'The Amazing Race' eliminates Andy Finch and Tommy Czeschin

The Amazing Race's nineteenth season eliminated Andy Finch and Tommy Czeschin during Sunday night's broadcast of the CBS reality competition.


The "Friends and former Olympic Snowboarders" team became the eighth team eliminated from the around-the-world competition after they arrived at the Race's eleventh Pit Stop at Panama Viejo in Panama City in last place.

"I wouldn't change anything. We did our best to find the clue and we missed it," Andy said following his team's ouster.

"You go hard and what we were doing worked this far. The Amazing Race was an experience of a lifetime. I got to run around the world with Tommy and just experience God's awesome creation."

The eleventh episode of The Amazing Race's nineteenth season began where last week's broadcast left off, with the Race's four teams meeting with The Amazing Race host Phil Keoghan and leaving the course's tenth Pit Stop at the Atomium structure in Belgium.


Since they had been the team to finish in first place at the Race's tenth Pit Stop, Andy and Tommy were the first team to depart from the Atomium at 3:46AM.

The pair learned they must dress as two characters from the Tintin comic book and figure out they're detectives known by one of three pairs of names: Dupont and Dupond, Johnson and Johnson, and Thomson and Thompson. After discovering their identities, they had to locate the mural in a Tintin picture and then explain what they had learned.

"Dating Couple" Jeremy Cline and Sandy Draghi then departed at 4:20AM, and they were followed by "Engaged Couple" Ernie Halvorsen and Cindy Chiang at 4:35AM and "Married Couple" Marcus Pollard and Amani Pollard at 4:40AM.

The teams ran around all dressed up and asked locals if they could figure out their characters by looking at them. Andy and Tommy originally thought they both were Charlie Chaplin, but they soon learned they had it wrong and continued to scramble.

Jeremy and Sandy were the first team to solve the comic book characters mystery. They were then followed by Ernie and Cindy, Amani and Marcus and finally Andy and Tommy.


Upon opening their next set of clues, the teams were instructed to travel by train to Amsterdam and then fly across the Atlantic more than 4,000 miles to Panama City, Panama. Once they landed, they were required to take a boat up a river to the village of Parara Puru to receive their next clue.

All of the teams got on the same train and presumably the same flight, as they all left the Panama City airport within moments of each other. Andy and Tommy were the first team to run out of the airport and snag a taxi, and they were then followed by Jeremy and Sandy, Ernie and Cindy and Amani and Marcus.

Jeremy and Sandy ended up getting into their boat before Andy and Tommy heading to the Parara Puru village. However, Jeremy and Sandy's boat got stuck on a sandbar and they had trouble figuring out how to fix the issue. As a result, Andy and Tommy passed and arrived at the village before them.   

Amani and Marcus subsequently hopped in their boat and arrived at the village, and they were followed by Ernie and Cindy.

Once the teams set foot in the village, they learned they had to each sign up for one of three times to receive a tattoo the next morning. Andy and Tommy received the first time at 7:00AM, which gave them a 20-minute jump on the other teams. Jeremy and Sandy signed up for the next earliest available time, which was 7:20AM, and that left Amani and Marcus and Ernie and Cindy with 7:40AM.


All the teams then got to rest up overnight and catch up on their sleep. Ernie and Cindy weren't thrilled with the fact they had received the latest tattoo time, as they were concerned they may not be able to catch up to the other teams following their appointment and ultimately get eliminated from the Race.

The next day, the teams woke up and received their tattoos in the order they had signed up for them. Andy and Tommy were done first and realized the next clue was tattooed on their arms. They had to go to the San Francisco Bay Towers in Panama City where they would find their next clue.

The teams, one by one, hopped back into their boats and headed back down the river. Once on solid ground, they secured taxis and traveled to the towers. Andy and Tommy arrived there first, and they were then followed by Jeremy and Sandy, Ernie and Cindy and Amani and Marcus.

Arriving at the towers, the teams learned one member of each team would have to complete a Roadblock task which required them to walk a tightrope 35 stories high above the city. They had to make their way from one tower to another, pick up their clue and then walk the whole way back again.

Andy, Sandy, Cindy, and Amani opted to complete the Roadblock task for their teams.


Sandy was terrified of heights and didn't want to take on the task, however, she gathered her strength and accomplished the job.

Andy, excited about the experience, finished the Roadblock in first place. He and Tommy then opened their next set of clues and learned they must head to the Ferdinand De Lesseps Statue where they would find their next clue. Following Andy and Tommy were Jeremy and Sandy, Ernie and Cindy and Amani and Marcus.

All the teams knew exactly where to go because their cab drivers all discussed the location of the statue. As a result, the teams arrived at the Ferdinand De Lesseps Statue in the same order they had left the Roadblock task. 

Once the teams received their next set of clues, it then became time for them to complete one of two Detour tasks: "Filet" or "Sole."

"Filet" required the teams to travel to the largest fish market in Panama and deliver exact amounts of assorted seafood to different vendors scattered throughout the market. Once they delivered all their fish, they would receive their next clue.


"Sole" required the teams to work with a single piece of leather for the sole and straps and make one pair of sandals with the material. Once they could fit the shoes perfectly on their given client, they would receive their next clue.

Andy and Tommy, Jeremy and Sandy and Ernie and Cindy opted to do the "Sole" task, while Amani and Marcus attempted to complete the "Filet" task.

Ernie and Cindy and Jeremy and Sandy struggled a bit with the "Sole" task and it took them a few tries to get it right, while Andy and Tommy and Amani and Marcus flew through their tasks.

Andy and Tommy -- remaining in the lead -- were the first team to complete the Detour task. They were then followed by Amani and Marcus, Ernie and Cindy and Jeremy and Sandy.

After finishing the Detour tasks, the teams were then instructed to make their way to Cathedral Square and figure out the name of the Pit Stop, Panama Viejo, by finding the name hidden on one of the dancers' dresses or symbolized on their necklaces.

Jeremy and Sandy and Ernie and Cindy were traveling in cabs very close to each other, so they kept begging their drivers to move faster so they could gain a lead.


Andy and Tommy were the first team to arrive at the square, and they were then followed by Amani and Marcus, Jeremy and Sandy, and Ernie and Cindy.

Andy and Tommy admitted all they knew about their next destination was that the name of the Pit Stop would be somewhere amongst the dancing girls. The snowboarders looked on the dancers' medallions and noticed they all read Balboa. Believing that was the name of their next stop, they took a taxi and headed to a Balboa statue their driver told them about.

Once Andy and Tommy arrived at the statue, they realized there was nothing there -- no Phil, no Pit Stop -- and they were frustrated because they knew they had picked the wrong name off of the dancers' attire. Similarly, Ernie and Cindy thought the Pit Stop had to do with Balboa as well and they took off seeking that as well.

However, Jeremy and Sandy saw a picture of a set of buildings etched on one of the dancers' belts -- which their taxi driver told them was Panama Viejo, the correct location of the Race's next Pit Stop.  

Like Ernie and Cindy, Amani and Marcus headed off to Balboa Avenue. The only team that had the correct location was Jeremy and Sandy, but luckily for Ernie and Cindy and Amani and Marcus, Jeremy and Sandy's cab driver appeared to communicate with his fellow cab drivers and discussed that Panama Viejo was the correct destination.

As a result, Ernie and Cindy and Amani and Marcus were driven to the Pit Stop without even knowing whether their cab drivers were going to the right place. Meanwhile, Andy and Tommy went back to the square where the girls were dancing and checked their dresses once again for the name of the Pit Stop. They finally noticed it on one dancer's dress, and they rushed to Panama Viejo.


Jeremy and Sandy were the first team to arrive at the Pit Stop. They were greeted by Phil and learned that for coming in first place, they'd receive a trip for two to Turks and Caicos.

Ernie and Cindy subsequently arrived in second place, while Amani and Marcus then secured third place. The three teams were extremely excited that they would be the final teams to race to the finish line and attempt to claim the show's one million dollar prize.

Andy and Tommy then arrived in fourth -- and last place -- and were upset they had just missed out on being one of the final three teams.






About The Author: Elizabeth Kwiatkowski