'The Amazing Race' eliminates Jessica "Jessie" Shields and Francesca Piccoli

The Amazing Race eliminated Jessica "Jessie" Shields and Francesca Piccoli during Thursday night's broadcast of the CBS reality competition's 29th season.


Jessie, a 28-year-old K-9 police officer from Youngstown, OH, and Francesca, a 33-year-old U.S. Army drill sergeant from St. Plano, TX, were forced to pair up on the first day of the Race when they were total strangers because after everyone picked their teams, the two girls were the last ones standing without partners.

In last night's episode, Jessie and Francesca became the second team eliminated from the around-the-world competition after they arrived at the season's second Pit Stop at Trianon Park in Sao Paulo, Brazil, in last place out of the 10 remaining couples.

Seth Tyler, a 37-year-old police officer from Seattle, WA, and Olive Beauregard, a 24-year-old firefighter from Providence, RI, ripped open their next clue in first place in Panama City, Panama at 11:16PM. They were instructed to book a flight to Sao Paulo, Brazil, at a nearby travel agency.

The rest of the teams' departure times were not shown.


At the travel agency, Sara Fowler, a 27-year-old luxury realtor from St. John, Virgin Islands, was noticing that her partner Shamir Arzeno, a 28-year-old Wall Street banker from Jersey City, NJ, was very aggressive. She was concerned by how he reacted in certain situations, whether it be losing his temper or patience quickly and easily. Shamir told the cameras he's an "alpha male" and can't help it.

There were six available flights to Brazil. Vanck Zhu, a 28-year-old Wall Street analyst from New York, NY, and Ashton Theiss, a 25-year-old residential realtor from Fort Worth, TX, hopped on the first flight out along with Matt Ladley, a 25-year-old pro snowboarder from Denver, CO, and Redmond Ramos, a 28-year-old former U.S. Navy corpsman from Murrieta, CA. It landed at 12:45AM the following day.

On the second flight out were the following three teams: Seth and Olive, Shamir and Sara, as well as Scott Flanary, a 34-year-old recruiting manager from West Hollywood, CA, and Brooke Camhi, a 36-year-old criminal attorney from New York, NY. Shamir complained about how the travel agent was a "granny" who's "slow as hell."

Liz Espey, a 24-year-old auctioneer from Maryville, MO, and Michael Rado, a 37-year-old butcher from Pittsburgh, PA, booked seats on the third flight, while London Kaye, a 27-year-old artist from Brooklyn, NY, and Logan Bauer, a 27-year-old surgical consultant from Columbus, GA, snagged seats on the fourth flight out.

Tara Carr, a 38-year-old U.S. Army officer from Alexandria, VA, and Joey Covino, a 46-year-old police sergeant from Saugus, MA, flew to Brazil on the fifth flight, as well as Becca Droz, a 26-year-old rock climbing instructor from Boulder, CO, and Floyd Pierce, a 21-year-old college drum major from Boulder, CO.


Finally, Jessie and Francesca were the only team stuck on the sixth and final flight out of Panama City.

Matt and Redmond made it to the cluebox in first place once their flight landed. The next set of clues led them to a helicopter pad, where they must sign up for a ride that ultimately lands on a skyscraper. The teams learned that upon landing, they had to travel to Praca Da Se to pick up their next clue.

The teams who got off the first flight agreed to wait for each other at the helipad and do a coin-flip to determine who flies out in what order. They thought it was fair since they were on a level playing field at this point. However, when Matt and Redmond got to the sign up sheet before any of the other teams, they decided to forego the deal and write their names down in the first spot.

Once Vanck and Ashton arrived, they realized the guys had gone back on their word, which really upset and disappointed Ashton. Ashton called it "a slap in the face and a stab in the back," noting she's the type of person who holds grudges. But Matt and Redmond didn't really care and they certainly weren't sorry.

Shamir and Sara hopped on a helicopter in third place, and they were then followed by Shamir and Sara, Brooke and Scott, Liz and Michael, London and Logan, Becca and Floyd, Tara and Joey, and finally Jessie and Francesca.


Matt and Redmond made it to their next set of clues at Praca De Se in first place. Trailing behind them were Shamir and Sara, Vanck and Ashton, Seth and Olive, Liz and Michael, London and Logan, Brooke and Scott, Becca and Floyd, Tara and Joey, and then Jessie and Francesca, who unfortunately ran this entire leg in last place due to their flight time.

It then became time for the teams to complete one of two possible Detour tasks: "Keep the Beat" or "Work Your Feet."

"Keep the Beat" required the teams to master instruments and then properly perform a routine with a samba group in the streets.

"Work Your Feet" required the teams to build a large workout station using rudimentary equipment including a refrigerator, tin cans and a giant truck tire.

The teams who chose to play instruments were Shamir and Sara, Vanck and Ashton, Liz and Michael, London and Logan, Becca and Floyd, and Jessie and Francesca. As a college drum major, Floyd was absolutely in his element. Michael and Liz also nailed the task on their first try.


Matt and Redmond selected the "Work Your Feet" task, as did Seth and Olive, Tara and Joey, and Brooke and Scott.

Matt and Redmond had a good lead on the other teams going into the Detour, so they finished in first place. They were then followed by Vanck and Ashton, Seth and Olive, Shamir and Sara, Liz and Michael, London and Logan, Becca and Floyd, Brooke and Scott, Tara and Joey, and Jessie and Francesca.

The teams were then instructed to make their way to Avenida Paulista and find the person riding a marked bicycle. When something is marked in The Amazing Race, it's typically with the show's red and yellow colors.

Vanck and Ashton found the bike before any of the other teams. On their heels were Liz and Michael, Matt and Redmond, Seth and Olive, Shamir and Sara, Brooke and Scott, Becca and Floyd, Tara and Joey, London and Logan, and Jessie and Francesca.

Not only did Sara lead Jessie and Francesca in the wrong directions, but the girls missed how the bicyclist was riding right behind their backs.


Once at Avenida Paulista, it became time for one member from each team to complete a Roadblock task, which required the participating Racers to rappel down a skyscraper in order to wash and clean one of its many windows.

The Racers who opted to take on this Roadblock task were Ashton, Liz, Redmond, Seth, Shamir, Scott, Becca, Tara, Logan, and Francesca.

Scott was really scared about this task, as he was facing his greatest fear of heights and falling.

When Shamir attempted the task, the harness was tugging at all the wrong places and he sought medical assistance thinking that his private parts were bleeding. Shamir's "injury" was not serious, according to Sara, who was extremely frustrated with his apparent lack of determination.

Sara said if something similar happened to her, she would've sucked it up and moved forward because the Race means that much to her.

It turned out Shamir and Francesca were the last two people cleaning their windows simultaneously.


Liz and Michael completed the Roadblock task in first place and were then followed by Vanck and Ashton, Matt and Redmond, Seth and Olive, Brooke and Scott, Becca and Floyd, London and Logan, Tara and Joey, Shamir and Sara, and Jessie and Francesca.

The teams then ripped open their next set of clues and discovered they must head to Trianon Park, a rainforest located in the middle of one of the world's biggest cities. The teams had to look for The Amazing Race host Phil Keoghan in the middle of the lush 11 acre resort.

Liz and Michael were quick to find Phil and were named Team No. 1. For finishing the leg in first place, they won a trip for two to Barbados. Vanck and Ashton finished in second place and told Phil their team dynamic was definitely improving and starting to work.

Matt and Redmond claimed third place, Seth and Olive took fourth, Becca and Floyd placed fifth, and then Brooke and Scott finished the leg in sixth place.

Tara and Joey soon stepped on the Pit Stop mat in seventh place, followed by London and Logan in eighth place and then Shamir and Sara in ninth place. When Jessie and Francesca arrived on the mat in last place, Phil told them they had been eliminated from the Race.

Jessie and Francesca told the cameras they'll be "friends for life" and "have no regrets." They had a blast as a team on The Amazing Race, felt accomplished, and planned to become bodybuilders together one day.






About The Author: Elizabeth Kwiatkowski