'The Amazing Race: All-Stars' eliminates "Twin Sisters" Natalie Anderson and Nadiya Anderson

The Amazing Race: All-Stars eliminated Natalie Anderson and Nadiya Anderson during Sunday night's premiere broadcast of the CBS reality competition 24th overall season and third all-stars edition.


The "Twin Sisters" team, who finished in fourth place on Season 21, became the first team eliminated from the around-the-world competition after they arrived at the Race's first Pit Stop at Guangzhou Opera House in Guangzhou, China in last place.

"It was the worst day for us to have a bad day, and it was one of our worst days ever. We're twins for God sakes, we can work together, and today, we just tore each other apart instead of working together like we should have. But it's like, why can't we just get it together?" Nadiya said following her team's ouster.

The first episode of The Amazing Race: All-Stars began with the Race's 11 returning teams arriving at a field, where they met host Phil Keoghan and learned the team to win the first leg of the Race would receive an Express Pass for themselves and an additional Express Pass to give to another team. The winning team would have the power to determine who gets ahead, but the pair must make the decision before the end of the fifth leg.

The 11 teams were: Natalie and Nadiya, "Kentucky Friends" William "Bopper" Minton and Mark Jackson, "The Afghanimals" Leo Temory and Jamal Zadran, "Newlyweds" Brendon Villegas and Rachel Reilly, "The Country Singers" Jennifer Wayne and Caroline Cutbirth, "The Cowboy Brothers" Cord McCoy and Jet McCoy, "Father and Son Cancer Survivors" David O'Leary and Connor O'Leary, "The Globetrotters" Herbert "Flight Time" Lang and Nate "Big Easy" Lofton, "Engaged Couple" John Erck and Jessica Hoel, "Mother and Son" Margie O'Donnell and Luke Adams, "Best Friends" Joseph "Joey" Graceffa and Meghan Caramena.


However, one Racer had to make an emergency visit to the doctor. Bopper apparently experienced a pancreas attack -- an inflammed pancreas which could be fatal if not addressed properly -- and wasn't healthy enough to race. He and his "Kentucky Friends" teammate Mark were devastated. After they shed some tears, Mark was told he'd be given the opportunity to pair up with someone else.

Mark noted it was the hardest decision of his life because he never envisioned running the Race with anyone but Bopper. Bopper gave Mark his blessing, saying he should try to win the money for his family. In the end, Mallory Ervin, who is also from Kentucky and previously competed on the Race with her father, teamed up with Mark and the pair were focused on trying to get to know one another better.

Phil then announced the teams would be traveling to China but they must first find a certain symbol, which represented the city that would be their first destination out of Los Angeles, on the helmets of hundreds of marching band members in the field. Once the teams discovered they'd be heading to Guangzhou, they hopped in a car and drove to Los Angeles International Airport.

Leo and Jamal picked out the right helmet first and therefore got tickets on the first flight out of LAX. Jet and Cord, David and Connor, and Natalie and Nadiya ended up joining them. As a result, all the other teams were booked on the second flight, which would land in Guangzhou about an hour behind the first.

Once the teams landed, they got their first set of clues and were instructed to travel by taxi or train to the Street of Wedding Dresses and then search amongst hundreds of dress shops to find one of three stores -- Precious One, Silver Gorgeous or Rich Forest & Beauty -- each containing a limited number of clues.


Jet and Cord headed to the metro while everyone else decided to take taxis. They hoped it would be an "express train to the Express Pass."

Meanwhile, Natalie and Nadiya worked with "The Afghanimals" in search of the stores but they had trouble finding even one. The two teams kind of bickered as time lapsed, and the "Twin Sisters" called Leo and Jamal "stupid" and "a hot mess," even worse than themselves.

Jet and Cord found one of the dress stores and received a clue in first place. They were then followed by David and Connor, Brendon and Rachel, Margie and Luke, Mark and Mallory, and Flight Time and Big Easy.

Nadiya and Natalie ended up running into the people from the second flight on the Street of Wedding Dresses and began to panic. The girls left Leo and Jamal and began working with Caroline and Jennifer to find one of the three stores. Both all-female teams grew very frustrated.

"The Country Singers" called the experience "a nightmare" and the "Twin Sisters" admitted it was a "terrible start." They finally found two of the stores but realized all the clues were gone, so they had to find the third, which wasted more time.


Leo and Jamal found a clue in one of the dress shops in seventh place. They were followed by Jessica and John, Joey and Meghan, Natalie and Nadiya, and Caroline and Jennifer.

The teams then learned they must head to Canton Tower, home to the world's highest Ferris wheel. They would find their next clue inside one of the "bubbles," and if the Racers guessed the wrong bubble, they'd have to go for the entire ride before being able to get out, hop in another bubble and try again.

Jet and Cord arrived at the tower's Ferris wheel first, and they were soon followed by Margie and Luke, David and Connor, Brendon and Rachel, Mark and Mallory, Leo and Jamal, Flight Time and Big Easy, John and Jessica, Joey and Meghan, Caroline and Jennifer, and Nadiya and Natalie.

The clues were posted on the bottom of the doors inside the bubble. Jet and Cord found it first, and they were followed by Brendon and Rachel, Leo and Jamal, Margie and Luke, David and Connor, Mark and Mallory, Flight Time and Big Easy, John and Jessica, Caroline and Jennifer, Joey and Meghan, and Natalie and Nadiya.

Natalie and Nadiya struggled again with whether to wait around 25 minutes for a bubble that definitely had the clue inside -- because they saw a team leave from the bubble and head to the next location -- or take a chance by hopping in a different bubble. They ended up deciding to take a risk and hop in a random bubble, making the right choice because they found a clue.


The teams' next set of clues required them to make their way to the Haixinsha Stadium on the river below them.

Jet and Cord arrived at the stadium in first place. They were then followed by Brendon and Rachel, Margie and Luke, David and Connor, Leo and Jamal, Mallory and Mark, Big Easy and Flight Time, Jessica and John, Caroline and Jennifer, Joey and Meghan, and Natalie and Nadiya.

It then became time for one member of each team to complete a Roadblock task.

For the Roadblock, the team members had to perform five high-wire flips as they travel 300 feet to the top of the stadium tower.

Cord opted to do the Roadblock on behalf of his team in addition to Brendon, Margie, Connor, Leo, Mallory, Flight Time, Joey, and Natalie. They didn't show which members of Caroline and Jennifer or Jessica and John's team did the Roadblock.


The teams then had to make their way to the Pit Stop at Guangzhou Opera House.

Jet and Cord met Phil in first place and therefore received the two Express Passes.

Brendon and Rachel finished in second place and David and Connor claimed third.

Following Margie and Luke in fourth place were: Leo and Jamal in fifth, Mark and Mallory in sixth, Flight Time and Big Easy in seventh, Jessica and John in eighth, Caroline and Jennifer in ninth, Joey and Meghan in tenth, and finally Natalie and Nadiya in eleventh -- and last -- place.






About The Author: Elizabeth Kwiatkowski