The Amazing Race 29 is the twenty-ninth season of the American reality competition show The Amazing Race. Unlike previous seasons, which almost exclusively featured teams with pre-existing relationships, this season, hosted by Phil Keoghan, featured twenty-two contestants who were all complete strangers who met for the first time and formed eleven teams of two at the starting line before competing in a race around the world. This season visited five continents and nine countries, traveling approximately over twelve legs. Filming took place from June 10 to July 2, 2016. Starting in Los Angeles, California, racers traveled through Panama, Brazil, Tanzania, Norway, Italy, Greece, Vietnam, and South Korea, before returning to the United States and finishing in Chicago, Illinois. New elements introduced in this season include a pre-starting line task and allowing teams to use the U-Turn more than once. Elements of the show that returned for this season include an Express Pass hidden on the racecourse and the Blind Double U-Turn. The season premiered on CBS on March 30, 2017, and concluded on June 1, 2017.
Brooke Camhi and Scott Flanary won this season, while Tara Carr and Joey Covino finished in second place, and London Kaye and Logan Bauer finished in third place.
Format
The Amazing Race is a reality television show created by Bertram van Munster and Elise Doganieri, and hosted by Phil Keoghan. The series follows teams of two competing in a race around the world. Each leg of the race requires teams to deduce clues, navigate foreign environments, interact with locals, perform physical and mental challenges, and travel on a limited budget provided by the show. At each stop during the leg, teams receive clues inside sealed envelopes, which fall into one of these categories: Route Info: These are simple instructions that teams must follow before they can receive their next clue. Detour: A Detour is a choice between two tasks. Teams may choose either task and switch tasks if they find one option too difficult. There is usually one Detour present on each leg. Roadblock: A Roadblock is a task that only one team member can complete. Teams must choose which member will complete the task based on a brief clue they receive before fully learning the details of the task. There is usually one Roadblock present on each leg. Fast Forward: A Fast Forward is a task that only one team may complete, which allows that team to skip all remaining tasks on the leg and go directly to the next Pit Stop. Teams may only claim one Fast Forward during the entire race. U-Turn: The U-Turn allows one team to force another team to complete both options of the Detour before they can continue the race. Speed Bump: A penalty for teams who finished in last place on a non-elimination leg. It required the team to complete an additional task in the following leg that only they had to complete. Most teams who arrive last at the Pit Stop of each leg are progressively eliminated, while the first team to arrive at the finish line in the final episode wins the grand prize of US$1,000,000.
Production Development and filming
Filming began on June 10, 2016, in Los Angeles. By June 12, the show had traveled to Brazil. Filming ended on July 2, 2016, in Chicago. The season included visits to 17 cities across five continents and nine countries over .
Host Phil Keoghan stated that the twist of casting twenty-two individuals rather than eleven pairs was an idea that the production crew had talked about for some time. They had heard from fans who wanted to apply for the show but were unable to find a partner who could also take time off from work, and the format allowed them to cast twenty-two standout individuals. Despite the similarities of the twenty-sixth season having team members meeting for the first time at the starting line, Keoghan said that the season was not a testing ground for this season.
This season also introduced a few alterations to the show's rules. While the traditional limit on Roadblock performances was still enforced, there was an additional requirement for this season wherein team members could not perform more than four Roadblocks before the ninth leg. Additionally, there was no limit on how many times a team could use the U-Turn this season.The Amazing Race 29, episode 3, April 13, 2017, spoken by contestant Michael
Casting Unlike previous seasons, casting calls for this season sought single applicants to apply in addition to pairs of applicants.
Release Broadcast In March 2016, CBS renewed The Amazing Race for the 2016–17 season, but it was left off the fall schedule for the first time since season 12. It was announced in November 2016 that the season would premiere on Friday, April 21, 2017, in its regular Friday time slot after MacGyver finished its season run. On March 10, 2017, CBS announced that it was moving its low-rated new drama Training Day to Saturdays and would move the season premiere up to March 30.
Contestants
The contestants were all strangers to each other who met for the first time at the starting line where they paired up into impromptu teams. Winter X Games snowboarder Matt Ladley was one of the twenty-two individuals included in this season's cast.
ContestantsAgeTeam NameHometownStatus 31Long Hair, Don't Care San Diego, CaliforniaEliminated 1st(in Panama City, Panama) 25 Palos Verdes, California 28Swole Sisters Howland, OhioEliminated 2nd(in São Paulo, Brazil) 33 Banning, California 37Team America Seattle, WashingtonEliminated 3rd(in Zanzibar City, Tanzania) 24 Providence, Rhode Island 28The S and S Express Bronx, New YorkEliminated 4th(in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania) 27 Baltimore, Maryland 28Team Vanck and Ashton Saint Paul, MinnesotaEliminated 5th(in Tremezzo, Italy) 25 Fort Worth, Texas 24Team Liz and Mike Maryville, MissouriEliminated 6th(in Athens, Greece) 37 Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 26Team Fun Pittsburgh, PennsylvaniaEliminated 7th(in Hoa Lư, Vietnam) 21 Highlands Ranch, Colorado 25The Boys Steamboat Springs, ColoradoEliminated 8th(in Seoul, South Korea) 28 Fremont, California 27Team LoLo New York City, New YorkThird place 27 Navarre, Florida 38Team Mom and Dad Alexandria, VirginiaRunners-up 46 Boston, Massachusetts 36Team Brooke and Scott Lynbrook, New YorkWinners 34 Charlotte, North Carolina Future appearances Becca and Floyd returned to compete on The Amazing Race: Reality Showdown. In 2020, Jenn Lee appeared on the thirty-fifth season of The Challenge. In 2026, Brooke Camhi competed on the fifth season of The Floor.
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 won the Fast Forward. 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 Brooke & Scott4th6th6th7th6th5th4th3rd4th2nd1st1st Tara & Joey6th7th2nd1st1st3rd3rd1st3rd3rd2nd London & Logan8th8th5th5th5th6th5th4th3rd4th2nd3rd Matt & Redmond3rd3rd4th4th2nd2nd1st2nd2nd1st Becca & Floyd2nd5th8th2nd3rd1st2nd5th1st Liz & Michael10th1st1st3rd7th4th Vanck & Ashton 7th2nd3rd6th4th Shamir & Sara5th9th7th Seth & Olive1st4th Jessie & Francesca9th Kevin & Jenn Notes
Race summary
Leg 1 (United States → Panama)
Episode 1: "We're Coming For You, Phil!" (March 30, 2017) Prize: US$2,500 each (awarded to Seth and Olive) Eliminated: Kevin and Jenn Locations Los Angeles, California (Grand Hope Park & F&M Gallery – Luggage Shop) Los Angeles (Grand Hope Park) (Team Pairings & Starting Line) Los Angeles → Panama City, Panama Panama City (Panama Canal – Miraflores Locks) Soberanía National Park (Panama Rainforest Discovery Center – Canopy Tower) Gamboa (Gamboa Rainforest Resort) Panama City (Cinta Costera III) Episode summary Twenty-two contestants, all of whom were total strangers to each other, assembled at Grand Hope Park. Phil Keoghan gave them a series of cardinal directions with distances and instructions to find a nearby luggage shop, where they had to retrieve a suitcase tagged with the flag of Panama and return to the park. The contestants were ranked in the order in which they completed this task. Teams were then formed by having the highest-ranked contestant choose their teammate from among the remaining unpaired contestants, and so on. Furthermore, one of the 22 suitcases contained an Express Pass. Becca and Floyd found the Express Pass in one of their suitcases. After the teams were formed, they began the race, traveled by taxi to Los Angeles International Airport, and booked one of two flights to Panama City, Panama. As a consolation prize for being the last team formed by default, Jessie and Francesca were driven to the airport by Keoghan himself. Once in Panama City, teams had to drive to the Miraflores Locks and find their next clue, which sent them to the canopy tower of the Panama Rainforest Discovery Center. This season's first Detour was a choice between Shoot or Scoot. Both options required teams to paddle a cayuco canoe. In Shoot, teams had to row to a marshy area and use a bow and arrow to shoot down two wooden silver fish hanging on a cluster of bamboo poles to receive their next clue. In Scoot, teams had to beat a pair of professional canoers in a regatta to receive their next clue. Teams received a 50-meter head start for their second attempt and a 100-meter head start for their third attempt. After the Detour, teams had to check in at the Pit Stop: Cinta Costera III in Panama City.
Leg 2 (Panama → Brazil)
Episode 2: "Scared Spitless" (April 6, 2017) Prize: A trip for two to Barbados (awarded to Liz and Michael) Eliminated: Jessie and Francesca Locations Panama City (Cinta Costera III) Panama City (Fantasy Tours) Panama City → São Paulo, Brazil São Paulo (Helipark Táxi Aéreo e Manutenção Aeronáutica → Maksoud Plaza) São Paulo (Praça da Sé) São Paulo (Rua General Osório Rua Palmorino Mônaco) São Paulo (Paulista Avenue) São Paulo (Instituto Cervantes São Paulo) São Paulo (Trianon Park) Episode summary At the start of this leg, teams were instructed to fly to São Paulo, Brazil, with teams required to book their flight at Fantasy Tours. Once there, teams had to sign up for a helicopter ride across São Paulo to a building adjacent to the Praça da Sé, where they found their next clue. This leg's Detour was a choice between Keep The Beat or Work Your Feet. In Keep The Beat, teams traveled to Rua General Osório and performed a musical routine with a samba group. One team member had to perform on the surdo drum, and the other had to perform with the chocalho jingle stick to the satisfaction of the band leader to receive their next clue. In Work Your Feet, teams traveled to a stretch of Rua Palmorino Mônaco beneath an overpass where they had to assemble makeshift workout equipment using rudimentary supplies to the satisfaction of a professional boxer to receive their next clue. After the Detour, teams had to find a woman with a red and yellow scarf riding a bicycle in the pedestrian zone of Paulista Avenue, who had their next clue. In this season's first Roadblock, one team member had to rappel down the façade of the Instituto Cervantes São Paulo and completely wash a marked window before receiving their next clue, which directed them to the Pit Stop: Trianon Park.
Leg 3 (Brazil → Tanzania)
Episode 3: "Bucket List Type Stuff" (April 13, 2017)