UPDATE (5/9/2010): Click here to read a recap of the finale of The Amazing Race 16. See below for the original article, written in December 2009:
The sixteenth season of CBS’s popular reality competition The Amazing Race, which began filming on November 28, 2009, finished in San Francisco during the weekend of December 19th. Like last season’s finish in Las Vegas, there were several reported sightings of teams completing tasks in the city. Since the time that the race began, other sightings from around the world have allowed fans and detectives at Reality Fan Forum to piece together a significant portion of the race course, as well as identify which teams are eliminated early and which teams make it far into the competition.
ARTICLE CONTAINS SPOILERS
The Race Route
Based on sightings of teams and reports on Reality Fan Forum, the race course is as follows:
- Leg 1: Los Angeles, California to Valparaiso, Chile
- Leg 2: Valparaiso, Chile to Puerto Varas, Chile
- Leg 3: Bariloche, Argentina
- Legs 4-8: Currently unknown (includes a few legs in Africa)
- Leg 9: Unknown to Penang, Malaysia
- Leg 10: Penang, Malaysia to Singapore
- Leg 11: Singapore to Shanghai, China
- Leg 12: Shanghai, China to San Francisco, California
Teams were sighted in San Francisco on December 20th, where they had to scale the Coit Tower. It is believed that this is one of their final tasks to complete before heading to the currently-unidentified finish line.
According to another Twitter sighting, teams were also escorted by Storm Troopers, perhaps part of a task that involves a Star Wars tie-in.
The 12 Amazing Race Teams
Like most seasons, The Amazing Race 16 will feature eleven teams, although this time, there will not be an elimination right at the start of the competition. The eleven teams, based on sightings at LAX on November 28th, are:
- Jordan Lloyd and Jeff Schroeder, dating Big Brother 11 winner and fan favorite;
- Caitlin Upton and Brent Horne, dating models/actors (Caitlin is a former Miss South Carolina USA Teen);
- Louis Stravato and Michael Naylor, friends/police detectives from Cranston, Rhode Island;
- A pair of rodeo cowboys;
- A pair of young male college students (“fray guys”);
- A team of young short-haired women;
- A grandmother and her granddaughter;
- A father-daughter team;
- A team of African-American women who call themselves “mompreneurs”;
- An African-American couple;
- An Asian-American couple;
Which Teams are Eliminated Early?
A reporter in Chile photographed the grandmother/granddaughter team checking in to the pit stop in Puerto Varas. This photographic evidence suggests that they are the second team to be eliminated from the competition
Big Brother winner and fan favorite Jordan Lloyd and Jeff Schroeder, along with an African-American male previously identified to be one of the racers, were sighted watching a parade in Acapulco, Mexico. Because they were not wearing their color-coded team clothing and they did not have backpacks or fanny packs, this suggests that the teams were already eliminated from the race, and were spending time at Elimination Station, the place where the first group of eliminated racers are sequestered. A photograph taken on December 18th at the San Francisco Airport also placed a team of African-American females, and possibly an Asian-American couple, in the group of teams eliminated early.
Who are the Final Three Teams?
Twitter user 'joelwhitaker' spotted Brent Horne and Caitlin Upton at the Coit Tower in San Francisco. Another user, this time on Facebook, reported seeing the cowboys racing in San Francisco, as well. There is a possibility that either of these teams could be running a decoy leg in order to disguise the race's outcome; however, it is likely that both of these teams were among the final three teams racing for the million dollar prize.
Cranston, Rhode Island detectives Louis Stravato and Mike Naylor were photographed in Singapore (during Leg 10) and the "frat guys" are believed to have made it to at least Leg 9 of the Race, as they were seen on a plane to Penang, Malaysia. Either of these teams could be in the Final Three as there is no confirmation that they were ever eliminated from the competition. The placements of the father/daughter and a couple wearing purple are currently unknown. Either of these teams may also be in the Final Three.
Are you excited for the new season of The Amazing Race? Be sure to look for the season premiere on CBS on February 14, 2010!
Steven Fife - I am a fourth-year university student from Ontario, who has always had an interest in writing both fiction and non-fiction. I have written ...
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