The Amazing Race 3


The Amazing Race 3 is the third installment of the American reality television show The Amazing Race. This season featured 12 teams of two people with a pre-existing relationship in a race around the world, making it the first season to have 12 teams as opposed to the usual 11. It premiered on October 2, 2002 and ended on December 18, 2002.
Friends Flo Pesenti and Zach Behr were the winners of this Race, with Flo becoming the first female winner in the show's history.

Production

Development and filming

The third season of The Amazing Race spanned a total of across four continents and 12 countries. Unlike previous seasons, all of the twelve countries were newly visited to the show. Filming began on August 9, 2002 and finished on September 7, 2002.
During Leg 3, Dennis & Andrew won the Fast Forward, yet were eliminated on the same leg—a first in the show's history. This would not happen again until Leg 10 of The Amazing Race 20, 17 seasons later. This team received headlines before the season began due to Dennis being a conservative Southern Baptist and Andrew an openly gay cheerleader. Andrew later returned to blog on CBS.com's Return of the Racers for seasons 9, 10, and 11.
During Leg 4, Heather & Eve were the first team to arrive at the Pit Stop in Portugal, but they misread a clue that told them to walk to the Pit Stop rather than take a taxi. They proceeded to walk the rest of the way, but received a seven-minute time penalty for the advantage gained, plus an additional 30 minutes. Since all of the other teams arrived at the Pit Stop less than 37 minutes afterward, Heather and Eve became the first team ever to arrive first at a Pit Stop yet still be eliminated. Heather & Eve later stated in interviews that one of the production crew traveling with them told them it was OK to take the cab, though production has stated that this is not true, and would be irrelevant in any case because the clues are not open to subjective directions.
During Leg 5, teams were required to drive marked vehicles more than 100 miles from Portugal to the port in Algeciras, Spain. Four of the eight teams incorrectly fueled their cars using unleaded gasoline instead of diesel, causing the cars to become inoperable. The four stricken teams handled the situation very differently: Teri & Ian recovered almost immediately when Ian borrowed a siphoning line from a gas station, drained the tank, and refilled with diesel; Flo & Zach oddly found an open repair shop in the middle of the night that fixed their vehicle; Aaron & Arianne called for a tow truck and were taken to a different repair place after a very long delay; and Kathy & Michael had the car brought back to the station, left it overnight, and became the last team to get underway with a fixed car.
During Leg 6, Andre & Damon were officially detained when their taxi took them far out of the way in Morocco and they encountered a local official who wanted to seize their passports. Andre and Damon refused, and the show's security team had to come help them out of the situation.
Also during Leg 6, John Vito & Jill's car broke down. Per Race rules, a new car was provided at their request, but no time credit is ever issued for this circumstance.
Leg 10 featured Singaporean TV star Gurmit Singh, who handed the clues during the Detour. Miss Singapore Universe 2001 Jaime Teo also appeared as the local greeter in the same leg.
During the legs in Vietnam, all route markers were colored solid yellow instead of red and yellow. This was done to avoid confusion with the former South Vietnamese national flag, which is also red and yellow.
During the premiere episode of All-Stars, Ian claimed that they were less than 2 minutes behind Flo & Zach at the Finish Line.

Cast

The cast of The Amazing Race 3 was increased to 12 teams and included soccer moms, law school graduates, a Vietnam War veteran, and a pair of model twins. Jill and her brother F.T. originally applied for Season 1, but after F.T was killed on 9/11, John Vito & Jill applied in remembrance of him.
John Vito & Jill subsequently hosted a show that promoted Singapore tourism.
Zach later worked on NBC's production crew for the 2004 Summer Olympics. He later married Elyse Steinberg in Hopewell Junction, New York and is now a camera operator for MTV.
Michael & Kathy got married in Italy and are now parents.
Aaron accidentally stumbled upon one of the Pit Stops of Season 6 while backpacking in Europe.
Flo and Drew got together romantically and dated for several years after the Race ended. They declined to race in the All-Stars season because Flo thought the Race brought out the worst in her, and also because she did not want to do the Race without Zach, who was not asked to join All Stars. Flo is now Dan Abrams's girlfriend and the couple announced in January 2012 that they were expecting their first child.

Future appearances

Teri & Ian and John Vito & Jill were selected to compete in The Amazing Race: All-Stars among a cast of returning teams from seasons 1-10.

Marketing

This season had four official sponsors, Royal Caribbean International, Kodak, American Express and T-Mobile. Royal Caribbean provided prizes in vacation tours to each team that arrived first at a Pit Stop.

Awards

In 2003, this series of The Amazing Race won the inaugural Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Reality/Competition Program.

Distribution

The complete season was released on DVD on November 22, 2011, exclusively on Amazon.com via their CreateSpace program.

Results

The following teams participated in the Race, listed along with their respective placements in each leg and relationships as identified by the program. Note that this table is not necessarily reflective of all content broadcast on television, owing to the inclusion or exclusion of some data. Placements are listed in finishing order:
  1. Andre & Damon initially arrived 7th, but since they didn't follow the donkey route correctly, they were retroactively issued a 78-minute penalty and started the next leg in 9th. They then overslept an extra three minutes at the start of the next leg, while Dennis & Andrew and Teri & Ian are now departed 7th and 8th place, respectively.
  2. Heather & Eve initially arrived 1st, but they took a taxi instead of traveling on foot to the Pit Stop as the clue had specified. However, they were returned along with the last team – Aaron & Arianne – and sat together with Phil. Heather & Eve were issued a 37-minute penalty. Aaron & Arianne checked-in during their penalty time, dropping Heather & Eve to last place and resulting in their elimination.
  3. Flo & Zach and John Vito & Jill both agreed to a 4th place tie after both teams stepped on the Pit Stop mat at the same time.
  4. It is unknown whether Michael or Kathy performed the Roadblock in Leg 5. Their tally was not included.
  5. During the leg, Andre & Damon had fallen so far behind that all the other teams had already checked into the Pit Stop before Andre & Damon even arrived at the Detour. When they finally reached the Route Marker, instead of performing the Detour, Andre & Damon were instead instructed to go directly to the Pit Stop for elimination.
  6. An additional task in Leg 10 was presented to teams as a Roadblock but was aired as a miscellaneous task. This task is included in the Roadblock tally because every team was shown having a particular member performing it.
  7. Derek & Drew initially arrived 3rd, but had inadvertently skipped the Roadblock due to them not having followed a marked path from its starting point. They were forced to backtrack and perform the Roadblock. Ken & Gerard checked-in while they went back, dropping Derek & Drew to last place and resulted in their elimination.

    Episode title quotes

Titles for episodes are often taken from quotes made by the racers. The quotes are sometimes slightly changed for humorous effect.
  1. "What If Our Parachute Doesn't Open?" - Eve
  2. "This Seems Like The Path Straight To Hell!" - Arianne
  3. "You Always Just Forget About Me!" - Flo
  4. "Did You See How I Stopped It? With My Face" - John Vito
  5. "What Happens If I Slip? Am I Just Hanging Off A Cliff?" - Flo
  6. "I'm a Much Better Liar Than You Are" - Flo
  7. "I'm Supposed To Be Indebted To Her For The Rest Of The Race?!" - Derek
  8. "This Is More Important Than Your Pants Falling Down!" - Ian
  9. "Why Did You Have To Take Your Pants Off?" - Flo
  10. "Don't Try To Play The Moralist Now!" - Flo
  11. "They're Slithering To The Finish Line Like The Rest Of Us!" - Ian

    Prizes

Individual prizes were awarded to the first team to complete a leg.

Leg 1 (United States → Mexico)

Airdate: October 2, 2002
The Fast Forward required one team to travel to Plaza Santo Domingo and search for the one street typist out of dozens who would have a "special message": the Fast Forward award.
The first Detour of the Race was a choice between Wings or Wheels. In Wings, teams had to board a plane, climb to an altitude of over, and have each team member skydive in tandem with an instructor. When both team members landed, an instructor would give them their next clue. In Wheels, teams had to choose a donkey-drawn carts and use a supplied map to direct a driver, who didn't speak English, through a course through a Mexican village to receive the next clue.
;Additional tasks
Airdate: October 9, 2002
The Fast Forward required one team to travel to the Museum of Anthropology and find a group of performers called the Voladores of Papantla. Both team members then had to climb a pole and swing around the pole suspended on ropes to the ground to win the Fast Forward award.
This leg's Detour was a choice between Man Power and Horse Power. In Man Power, teams had to use a kayak to search a fairly small area of the lagoon for the clue, which was hanging from a tree. In Horse Power, teams used a WaveRunner and search a large section of the lagoon for the clue that was floating on a buoy.
For the Roadblock, one team member had to put on goggles, jump into the lagoon, and swim with a family of dolphins to search for the next clue.
;Additional tasks
Airdate: October 16, 2002
This leg's Fast Forward required one team to travel to the Duxford Imperial War Museum and maneuver a tank through a battlefield obstacle course in 90 seconds or less in order to win the award.
The Detour was a choice between Punt and Bike. In Punt, teams rowed a local boat called a punt with only a long pole and small paddle to navigate down the River Cam to receive the next clue. In Bike, teams rode a tandem bicycle along a marked course through Cambridge to receive the next clue. After either Detour, team retrieved their next clue from under Magdalene Bridge.
For this Roadblock, one team member had to compete in three traditional Scottish games. First was the caber toss, in which the player must throw a caber, make it topple, and have it land within designated lines. Second was the hammer throw, in which the player had to throw a hammer so it landed inside a box marked on the ground. Last was the shot put, requiring the player to overhand toss a heavy rock forward to the finish line. Once all the three games were finished, the teams would walk to the nearby castle to the Pit Stop.
;Additional task
Airdate: October 23, 2002
The Detour was a choice between Old School or New School. In Old School, teams loaded a barrel of Port wine weighing more than onto a traditional Portuguese boat, helped to row it across the Douro River, then delivered it to the O Muro restaurant. In New School, teams loaded nine crates of wine bottles onto a marked trucks and drove them through the streets of Porto to three different restaurants: Chez Lapin, Retiro dos Carvalhos, and Café Majestic. For both options, teams had to get signatures from each restaurant to prove that they made the deliveries correctly in order to receive their next clue.
In the unused Fast Forward, one team had to complete a puzzle.
For the Roadblock, one team member had to enter one of the soccer goals and block one penalty kick from a teenage Portuguese soccer player. Once the referee has determined that the goal was properly blocked, the team would receive their next clue.
;Additional tasks
Airdate: October 30, 2002
The Detour was a choice of Ropes or Slopes. In Ropes, teams had to take one of the shuttle buses to the Ursa cliffs and rappel down to the shore below. In Slopes, teams hiked down a long, sloping trail to the same shore below. Once teams reached the shore, they could retrieve their next clue.
For this leg's Roadblock, one team member had navigate through Dar Dbagh Chouara Tannery inside Fez's old city and search through 25 vats of foul-smelling dye in order to find their next clue.
;Additional tasks
Airdate: November 13, 2002
This Fast Forward required one team to look through piles of carpets in a Marrakech carpet shop to find the one with the Fast Forward design sewn into it to win the award.
The Detour was a choice between Now You See It and Now You Don't. In Now You See It, teams chose two horses and rode to a route marker that was visible from where they were. Once they reached it, they would dig for a clue painted on the inside of a clay pot, hidden in the marked square of sand. In Now You Don't, teams choose one sand bike and rode from a route marker that wasn't visible from where they were to a clue etched on a stone. Once there, they then made a rubbing of the clue onto a piece of paper.
For this leg's Roadblock, one team member had to team up with a local food vendor and help assemble their stall, then sell 5 bowls of escargot at a rate of MAD5 each in order for the vendor to give them their next clue.
;Additional task
Airdate: November 20, 2002
This Fast Forward required one team find a surfer riding on the curls of the Eisbach River in Munich. Once they found him, they had to attract his attention and meet up with him to claim the Fast Forward award.
The Detour was a choice between Sled and Skate. In Sled, teams, along with a team of professional bobsledders, took a bobsled down an Olympic bobsled track at speeds of in order to receive their next clue. In Skate, teams went to an Olympic ice rink and had to run a skating relay with a pair of professional ice skaters to receive their next clue.
For this Roadblock, one team member had to put on safety gear and slowly descend to the ground on a rescue cable to get their next clue.
;Additional tasks
Airdate: November 27, 2002
The Detour was a choice between Count the Money or Run the Numbers. In Count the Money, teams had to count a large amount of Swiss currency inside of a jar right next to the safe. In Run the Numbers, teams had to search the streets of Zürich as far as a mile away to find three different numbers: the number on the metal head statue on the intersection of Sihlstrasse and Bahnhofstrasse, the sum of the numbers on the north face of a clock on St. Peter's Church, and the number of trees in Lindenhof marked with red ribbons. When done correctly, they would find the combination to the safe, which would open the safe that contained the next clue.
For this Roadblock, one team member had to relive the story of Swiss hero William Tell by using a crossbow to shoot an apple off a mannequin's head to receive their next clue. An instructor would load the crossbow after every attempt.
;Additional tasks
Airdate: December 4, 2002
The Fast Forward required one team to find a cheese-making cabin near Saxeten and eat enough pieces of Swiss cheese from a massive wheel of cheese to completely reveal the Fast Forward award hidden underneath.
The Detour was a choice between Extreme Swiss and Very Swiss. In Extreme Swiss, each team member had to walk onto a narrow red bridge and take a jump, the highest bungee jump in Europe, into the gorge below to receive their next clue. In Very Swiss, teams had to drive to a farm and find a key inside a bell around the neck of a goat needed to unlock their next clue. However, only of 5 of the 75 goats had keys in them.
For this Roadblock, one team member had to properly assemble a Swiss army bicycle from a pile of parts with an identical bike to use as a reference to receive their next clue.
;Additional tasks
Airdate: December 4, 2002
The Detour was a choice between Dry and Wet. In Dry, teams drove to an apartment block in Choa Chu Kang. From there, they had to locate Unit #10-137, which contained Singaporean TV star Gurmit Singh to get their next clue. However, the elevators in the building served only 3 floors, the buildings were similar, and the streets in the town had nearly identical names, making it difficult for teams to find the exact unit. This was made worse as the apartments in the target building were separated into multiple groups. In Wet, teams drove to the Singapore Zoo and had to find "Mermaids of the Sea", which actually meant the manatee enclosure. Once at the enclosure, they had to swim through the pool to receive the next clue.
In this leg's Roadblock, one team member had to perform a local good fortune ritual by running three times around the center of the Fountain of Wealth before retrieving their next clue from the middle of the fountain. This task was presented as a miscellaneous task, but teams were shown holding Roadblock clues.
;Additional tasks
;Additional note
Airdate: December 11, 2002
The Detour was a choice between Easy Buy or Hard Sell. In Easy Buy, teams chose a boat called a sampan and rode it into the floating market of Cái Bè to find the only vendor selling water coconuts with their next clue and buy one at any price they could. In Hard Sell, teams chose a shoulder basket and carried fruit into the land market area to sell enough fruit to make 40,000₫ that they had to give to a vendor to receive their next clue.
For this Roadblock, one team member had to transport their teammate in a cyclo through a marked course down the streets of the city and onto a ferry across the Saigon River. After reaching the end of the course, both teams members could drop off their cyclo and walk to the next Pit Stop at Café Thu Thiem.
;Additional task
Airdate: December 18, 2002
The Detour for this leg was a choice between Basket Boats and Basket Bikes. In Basket Boats, each team member had to cross a stretch of river in a round basket boat using only a single paddle each to reach the clue box on a nearby island. In Basket Bikes, each team member took a bicycle laden with dozens of shrimp baskets and had to ride them to receive the next clue. This side of the Detour later appeared on Season 29 as a Switchback.
For this Roadblock, one team member had to climb onto a Vietnamese fishing platform and use a wooden winch to raise a fishing net out of the water in order to receive the clue dangling underneath.
;Additional tasks
Airdate: December 18, 2002
The final Detour of the Race was a choice between Quick Drop or Slow Walk. In Quick Drop, teams took a quick drop from the top of a waterfall on a zipline. They then had to swim to shore and follow the flags to a clue behind the waterfall, only a short distance away. In Slow Walk, teams walked down a much longer marked trail to the same clue box behind the falls.
The final Roadblock of the Race had one team member had to choose a totem pole and spin the animal faces so that they were aligned in chronological order based the order teams encountered them on the Race:
LegCountryAnimal
1MexicoDonkey
2MexicoDolphin
6MoroccoHorse
9SwitzerlandGoat
10SingaporeManatee

Once the animals were in the correct order, the mouth at the bottom of the pole opened to reveal the final clue.
;Additional tasks