Top 10 Shocking Amazing Race Moments

Top 10 Shocking Amazing Race Moments

Did that just happen? Welcome to MsMojo, and today we’ll be counting down our picks for the Top 10 Shocking Amazing Race Moments.

For this list, we’re taking a looking at shocking and memorable moments that occurred over the course of this long-running reality competition series.

#10: Best Breakdown/Freakout
Mika vs. the Water Slide

Sometimes your fears can get the best of you, and Season 15 contestant Mika definitely let that happen to her. Terrified of heights, Mika absolutely refused to go down the Leap of Faith, a six-story-high water slide with an incline somewhere around 90 degrees. Mika threw a tantrum as her boyfriend Canaan cheered her on, and she even let another team pass them when she couldn’t do it. Ultimately, she forfeited the challenge after spending 45 minutes attempting to do it. Unsurprisingly, they were sent home. We felt bad for the girl, but with a million dollars on the line, you have to be willing to go all in.

#9: Most Douchebag Moment
Jonathan Pushes Wife

Sometimes the biggest obstacle isn’t the race itself, but working with your partner. Married couple Jonathan and Victoria were known for bickering during Season 6, but we saw a darker side to their marriage on Leg 5 of the race. Earlier in the race, an upset Jonathan threw his backpack on the ground to make up time. Victoria grabbed his bag so it wouldn’t get stolen, which slowed her down and they lost a first place finish. Jonathan took his anger out on Victoria and shoved her, nearly causing her to fall over as they completed the challenge. It was utterly uncalled for, and one of the nastier moments shown on the show.

#8: Best OMG Moment
Car Flips Over in an Accident

While the watermelon launch scene went viral and is definitely a memorable moment, [Watermelon launch clip] we had to go with season 7’s car flip when a crewmember actually got injured. While travelling in Botswana, the teams had to drive an SUV across the desert to their next destination. Driving stick got the best of Brian and Greg, and the brothers’ vehicle flipped over. While they weren’t hurt, one of the cameramen riding with them was, and they were sidelined while waiting for medical help and a replacement car. The accident was a shock to watch, and highlighted the real dangers the race can hold. We’re just glad the accident wasn’t more serious than it was.

#7: Most Dramatic Fight
Margie & Luke vs. Kisha & Jen
When people are competing, their ugly sides can often come out, and that’s exactly what happened in this fight. The two teams clashed when Luke and Jen got into a physical scuffle upon arriving at the clue box at the same time. Ultimately, Jen and Kisha got the clue first, but neither team was very happy at the check-in point. Name-calling escalated into an all-out battle when Margie accused the women of making fun of Luke for signing angrily, since he’s deaf. She then told the women they should be more sympathetic to his struggles since they’re both black and a part of a marginalized group. It was a truly uncomfortable moment for everyone involved.

#6: Most Heart-Wrenching Moment
Lena Pushing Through an 8-hour Challenge

It’s hard to watch teams get eliminated after they gave it their all, and that’s definitely the case with this entry. On Leg 3, the final Roadblock was for one teammate to search through 270 bales of hay for a clue. Of the 270 bales of hay, only 20 had clues in them, which made the challenge nearly impossible for Lena. Lena spent 8 hours searching for the clue, when Phil finally told her that the last team finished nearly two hours before her. Lena’s determination was admirable, but in the end it wasn’t enough and they were sent home.

#5: Best Finish
Swimming Across Pool to Finish Line

The end of a leg always wipes teams out and it takes every bit of energy to run across the finish mat to host, Phil Keoghan. In Season 6, the show added another challenge to finishing the leg: instead of running up to Phil, the contestants actually had to swim the length of a pool before checking in. Three teams arrived at the same time, and it and was a scramble to watch all six contestants dive in the pool and pull out their last energy reserves. We’d definitely like to see the show pull out more of these unexpected finishes.

#4: Most SMH Moment
Rachel Reilly Refuses to Shave Her Head for $1 Million Dollars

To be successful on the show it’s a given that teams have to do whatever it takes to win the million dollars. But don’t tell that to Rachel Reilly. On Leg 10, the All-Star teams were in India and on a Fast Forward challenge contestants were asked to shave their heads at an Indian temple. But leave it to Rachel to bring the drama; instead of shaving her head, she cried and freaked out, saying that she paid $500 for extensions and that she needed long hair to be pretty. It was hard to feel bad for her when a million was on the line, money she could have used to buy all the extensions in the world.

#3: Most Hilarious Mistake
John & Jessica Make an Offering

After weeks of traveling around the world at a frantic pace, teams can easily get mixed up, especially when it comes to following directions. Season 22 team, John and Jessica, made one of the most entertaining mistakes when they arrived at the wrong house in Bali. For the Pit Stop, they were supposed to make an offering of fruit for the Balinese ritual, “gebogan,” in a family’s backyard, but unbeknownst to them, they made their offering in the house across the street from the correct location. The homeowners looked at them in amusement, but no one told them they made a mistake until after they made a fool of themselves. Way to go, guys.

#2: Best Overachieving Moment
Being Dragged by Bulls

Any contestant will tell you that the best moments on the show come from digging deep within themselves to complete a challenge. During Leg 7 in India, the Roadblock involved one team member hanging onto a team of bulls as they dragged them across a football field length mud pit. Hitching yourself to a team of bulls doesn’t sound like the smartest or most fun thing to do, but you have to admire contestants like Tian of the model team for completing the task after she failed twice in holding onto the bulls’ reins. Lucky for her, the third time was the charm and she was able to slide, well get dragged, right to victory.

No honorable mentions for this list.

#1: Best LOL Moment
Swiss Cheese Task

They can do some pretty ridiculous tasks on the show, but nothing takes the cake like the Swiss cheese task on the first leg of Season 14. Racing from the US to Switzerland, the contestants were given the challenge to move four 50-pound wheels of cheese down a hill using a Swiss cheese carrier and stack the wheels on top of each other. Sounds easy, right? Think again. What followed was one of the show’s biggest laugh out loud moments as contestants fell and chased after pieces of cheese gone rogue. We’re still cracking up over this one.

Do you agree with our list? What’s your favorite “Amazing Race” moment? For more surprising Top 10s published daily, be sure to subscribe to MsMojo.