'The Amazing Race' eliminates Kelly Berning and Shevonne Sullivan in premiere

The Amazing Race eliminated Kelly Berning and Shevonne Sullivan during Friday night's premiere broadcast of the CBS reality competition's 27th season.


The "Friends and TMZ Co-Workers" became the first team eliminated from the around-the-world competition after they arrived at the Race's first Pit Stop at Arpoador Lookout in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil in last place.

The debut episode of The Amazing Race's 27th season began with host Phil Keoghan meeting with the 11 teams at Venice Beach in California to begin another exciting trek around the world.

Phil explained the teams' first clue, which was to catch a cab to the beach and then compete in a waterbike race. The pair to finish the race in first place would be the only people to receive tickets on the first flight to Rio de Janeiro. The second flight featuring all of the remaining 10 teams would leave from Los Angeles International Airport 30 minutes later.

Phil also noted the winners of the first leg overall would earn the coveted Express Pass. The advantage allows a team to skip one Roadblock or Detour task right up until the end of the fifth leg.


During the waterbike race, "Best Friends and Texans" Tanner Kloven and Josh Ahern were in the lead in first place until their bike broke on the water. Although "Engaged Couple and Amazing Race super fans" Justin Scheman and Diana Bishop were trailing behind them in second place and noticed the two guys floundering, they decided not to help Tanner and Josh since they were "beefcakes."

Tanner and Josh were forced to paddle their way to the shore, enabling the last place team -- "Brothers and Breakdancers" Ernest Phillip and Jin Lao -- to pass them.

Justin and Diana ended up winning the bike race and the only two tickets on the earlier flight to Rio at 10:35AM.

Justin and Diana were followed by "Mother and Son" Denise Williams and James Corley in second place, Kelly and Shevonne in third, "Best Friends" Jazmine Lewis and Danielle Littleton in fourth, "Dating Co-Workers and News Anchors" Kelsey Gerckens and Joey Buttitta in fifth, "Married Couple in Medicine" Cindy Chac and Rick Chac in sixth, "Former NFL Cheerleaders" Tiffany Chantell and Krista Debono in seventh, "Dating Paparazzi Business Partners" Logan Fazio and Chris Gordon in eighth, "Cousins" Alex Manard and Adam Dingeman in ninth, Ernest and Jin in tenth, and finally Tanner and Josh in last place.

The second flight to Rio took off at 11:05AM. However, the first flight that seated Justin and Diana was 20 minutes delayed, while the second flight arrived in Rio five minutes early. That left Justin and Diana with basically only a five-minute jump on the other teams.


After flying 6,000 miles from North America to South America, upon landing, the teams were instructed to make their way to Lagoa Helipad and sign up for a helicopter ride.

Justin and Diana got to Lagoa Helipad in first place and learned there was an option to attempt a Fast Forward task. Only one team can complete the FF and advance directly to the Pit Stop.

The Fast Forward required a team to make their way to Clube Sao Conrado de Voo Livre for a chance to soar via hang glider. A warning was issued, however, that the adventure was weather dependant. Justin and Diana chose to take the risk and do the Fast Forward with the hope of earning the leg's Express Pass.

Cindy and Rick arrived at the helipad in second place and decided to take on the original task, which was the helicopter ride, and every team thereafter followed suit. The only catch was that the teams had to pay attention in the air because they'd be ask one question. The teams later learned they had to name the Christ the Redeemer statue.

Denise and James were the third team to step on the helipad and they were soon followed by Tanner and Josh, Jazmine and Danielle, Kelly and Shevonne, Logan and Chris, Kelsey and Joey, Alex and Adam, Ernest and Jin, and finally Tiffany and Krista.


Once Justin and Diana arrived at the location they were supposed to go hang gliding, they learned the wind was too strong and therefore the activity would be too dangerous. Justin wanted to wait it out for a little bit, but the professional insisted there would be no hang gliding for the day. Justin cried in defeat, knowing that they just went from first place to potentially last. The Super Fan hated the idea one mistake might cost them the Race after only one leg.

So Cindy and Rick accomplished the task in first place followed by Denise and James in second.

Because Justin and Diana's plans went awry, they also unfortunately ran out of money. They begged a cab driver to take them to their next destination and he politely obliged.

Meanwhile, Tiffany and Krista got lost on their way to the Detour task, so Justin and Diana had an opportunity to catch up. Tiffany and Krista arrived at the Detour in last place.

For the Detour, the teams could choose to attempt "Sand" or "Sidewalk."


"Sand" required the teams to play volleyball against local pros. They had to score six points before the pros earned 18 points in order to receive their next clue.

"Sidewalk" required the teams to put a giant geometric slide puzzle together. If they could piece together the pattern of the pavement, they'd retrieve their next clue.

Tanner and Josh opted to take on the "Sand" task since they considered themselves athletic. The teams who also selected "Sand" were Jazmine and Danielle, Kelly and Shevonne, Alex and Adam, Ernest and Jin, Logan and Chris, and Tiffany and Krista.

The teams who participated in "Sidewalk" were Cindy and Rick, Denise and James, Kelsey and Joey, and Justin and Diana.

Kelly and Shevonne found the volleyball challenge too difficult, so they decided to switch to the puzzle -- as did Tiffany and Krista as well. On the other side of the coin, Justin and Diana switched from the puzzle task to volleyball.


Kelly and Shevonne and Tiffany and Krista didn't have much better luck with "Sidewalk." Both teams began losing faith and saw their chance of continuing on in The Amazing Race slipping away.

Tanner and Josh finished the Detour task in first place. They were then followed by Jazmine and Danielle, Denise and James, Cindy and Rick, Logan and Chris, Alex and Adam, Kelsey and Joey, Ernest and Jin, Justin and Diana, Tiffany and Krista, and finally Kelly and Shevonne.

The teams' next set of clues brought them to the Pit Stop at Arpoador Lookout.

Tanner and Josh stepped on the Pit Stop mat in first place. Phil explained the Express Pass rules and added the fact they had to pass it on to another team in the sixth leg. That lucky team would have to use the Express Pass in that leg right away.

Danielle and Jazmine finished in second place followed by Cindy and Rick in third and then Denise and James in fourth place. Logan and Chris arrived at the Pit Stop in fifth place. Alex and Adam were next, and Ernest and Jin were right on their heels. Kelsey and Joey completed the first leg in eighth place, followed by Justin and Diana in ninth, Tiffany and Krista in tenth, and finally Kelly and Shevonne in eleventh -- and last -- place.

Phil announced Kelly and Shevonne's elimination, which the girls found to be embarrassing. They thought they'd at least outsmart the cheerleaders and then joked with Phil that they were just going to head to a bar and enjoy some drinks. 






About The Author: Elizabeth Kwiatkowski