'The Amazing Race' crowns Colin Guinn and Christie Woods Season 31 winners over Tyler Oakley and Korey Kuhl

The Amazing Race crowned Colin Guinn and Christie Woods Season 31's winners after they made it to the finish line ahead of runner-ups Tyler Oakley and Korey Kuhl during Wednesday night's finale broadcast on CBS.


Colin, 38, and Christie, 40 -- who previously competed on Season 5 of The Amazing Race and raced this time as life partners from Austin, TX -- were declared the winners of The Amazing Race and won the $1 million grand prize after crossing the finish line in Detroit, Michigan, before the other two teams in the final twelfth leg.

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"Ten countries, 18 cities, and more than 25,000 miles, Colin and Christie, I am pleased to tell you that you are the official winners of The Amazing Race and you have won the $1 million prize. Congratulations!" The Amazing Race host Phil Keoghan told the lovebirds.

"I am so grateful for this woman right here. I can't tell you how much I am in awe of this woman... She made us a million dollars on that drumset," Colin told the cameras, referencing the final challenge of the season.


"It feels good to come back and win the Race with a level of awareness and a broader perspective and just have such a different experience of the whole race!... We really [held] up to the pressure-cooker environment of racing around the world against some of the most competitive teams on the planet."

Tyler, 31, and Korey, 33 -- who previously competed on Season 28 of The Amazing Race and raced this time as friends from Los Angeles, CA, and San Francisco, CA, respectively -- finished in second place.

Leo Temory, 31, and Jamal Zadran, 30, who raced as cousins from Pasadena, CA, and Houston, TX, claimed third place. The guys had previously competed on Season 23 of The Amazing Race as well as The Amazing Race: All-Stars.

And finally, Nicole Franzel, 26, and Victor Arroyo, 28, who raced as an engaged couple from Ubly, MI, finished the season in fourth place and therefore were not able to participate in the final leg.

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Nicole and Victor were the only Big Brother or Survivor team remaining in the two-hour finale episode. Nicole previously competed on Seasons 16 and 18 of Big Brother, while Victor had appeared on Season 18 of Big Brother.

The Amazing Race broadcast began with Colin and Christie leaving the Pit Stop in Kampen, Netherlands, in first place at 10:13PM.

Teams were instructed to fly across the English Channel to London, England, and find their next clue at Gatwick Aviation Museum.

Tyler and Korey then departed in second place at 11:35PM, followed by Leo and Jamal at 1:20AM.

Leo and Jamal got eliminated in Leg 11 twice before, so they were hoping to break the curse.


Nicole and Victor were the last team to depart the Netherlands at 1:55AM. The engaged couple thought they could win the Race, but all of the other teams were hoping former The Amazing Race Racers would face off in the Final 3 against each other to prove they're the best.

Nicole and Victor were pissed at Leo and Jamal and had no intention of speaking to them again.

All four teams snagged seats on the same flight into London.

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Once their plane touched down, it was a race to secure taxis.


Leo and Jamal received their next set of clues before the other teams and learned they must take a scenic helicopter ride over the English countryside and the White Cliffs of Dover before landing at Dover Castle.

The other three teams appeared to hop in helicopters right around the same time as each other, although Tyler and Korey had been trailing slightly.

Leo and Jamal landed in first place and learned it was time for one member from each team to complete a Roadblock task.

For the Roadblock task, the participating Racers were required to decipher encrypted messages "from the enemy" in a secret hideaway within the castle surrounded by British soldiers. They had to crack the code and then type it up on an old typewriter to receive their next clue.

Colin and Christie's helicopter landed in second place, and they were then followed by Nicole and Victor and finally Tyler and Korey.


Leo took on the Roadblock task, and he was soon joined by Christie, Victor and Korey.

Leo and Jamal finished the Roadblock in first place, and then Korey and Christie were shown helping each other behind Victor's back. Victor felt like a loner, and when he asked Korey for help, he was rejected.

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Nicole and Victor, however, managed to complete the Roadblock in second place, with Tyler and Korey on their heels in third.

Korey tried to give Christie the answer on his way out, but she didn't understand what he was explaining and really struggled with the task. When Christie finally left the Roadblock task, she was crying. Colin, however, wiped her tears and told her that he was proud of her.

The teams then hopped back in their helicopters and headed to a pier in London. The clue at the pier told them to proceed via speed boat to Piccadilly Circus, where they must find the golden queen to receive their next clue.


Nicole and Victor were in a close second place, with Tyler and Korey in third and finally Colin and Christie in last place.

When Leo and Jamal found the golden queen, it became time for them to complete one of two possible Detour tasks: "Know" or "Row."

"Know" required teams to memorize a cab route one turn at a time under the watchful eye of a driving instructor.

"Row" required teams to learn how to row a two-person skiff from Olympic medal winners and then complete a 200-meter course in under one minute.

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Leo and Jamal initially chose to row, but they decided to switch tasks after a short period of time because they couldn't maintain balance in the skiff or keep it stable. Leo even panicked and screamed a bit when in the water.


Nicole and Victor, who were in second place, decided to test their luck rowing. Tyler and Korey received their clue from the golden queen in third place and opted to row as well, and finally, Christie and Colin chose to row.

As Leo and Jamal had to take their taxi ride multiple times, Nicole and Victor fell out of their boat at one point. Victor acknowledged the activity required a lot of strength in their core muscles, and Tyler added coordination was necessary.

And while Tyler and Korey got off to a great start in their boat, they eventually tipped over and fell out as well.

When Colin and Christie grabbed a skiff, they realized they had caught up to the other teams and were still in it.

After failing the course multiple times, Tyler and Korey decided to switch Detour tasks and try the taxi one instead. And Nicole and Victor decided to do the same thing not long afterwards.

Colin and Christie didn't find rowing easy, but they opted to stick with it in the hope of surpassing the other teams. They even came up with a strategy in which Christie held up paddles up and just allowed Colin to do all the rowing.


Colin and Christie's strategy worked just fine, but the tricky part was trying to complete the course in under one minute since only one person was rowing.

Meanwhile, Leo and Jamal were trying to recite 22 directions correctly on their fifth attempt, and they finally did it in first place.

Tyler and Korey finished "Know" in second place after three tries, and then Colin and Christie surprisingly finished the Detour in third place on their sixth attempt.

That left Nicole and Victor in last place after they correctly recited their directions on their fourth attempt.

"We could see light at the end of the tunnel," Christie noted.

After the Detour, teams had to make their way to Camden Market, which would serve as the Pit Stop for this leg of the Race. Phil was waiting for them with Winston Churchill.


Leo and Jamal stepped on the Pit Stop mat first and immediately received their next clue, which required them to pick up certain items in the market. The leg was not over and there was no time to rest!

Leo and Jamal had to find a trunk with mannequin, a lamp, a drum, a corset, a rug, a camera, boots and a tea kettle before they could officially check in to the Pit Stop.

Tyler and Korey looked for the items in second place, and then Colin and Christie arrived and tried to get the job done faster. Once Nicole and Victor received their clue at the Pit Stop, it's unclear whether they knew they were in last place.

Leo and Jamal eventually found all eight items and were able to check in to the Pit Stop in first place. Tyler and Korey were Team No. 2 and then Colin and Christie placed third.

Christie told Phil the leg was a test of their mental and emotional resiliency, and she thanked Colin for never giving up and giving her the inspiration to continue the leg as if they could win it.

Nicole could be heard saying, "We did so good," in the background, but they checked in to the Pit Stop in fourth place and were therefore eliminated from the Race.


Phil told Nicole and Victor they should be proud of themselves for making it further than any of the other Big Brother or Survivor teams.

"We did way better than we expected to," Victor said.

"Yeah we did!" Nicole agreed in tears. "We did. It was the awesomest experience and I think we're stronger now."

Victor then added they met on Big Brother and Nicole is his "soul mate."

"I cried on this show more than I did on two seasons of Big Brother! So dang!" Nicole noted with a laugh.

The three remaining teams then continued with the final leg, and Leo and Jamal took off in first place at 3:53AM.


The teams were asked to fly across the Atlantic Ocean back to the United States -- to Detroit, MI, in particular. After touching down, teams had to find the Spirit of Detroit, a famous city landmark, where they'd find their next clue.

"We hold the record for most Detours, most Roadblocks, most legs completed. Like, we are the kings of The Amazing Race. I feel good! There's no question about it -- it's our time to shine," Leo said in a taxi on the way to the airport.

Tyler and Korey then departed the Pit Stop in London at 4:13AM, and Christie and Colin were trailing behind them at 4:29AM.

Tyler and Korey had made it to the finale for the second time and they were in "disbelief." They were also both from Michigan, so they seemed to hope for an advantage in the final leg.

Colin and Christie had also made the Final 3 on their The Amazing Race season many years ago, so they felt "the best of the best" had made it to the end.

Once in Detroit, it was a mad scramble to grab the first taxi. Tyler and Korey knew exactly where they were going, saying the landmark was in downtown Detroit.


But Leo and Jamal got there first. The guys ripped open their first set of clues and learned it was time for a Roadblock task, which teased, "Who's good with numbers?"

The Roadblock required the participating Racers to rappel nearly 500 feet down a skyscraper while facing the ground. But while rappelling down the building, they had to look out for numbers in the windows that would ultimately make a combination needed to open a massive locked bank vault.

Leo took on this task, and once Tyler and Korey got there, Tyler chose to do it. Once Colin and Christie arrived at the Roadblock and read their clue, Colin opted to do the rappelling. Colin, however, later admitted he's scared of heights.

Christie pretended like they were racing in last place and had to catch up because that clearly worked well for them in the previous leg.

Leo remembered the numbers, but he still struggled to unlock the vault. He and Jamal therefore lost the cushion they were hoping for in this leg.

Colin opened his vault in first place, but they couldn't find their cab driver. Tyler and Korey, who finished the Roadblock in second place, therefore hopped in the lead. And Leo and Jamal were stuck in last place.


Tyler and Korey then headed to Fowling Warehouse, where they were required to play two rounds of a game that combines football with bowling. Their goal was to knock down all the pins with a football.

While Tyler was pretty good at throwing a football, Korey needed some practice.

When Colin and Christie arrived at the warehouse in second place, Colin managed to knock down all but one pin on his very first throw.

Still, Tyler and Korey moved on in first place and proceeded to Third Man Records, where they had to press and produce five perfect two-toned vinyl records to earn their next clue.

Colin and Christie finished fowling while Leo was still working on opening his bank vault. At one point, Leo was shown saying, "I give up," before sitting down.

But after relaxing and reading the instructions one more time, Leo realized he had to spin the wheel at least five times to the first number. He had ignored "the first number" part during his previous attempts.


The teams arrived at the records store in the same order they had left Fowling Warehouse.

But Colin and Christie got the job done first and departed in first place. They were instructed to travel by taxi to Hart Plaza and then search among musicians to find their next clue.

Tyler and Korey left Third Man Records in second place, and then Leo and Jamal were in third.

Once at Hart Plaza, the teams were required to assemble a five-piece drumset from scratch while musicians were playing loudly around them in order to receive their next clue.

Tyler and Korey felt they were a great matchup against Christie and Colin in the finale. But both teams messed up, as Colin noted there were probably 100 little details they had to get just right.

"Knowing there's another team that could get it at any moment and go get a million dollars, that amount of pressure just starts throwing you off your game," Colin told the cameras.


Both teams had their drum assembled but neither pair knew what they had done wrong. Based on the editing, it appeared Tyler and Korey were missing a tiny washer that had fallen off to the side of their station.

But once Korey found the washer, their drum still wasn't approved.

As for Colin and Christie, a piece of their equipment was apparently not tightened all the way.

Christie had to calm Colin down at one point and tell him to breathe, while Tyler and Korey were annoyed because they typically pay great attention to detail.

In the end, Colin and Christie successfully assembled their drum in first place, and so they hopped in a taxi and headed to the finish line. Tyler and Korey, however, were only minutes behind them.

The teams then traveled to Historic Fort Wayne, where all of the previously-eliminated teams were waiting for the winner to arrive.


Colin and Christie then ran to the finish line in first place.

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Instead of hugging Christie after their victory was confirmed, Colin picked Phil up and gave him a big hug first. Colin, however, then sweetly kissed his life partner.

Tyler and Korey then ran to Fort Wayne in second place.

"Certainly it's a little bittersweet not to win it again, but running this again with Tyler, it just solidified our bond and we both know we're never going to get rid of the other. The Amazing Race just made us so much stronger friends and we'll never forget it," Korey said.

And finally, Leo and Jamal placed third.


"It's an experience we're going to be able to cherish for a lifetime," Jamal noted after Leo reminded Phil they had broken the record for having completed the most legs, 34 legs, on The Amazing Race. "But damn were we close to the million!"






About The Author: Elizabeth Kwiatkowski