The Amazing Race 19 is the nineteenth 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 Hacienda Heights, California, racers traveled through Taiwan, Indonesia, Thailand, Malawi, Denmark, Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands, and Panama before returning to the United States and finishing in Atlanta. New elements introduced in this season include the Hazard – an extra task for the last team to finish the first task – and a double elimination leg. The season premiered on CBS on September 25, 2011, and concluded on December 11, 2011.
Engaged couple Ernie Halvorsen and Cindy Chiang were the winners of this season, while dating couple Jeremy Cline and Sandy Draghi finished in second place, and married couple Amani and Marcus Pollard finished in third place.
Production Development and filming
This season traveled a little over to 20 cities across four continents. This season included first-time visits to Denmark, Indonesia, Malawi, and Belgium. Filming started on June 18, 2011, with teams seen leaving Los Angeles International Airport and heading to Taiwan. As with the previous season, racers had a task they had to perform before receiving tickets to their first destination. American film crews were also spotted in Hillerød, Denmark on July 4.
Two new game elements were introduced in this season. Leg 1 introduced the Hazard: a penalty that one team incurred for being the last team to finish the starting line task. According to Phil Keoghan, the Hazard was added to "test people's mental strength out of the gate", and claimed that it had a "rolling effect" throughout the rest of the season. Leg 2 was the first time in which two teams were eliminated at the Pit Stop.
During the first leg, Kaylani Paliotta lost her passport at a gas station while en route from Hsi Lai Temple to Los Angeles International Airport. Kaylani & Lisa returned to the gas station to search for the passport, but could not find it and opted to proceed to the airport, hoping that another racer had picked it up. The camera crew accompanying the team had seen the dropped passport, but could not act on it, and instead informed production of the situation. Production prepared to conduct an impromptu elimination and Phil Keoghan rushed to the airport. The passport was found by two bystanders who had previously helped another team at the gas station. After posting about the incident on Twitter, a fan of the show advised them to take the passport to the airport, and they were able to return it to Kaylani before her scheduled flight.
Leg 5 was supposed to take place in Laos, but a monsoon caused heavy flooding in the country and forced the production team to construct an additional leg in Thailand instead. Laos would eventually be visited later in The Amazing Race 31.
Release Broadcast On March 28, 2011, The Amazing Race was renewed for a nineteenth season set to air during the 2011–12 television schedule. On August 31, 2011, CBS announced that the season would premiere on September 25.
Marketing Discover Card returned as one of the sponsors. Travelocity continued to sponsor the show, while Ford also returned as one of the sponsors, with their fifth generation Ford Mustang appearing as a prize car in the 10th leg, customized by the winner.
Contestants
Some of the more prominent members of the cast included Survivor: Africa winner Ethan Zohn and Survivor: The Amazon winner Jenna Morasca, former sailor Zac Sunderland, professional snowboarders Andy Finch and Tommy Czeschin and former NFL tight end Marcus Pollard.
ContestantsAgeRelationshipHometownStatus44Domestic PartnersLaguna Niguel, CaliforniaEliminated 1st & 2nd(in Yogyakarta, Indonesia)4937DatingNew York City, New York3033Former Vegas ShowgirlsLas Vegas, NevadaEliminated 3rd(in Magelang, Indonesia)3224TwinsDeerfield, IllinoisEliminated 4th(in Bangkok, Thailand)2431SiblingsStone Mountain, GeorgiaEliminated 5th(in Senga Bay, Malawi)2648Father & Son AdventurersThousand Oaks, CaliforniaEliminated 6th(in Copenhagen, Denmark)1963GrandparentsAlbany, OregonEliminated 7th(in Brussels, Belgium)6230Pro SnowboardersTruckee, CaliforniaEliminated 8th(in Panama City, Panama)32Crowley Lake, California36MarriedPine Mountain, GeorgiaThird place3935DatingAlamo, CaliforniaRunners-up33Dublin, California29EngagedChicago, IllinoisWinners30 Future appearances Ernie & Cindy appeared on the final episode of The Amazing Race 29 where they handed tickets to the final three teams entering Wrigley Field in their hometown of Chicago.
Ethan Zohn returned to compete on Survivor: Winners at War.
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. An italicized and underlined placement indicates that the team was the last to arrive at a Pit Stop, but there was no rest period at the Pit Stop and all teams were instructed to continue racing. There was no required Speed Bump task in the next leg. 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 Ernie & Cindy1st4th5th5th3rd5th2nd1st2nd3rd2nd1st Jeremy & Sandy2nd6th3rd3rd7th3rd6th5th3rd2nd1st2nd Amani & Marcus5th9th6th6th1st4th4th1st4th3rd3rd Andy & Tommy7th1st1st1st5th1st1st3rd4th1st Bill & Cathi7th7th7th2nd6th3rd2nd5th Laurence & Zac6th2nd2nd4th6th4th5th Justin & Jennifer3rd8th4th2nd4th2nd Liz & Marie10th5th8th Kaylani & Lisa9th3rd Ethan & Jenna4th Ron & Bill8th Notes
Race summary
Leg 1 (United States → Taiwan)
Episode 1: "Kindness of Strangers" (September 25, 2011) Prize: The Express Pass (awarded to Ernie & Cindy) Locations Hacienda Heights, California (Hsi Lai Temple) (Starting Line) Los Angeles (Los Angeles International Airport) → Taipei, Taiwan Taipei (Ximending Commercial District) Taipei (Taipei Confucius Temple) Taipei (Core Pacific City Mall) Taipei (Dajia Riverside Park) Taipei (Martyrs' Shrine) Episode summary At Hsi Lai Temple, teams had to search through hundreds of oil-paper umbrellas for one that had the correct set of letters – TAI – printed on it. When combined twice with their clue of six other letters – WANPEI – it revealed the name of their first destination: Taipei, Taiwan. Once they presented Phil with a correct umbrella, he gave them keys to one of the vehicles parked outside the temple. The last team to complete this task (Kaylani & Lisa) would be penalized with a Hazard later in the leg. The first eight teams to arrive at Los Angeles International Airport were booked on an earlier flight to Taipei via China Airlines with the remaining three teams booked on a second flight via EVA Air that departed twenty minutes later. Once there, teams had to travel to the Ximending Commercial District, where they were told to "look up" for their next clue and had to figure out that their clue was displayed on a digital billboard at Jun Plaza: red and yellow balloons that revealed the Chinese characters (Taipei Confucius Temple). In this season's first Roadblock, one team member had to find a nearby payphone, call a given phone number, and listen to one of Confucius's proverbs: "In all things, success depends on previous preparation, and without such previous preparation, there is sure to be failure." Without writing down any of the message, they had to repeat the proverb verbatim to a monk in order to receive their next clue. If they were incorrect, they had to call the number again before trying again. The Hazard required Kaylani & Lisa to travel to the Core Pacific City Mall, where one of them had to perform an indoor bungee jump before they could continue racing. After the Roadblock, teams had to travel to Dajia Riverside Park, where they had to join a dragon boat team. One team member kept pace by beating a drum while the other team member joined the paddling crew on the Keelung River. Once they made it through the course, they received their next clue directing them to the Pit Stop: the Martyrs' Shrine. Additional note This was a non-elimination leg.
Leg 2 (Taiwan → Indonesia)
Episode 2: "The Sprint of Our Life" (October 2, 2011) Prize: A trip to the Carton House in Ireland (awarded to Andy & Tommy) Eliminated: Ron & Bill Ethan & Jenna Locations Taipei (Martyrs' Shrine) Taipei → Jakarta, Indonesia Jakarta → Yogyakarta Piyungan (Bukit Indah Restaurant & Hotel) (Unaired) Semanu (Goa Jomblang) Yogyakarta (Intersections near Yogyakarta's Kilometer Zero Mal Malioboro) Yogyakarta (Aisyiyah Orphanage) Yogyakarta (Kraton Ngayogyakarta Hadiningrat) Episode summary At the start of this leg, teams were instructed to fly to Jakarta, Indonesia. Once there, teams had to travel by train to Yogyakarta, and then travel to Goa Jomblang, where teams found their next clue. For their Speed Bump, Bill & Cathi had to untangle a rope until they had enough length to reach a carabiner across a field before they could continue with the Roadblock. In this leg's Roadblock, one team member had to descend into Goa Jomblang and search for a traditional Javanese mask and a dagger known as a kris. Once they located them, team members had to climb a bamboo ladder and deliver them to the chieftain in exchange for their next clue. This season's first Detour was a choice between Shake Your Money Maker or Be a Ticket Taker. In Shake Your Money Maker, teams had to dress in costumes, with one team member dancing in the streets while the other played a gamelan, and had to earn Rp 30,000 (roughly $3.40) in order to receive their next clue. In Be a Ticket Taker, teams had to go to the Mal Malioboro, work as motorbike parking attendants, and earn Rp 15,000 (roughly $1.70) before exchanging their ticket book for their next clue. After completing either Detour task, teams traveled to the Aisyiyah Orphanage, home to orphans of the 2010 eruptions of Mount Merapi, where they had to donate all of the money in their possession. Teams received a coat of arms from the children and had to figure out that it belonged to the Sultan and that the Pit Stop was at his palace: Kraton Ngayogyakarta Hadiningrat. Eight of the teams arrived at the Pit Stop without having donated all of their money as they'd been instructed, and had to go back before they could check in. Additional notes In an unaired segment, teams traveled to the Bukit Indah Restaurant & Hotel after arriving in Yogyakarta, where they had to randomly choose a key, which was marked with one of two departure times the next morning. This was a double-elimination leg.
Leg 3 (Indonesia)
Episode 3: "Don't Lay Down on Me Now!" (October 9, 2011) Prize: A trip to Atlantis, The Palm in Dubai (awarded to Andy & Tommy) Eliminated: Kaylani & Lisa Locations Yogyakarta (Kraton Ngayogyakarta Hadiningrat) Yogyakarta (Fort Vredeburg) Salakmalang Village (Lesehan Restaurant) Magelang (Borobudur) Episode summary At the start of this leg, teams had to join a series of Dutch colonial-era Bicycle Guard reenactors and ride omafiets with their group from Kraton through the streets of Yogyakarta to Fort Vredeburg, where they received their next clue directing them to the Salakmalang Village.