.53%-20.78%Mike −3.88%−2.36% −5.86% −1.83% -16.79%Patrick −5.17%−1.63% −3.05% -32.57%Johnny −5.18%+0.64% -26.20%Debbie −2.51%-11.59%

Notes Sunny's 6.03% weight loss in week 7 was counted as −3.96% due to her weight gain the previous week. Bonnie's 2.35% weight loss in week 9 was counted as −1.88% due to the one pound disadvantage. John's 1.61% weight loss in week 10 was counted as −1.94% due to the one pound advantage. Vinny's 3.28% weight loss in week 10 was counted as −4.18% due to the three pound advantage. Sunny's 2.42% weight loss in week 10 was counted as −1.93% due to the one pound disadvantage. John's 2.95% weight loss in week 11 was counted as −3.28% due to the one pound advantage.

Elimination voting history Contestant Week 1 Week 2 Week 3 Week 4 Week 5 Week 6 Week 7 Week 8 Week 9 Week 10 Week 11 Week 12 FinaleEliminated Debbie Johnny Patrick Mike Courtney Jennifer Jessica Joe Bonnie Ramon Sunny Becky NoneVinny JohnXX X X X Ramon X ? Bonnie SunnySunny X Biggest Loser AntoneXX X X X Jennifer Jessica Joe ? RamonX X Runner-up RamonXX Patrick X Courtney Jennifer Bonnie X ? X 2nd Runner-up VinnyXX Courtney X Courtney Jennifer Bonnie Joe Bonnie Sunny ? X Eliminated Week 12 Becky Debbie Johnny X Mike X ? Jessica ? X RamonSunnyX SunnyXX X X X Jennifer Jessica X Bonnie X X Eliminated Week 11 Bonnie Debbie Johnny X Mike X ? X Joe X Eliminated Week 9 JoeXX X X X Jennifer Jessica X Eliminated Week 8 JessicaXX Patrick X Courtney Jennifer X Eliminated Week 7 JenniferXX X X X Ramon Eliminated Week 6 CourtneyXX Patrick X Vinny Eliminated Week 5 Mike Debbie ? X BeckyEliminated Week 4 PatrickXX Courtney Eliminated Week 3 JohnnyBonnie Bonnie Eliminated Week 2 Debbie Bonnie Eliminated Week 1

Immunity Immunity, vote not revealed Immunity, was below yellow line or not in elimination, unable to vote Below yellow line or up for elimination, unable to vote Below red line, automatically eliminated Not in elimination, unable to vote Eliminated or not in house Valid vote cast Vote not revealed or unknown $250,000 winner (among the finalists)

Episode Recap Summaries

Week 1 First aired on September 20, 2011

The 15 new contestants are dropped off in the middle of the California desert, before meeting with Alison. She organizes them into their teams, based on their ages: 30 and under, 31–49, and 50 and over, and then tells them that there are three trainers this season, with two of them being brand new. The trainers are flown in courtesy of the Marine Corps; the first trainer to come out is veteran Bob Harper, who has switched to the black color instead of his original blue. Out next is the first newcomer, former professional tennis player-turned-certified fitness trainer Anna Kournikova, wearing Bob's old blue color. She previously made a guest appearance on an episode of season 10. Finally, the second newcomer, Dolvett Quince, comes out, wearing the red color, a returning team color that was inactive after season 4, but has now been revived. The teams then receive their first challenge; they must compete for the right to choose their trainer. The objective is to walk a mile as a team, whilst carrying a flagpole. Each team must cross the finish line before they can choose their trainer. The middle team (Antone, Joe, John, Jennifer and Sunny) finishes first, chooses Bob, and becomes the black team. The younger team (Patrick, Vinny, Jessica, Ramon and Courtney) finishes second, and the encouragement they received from Dolvett in the final stretch inspired them to choose him and become the red team. The older team (Bonnie, Johnny, Mike, Debbie and Becky), slowed by Bonnie's knee injury, finishes last, and ends up becoming the blue team, with Anna as their trainer. However, as the blue team continues to struggle, Anna and the other trainers, along with the rest of the contestants, run out to meet them and they all cross the line again together. After they finish, Alison tells them about a major twist in the competition: before the finale, there will be a marathon. Every contestant, whether they have been eliminated or not, will take part. The winner of the marathon will automatically become a finalist.

The next day, the contestants meet their trainers at the front door of the gym to begin their first workout, and all teams are training at the same time. Dolvett quickly shows his fierceness and does not hesitate to shout at his team. He focuses on Patrick in particular, and his need to restore his confidence. Anna has a calmer, but still firm, approach, appropriate for her team and their struggle to perform at the same intensity as the younger teams, but she still occasionally screams at her team. She particularly notices Debbie and Johnny's lack of motivation and habits of frequently making excuses and asking for breaks, all of which Anna refuses, and at one point, Johnny decides to leave, but later decides to get back into the gym to finish the workout. Bob makes Antone his "pet project," a former NFL offensive tackle. Antone clearly struggles with what he has become in comparison to his previous athleticism, and breaks down, crying on the floor, just 10 minutes into the workout.