'The Amazing Race' eliminates April Gould and Sarah Williams after first Head-to-Head Competition ever

The Amazing Race eliminated "Friends and Goat Yoga Instructors" April Gould and Sarah Williams during the second episode of the CBS reality competition's 30th season on Wednesday night.


April and Sarah became the second team eliminated from the around-the-world competition after they lost The Amazing Race's first-ever "Head-to-Head Competition" and therefore checked into the Pit Stop at Grote Markt Square in Antwerp, Belgium in last place.

"The Amazing Race has been an incredible experience," April said following her team's ouster. "We really did do our best, and that's all that I wanted to do, our best."

"We're ending on a really good note," Sarah added. "It's just another crazy April and Sarah thing we did. We tend to do that often."

The episode began with the first leg's first-place finishers, "Retired Professional Skiers and Friends" Kristi Leskinen and Jen Hudak, departing the Pit Stop in Iceland at 8:08AM.


On their heels were "Dating Couple and Former Big Brother Houseguests" Cody Nickson and Jessica Graf at 8:16AM, followed by "Dating Couple and Yale Debating Teammates" Henry Zhang and Evan Lynyak at 8:18AM.

Other team departure times were not shown.

The other teams this season are "Retired NBA Players" Cedric Ceballos and Shawn Marion, "Dating Couple and Musicians" Trevor Wadleigh and Chris Marchant, "Friends and IndyCar Drivers" Alexander Rossi and Conor Daly, "Competitive Eaters and Friends" Joey Chestnut and Tim Janus, "Retired Professional Skiers and Friends" Kristi Leskinen and Jen Hudak, "Dating Couple and Lifeguards" Lucas Bocanegra and Brittany Austin, and "Twin Brothers and Firefighters" Eric Guiffreda and Daniel Guiffreda.

All the teams were instructed to grab their reserved plane tickets at a nearby travel agency for the same flight and fly to Amsterdam, where they'd board a train to Antwerp, Belgium upon landing.

Once in Antwerp, the teams had to find a particular chocolate shop that opened at 9AM and receive their next clue from Stan, a Chocolatier.


Since the teams began the leg on a level playing field, everyone knew it was going to be a footrace once they touched down in Amsterdam to get bus tickets. But eventually, the teams arrived at the chocolate shop within seconds of each other.

From there, April and Sarah got lost heading to their next waterfront destination about one kilometer away, as they were running in the opposite direction. Eric and Daniel also appeared to get lost, while Alex and Conor struggled to land a taxi.

Cedric and Shawn therefore arrived at a huge crane in first place, and they were then followed by Trevor and Chris, Cody and Jessica, Joey and Tim, Henry and Evan, April and Sarah, Lucas and Brittany, Kristi and Jen, Alex and Conor, and finally Eric and Daniel.

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

The Roadblock required its participants to scale a rope ladder attached to a rising crane and retrieve a clue from the top.


Shawn opted to do this task on behalf of his team, as did Jessica, Chris and Joey. These four individuals climbed simultaneously, and once they finished the job, the next four Racers could go.

That's when Lucas, Sarah, Evan and Kristi climbed. Once they completed the task, Alex and Eric got to do the Roadblock.

Trevor and Chris finished the Roadblock task in first place, followed by Cedric and Shawn in second place and then Cody and Jessica in third place.

Not far behind them were Joey and Tim, followed by Kristi and Jen, Lucas and Brittany, April and Sarah, Henry and Evan, Eric and Daniel, and finally Alex and Conor.

The teams then learned they must choose one of two possible Detour tasks to complete by working together: "Old Print" or "Diamond Glint."


"Old Print" required teams to correctly arrange blocks of typeface for a historic printing press, and then print out their next clue.

"Diamond Glint" required the teams to appraise three diamonds and add that amount to the price of an unfinished necklace to calculate the necklace's total value.

Jessica and Cody decided to try the printing task, along with Cedric and Shawn, Henry and Evan, Kristi and Jen, Eric and Daniel, and Lucas and Brittany.

The teams who chose to look at diamonds were Joey and Tim, Alex and Conor, Trevor and Chris, and April and Sarah. April and Sarah arrived at this task in last place, but they weren't far behind Lucas and Brittany.

Eric and Daniel found the printing task very complicated and time consuming, so they decided to switch tasks and test their luck appraising diamonds.


Meanwhile, April and Sarah were still working at the diamonds task when the twins arrived, so the girls received a renewed sense of energy and optimism.

Cedric and Shawn completed the Detour task in first place. They were then followed by Kristi and Jen, Jessica and Cody, Henry and Evan, Trevor and Chris, Alex and Conor, Joey and Tim, Lucas and Brittany, April and Sarah, and finally Eric and Daniel.

Eric and Daniel appeared to appraise the diamonds just moments after April and Sarah left the room.

The teams then headed to the Silvius Brabo statue in Grote Markt Square, where the Race's first "Head-to-Head Competition" in history was going to take place.

In this competition, one team member had to race an opposing team member around an obstacle course while pushing a dolly packed with eight bags of "frites." In a funny twist, the participating Racers also had to dress up in French-fry costumes.

The winner of each match could check into the Pit Stop with his or her teammate, while the losing Racer must battle someone from the next team to arrive at the marketplace.


Cedric and Shawn made it to the statue in first place, with Jessica and Cody right behind them.

The first faceoff was therefore between Cedric and Cody. Cody won, so he and Jessica checked into the Pit Stop in first place and learned they had won $2,500 each.

Since Henry and Evan were the third team to arrive at the square, Shawn then battled Henry in the head-to-head competition, and Shawn won. Shawn and Cedric were, as a result, able to step on the Pit Stop mat in second place.

When Kristi and Jen arrived, it was a Kristi vs. Evan showdown, and Kristi won. Kristi and Jen therefore claimed third place in this leg.

Once Trevor and Chris rushed to the marketplace, Chris had to face off against Henry, and Chris won in the end. That meant Trevor and Chris checked in to the Pit Stop in fourth place.

At this point, Henry and Evan -- although they were switching back and forth in the competition -- were growing exhausted and disheartened. Although extremely intelligent, the pair knew physical challenges weren't going to be their strongsuit in the Race.


Alex and Conor got to the statue next, and so Alex battled Evan. Once again, Evan was defeated, and Alex and Conor were able to finish the leg in fifth place.

Once Lucas and Brittany arrived, Lucas pushed his dolly against Henry, and unfortunately Henry was defeated again. This allowed Lucas and Brittany to check into the Pit Stop in sixth place.

Tim and Joey were up next, and Tim decided to take on Evan. Sticking with the pattern, Tim won the matchup and checked into the Pit Stop with Joey in seventh place.

April and Sarah then made it to the statue, and Henry figured this was his chance to win because he'd have little hope of defeating Eric or Daniel in a race.

Henry changed his strategy up a little, and after racing April around the obstacle course, he won! Henry and Evan, although they fell down the rankings due to this challenge, were absolutely thrilled to step on the Pit Stop mat as the eighth-place team.

Instead of switching off and having Sarah face off against Eric or Daniel, April took on the challenge again once Eric and Daniel arrived at the square.


April and Daniel had a very tight race and even collided at one point because they were so determined and competitive, but Daniel took home the gold.

Eric and Daniel, as a result, claimed ninth place, and April and Sarah were forced to arrive at the Pit Stop in tenth -- and last -- place.

The Amazing Race host Phil Keoghan then announced April and Sarah had been eliminated from the Race.






About The Author: Elizabeth Kwiatkowski