'The Amazing Race' eliminates Racers Rowan Joseph and Shane Partlow

The Amazing Race eliminated Rowan Joseph and Shane Partlow during Sunday night's second broadcast of the CBS reality competition's 23rd season.


The "Theater Performers" became the second team eliminated from the around-the-world competition after they arrived at the Race's second Pit Stop at the Cascada De Las Animas, a natural paradise in the Andes mountains in Santiago, Chile in last place.

"We took a chance and it's like I always said, 'You can't have great success without great failure," Shane said following his team's ouster.

"I think after 27 years, I finally learned to appreciate Shane more. I always appreciated our friendship, but I appreciate him even more," Rowan added.

The second episode of The Amazing Race's 23rd edition began with the Race's 10 remaining teams leaving the first Pit Stop at the Teatro Municipal De Iquique in Iquique, Chile.


"Exes" Timothy Sweeney and Marie "Reebs" Mazzocchi departed the first Pit Stop in first place at 2:52AM. Following Timothy and Marie were "Married ER Doctors" Nicole Jasper and Travis Jasper at 3:02AM, Rowan and Shane at 3:03AM, "Former NFL Teammates" Chester Pitts II and Ephraim Salaam at 3:13AM, "Baseball Wives" Nicole "Nicky" Getz and Kim DeJesus at 3:14AM, and "LA Kings Ice Crew Girls" Allison "Ally" Mello and Ashley Covert at 3:20AM.

Following Ally and Ashley were "Cousins" Leo Temory and Jamal Zadran at 4:00AM, "Dating Couple" Jason Case and Amy Diaz at 5:17AM, "Best Friends" Tim Wiyninger and Daniel "Danny" Merkey at 5:28AM and finally "Childhood Friends and Beard Lovers" Brandon Squyres and Adam Switzer at 5:34AM.

The teams' first set of clues instructed them to make their way to the deck of the Museo Corbeta Esmeralda where an officer would hand them their next clue.

The ship did not open for tourism until 7:15AM, so all the teams eventually gathered and had to wait for the leg to begin. Once the museum opened, everyone was given a puzzle to solve. They had to figure out the phrase, "Charge the ship, men," in Spanish and recite it.

Brandon and Adam figured out the phrase first and Ally and Ashley followed closely behind them in second place. The order of which all the other teams discovered the correct Spanish phrase was not shown.


The teams then learned they must make their way to the Irlanda Salt Mines and find Irlanda 3 roadside.

Brandon and Adam were the first team to arrive and receive the Race's first Detour clue. They were soon followed by Ally and Ashley, Leo and Jamal, Nicole and Travis, Chester and Ephraim, Jason and Amy, Timothy and Marie, Nicky and Kim, Tim and Danny, and finally Rowan and Shane, who seemingly got lost on the way. 

For the Detour, the teams had to ride bikes to the salt mine and choose one of two possible tasks: "Mining" or "Brining."

"Brining" required the Racers to add enough salt to a pool of wood until they could both comfortably float and read the local newspaper.

Jason and Amy, Nicole and Travis, Timothy and Marie, Nicky and Kim, and Tim and Danny opted to take on the "Brining" task.


"Mining" required the Racers to break open boulders of salt until they found one with a clue inside.

Brandon and Adam, Ally and Ashley, Leo and Jamal, Chester and Ephraim, and Rowan and Shane chose to do the "Mining" task.

However, after attempting the mining task for a little while, Ally and Ashley decided to switch tasks to the less-physical one.

Brandon and Adam were the first team to complete the Detour task. They were then followed by Leo and Jamal, Chester and Ephraim, Jason and Amy, Nicole and Travis, Timothy and Marie, Ally and Ashley, Tim and Danny, Rowan and Shane, and finally Nicky and Kim.

The teams' next set of clues instructed them to travel back to Iquique and then take a 1,000-mile, 24-hour bus ride to the capital of Chile, which is Santiago. Once there, they must make their way to Plaza de Armas, where they'd find their next clue.


Jason and Amy, Nicole and Travis, Brandon and Adam, Chester and Ephraim, and Leo and Jamal all got on the first bus leaving at 1:30PM to Santiago. A second bus departed a half-hour later at 2PM. Timothy and Marie, Ally and Ashley, Tim and Danny, and Nicky and Kim got on the second bus, which was scheduled to arrive in Santiago at 6PM.

Rowan and Shane were originally going to get on the second bus, but the people at the ticket counter mentioned a 4PM bus into Santiago. Rowan and Shane misunderstood what was said, as they thought a bus arrived in Santiago at 4PM, which would be two hours earlier than the second bus.

However, the guys soon learned -- after they had already missed the second bus -- that the third bus they had to wait for departed Iquique at 4PM and didn't arrive in Santiago until 10PM. They assumed right then and there they were finished in the Race.

But Rowan and Shane discovered an alternative and better option. They booked tickets for a bus that would leave in about an hour from that point and arrive in Santiago about 7-8PM.

The first and earliest bus arrived in Santiago at 1:49PM the next day.


Jason and Amy were the first team to arrive at the next clue, which required one member from each team to complete a Roadblock task, and they were soon followed by Chester and Ephraim, Brandon and Adam, Leo and Jamal, and Nicole and Travis.

For the Roadblock, the Racers had to play the role of a shoeshiner. They had to find a marked shoeshine stand to polish the shoes of a waiting customer and then figure out the puzzle of how to put together a complicated stand. Afterward, they had to push the stand -- holding all their belongings from the shoeshining task -- six blocks to a storage area, where they'd receive their next clue.

Amy, Chester, Adam, Leo, and Nicole all opted to try the Roadblock on behalf of their teams.

Chester and Ephraim ended up finishing the Roadblock task before any of the other teams. They were then followed by Leo and Jamal, Brandon and Adam, Nicole and Travis, and Jason and Amy.

The teams then had to make their way to the Cascada De Las Animas, which would serve as the Race's second Pit Stop.

Leo and Jamal were the first team to arrive at the Pit Stop location and meet up with The Amazing Race host Phil Keoghan. However, Phil told them they could not officially check-in until they settled their cab bill and paid their driver.


Chester and Ephraim then made it to the Pit Stop mat and were able to claim first place since Leo and Jamal had yet to return from their cab. For coming in first place, Chester and Ephraim won a trip for two to Turks and Caicos.

As a result, Leo and Jamal finished the leg in second place. They were then followed by Brandon and Adam in third, Nicole and Travis in fourth, and Jason and Amy in fifth place.

While on the second bus, Nicky and Kim learned Timothy had once played baseball with Kim's husband David DeJesus in the minors. At that moment, the teams formed an alliance and Marie suggested giving the girls their extra Express Pass, which they had won -- in addition to an Express Pass of their own -- for finishing the first leg in first place.

Marie said she'd give the Express Pass to them as long as another team didn't save their lives, which she admitted probably wouldn't happen because all the other teams seemed to hate them. Timothy and Marie thought they could trust Kim and Nicky but also beat them.

The second bus then arrived at 6:44PM in Santiago. Tim and Danny subsequently arrived at the Roadblock clue in sixth place, and they were then followed by Timothy and Marie, Nicky and Kim, and finally Ally and Ashley. Rowan and Shane's bus arrived shortly afterwards at 7:03PM. The short time gap allowed Rowan and Shane to catch up to the rest of the teams.

Marie, Ashley, Nicky, Danny, and Rowan all decided to do the Roadblock task instead of their partners.


Ally and Ashley finished the task before the other teams still there. Tim and Danny did the job next, and they were soon followed by Timothy and Marie.

Nicky and Kim then thought they had completed the task, but Nicky forgot the rug she used and had to go back for it. Marie, who was still there, refused to give Nicky her Express Pass in that moment. Marie didn't see how she and Timothy would benefit from giving up their Express Pass based on the circumstances. Once back at the location where she shined someone's shoes, Nicky couldn't find the rug.

Meanwhile, Rowan misunderstood the clue and walked up to a local shoeshiner who wasn't part the Roadblock and didn't speak English. Despite the language barrier, Rowan managed to convince the shoeshiner to let him finish shining the shoes of his customer and then pack up his equipment and transport it to the storage area (with the shoeshiner also in tow). Once there, Rowan finally realized he had done the Roadblock wrong and needed to go back to the very beginning, locate a marked shoeshine stand, and re-do the task.

Tim and Danny then arrived at the Pit Stop mat in sixth place. Following them were Ally and Ashley in seventh place, Timothy and Marie in eighth, and Nicky and Kim -- who had completed the Roadblock task before Rowan and Shane -- in ninth place.

Phil then greeted Rowan and Shane, who had finished the leg in tenth -- and last -- place, and the guys were eliminated.






About The Author: Elizabeth Kwiatkowski