The race is on again, as The Amazing Race season 36 is underway on CBS, with 13 new teams setting off on a global adventure in pursuit of $1 million. But just who are these teams of two taking on the challenge as part of The Amazing Race season 36 cast?
Before we take a look at the teams, returning to The Amazing Race to oversee things is host Phil Keoghan. He has been with the show since the very beginning, winning 10 Primetime Emmys for Outstanding Reality-Competition Program as one of the show's producers.
As for the new contestants, among the group are a former NFL player and his wife, a pair of firefighter moms, military pilots and twin brothers. You'll get to know more about all of the teams in 90-minute episodes of The Amazing Race each week, but get the basics of each team directly below. Also, check back each week as we update the standings and who has been eliminated, as there are not going to be legs where a team is not sent home.
Check out who won The Amazing Race season 36 and the complete final standings directly below:
Winners: Ricky Rotandi and Cesar Aldrete
As they have for most the season, Ricky and Cesar were the first to cross the finish line on The Amazing Race season 36 and win the $1 million grand prize.
Eliminated
2. Juan Villa and Shane Bilek
Despite heading to New Jersey instead of Philadelphia putting them at a disadvantage, Juan and Shane were able to make up some ground as they raced toward the finish, but not enough to catch Ricky and Cesar as the military buddies finished in second place.
3. Rod and Leticia Gardner
Former NFL player and his wife started the final legs in second place, but the puzzles tripped them up on the final Detours and Road Blocks, allowing for Juan and Shane to pass them. However, they end with a very respectable third place finish.
4. Amber Craven and Vinny Cagungun
Amber and Vinny were not able to make it back to the US to compete in the final leg of the race, finishing in fourth place (last for the penultimate leg) in the Dominican Republic.
5. Yvonne Chavez and Melissa Main
As the race headed to the Dominican Republic, Yvonne and Melissa were in fourth place. What would see them slide into fifth place is a Roadblock that called for a team member to spot 10 symbols in a canyon and pair them with 10 matching rocks. Unfortunately, Melissa had a hard time matching the 10, despite even assistance from Cesar. When she finally gets it right, she and Yvonne are so far behind the other competitors and aren't able to make up the time difference when faced with the other Roadblocks. They finish the leg in last place.
6. Danny and Angie Butler
After starting the Barbardos leg in second place, mother/son duo Angie and Danny were apparently too fast for their own good. They got ahead and lost the camera crew assigned to them, which according to the rules means they have to stop so they can catch up. Unfortunately, that dropped them to fifth and the remaining challenges ultimately saw them finish the leg in last place and surprisingly be eliminated.
7. Sunny Pulver and Bizzy Smith
Firefighter friends Sunny and Elizabeth started in last place and had a hard time navigating in Montevideo, Uruguay, not allowing them to make up any ground and ultimately being eliminated in seventh place.
8. Derek and Shelisa Williams
Retired police officers Derek and Shelisa started their episode in last place and couldn't catch a break to got out of it, as they were eliminated in the Argentina leg of the competition.
9. Kishori Turner and Karishma Cordero
Cousins Kishori Turner and Karishma Cordero ran into some problems driving a stick shift car, which put that behind the other teams that in the end was just to big a gap to overcome.
10. Michelle and Sean Clark
Michelle and Sean found themselves in last entering The Amazing Race episode 4, and unfortunately they could not improve on their standings as they raced through Colombia, officially being eliminated in this stage.
11. Anthony and Bailey Smith
The twins Anthony & Bailey were eliminated on the third leg of the race. While they started toward the back of the pack, where they truly did themselves no favor was in their first Detour task, going back and forth a couple of times on which one to try and complete. While they almost caught up with some of the other teams, the gap they created for themselves was too much to overcome and they were eliminated in 11th place.
12. Chris Foster and Mary Cardona-Foster
The father-daughter team of Chris and Mary unfortunately couldn't make it past the first stop of The Amazing Race season 36, losing in the second half of the opening megaleg.
13. Maya and Rohan Mody
Despite being the youngest competitors on The Amazing Race season 36, Maya and Rohan Mody are the first to be eliminated. They quickly got lost on their way to challenges and were never able to fully recover the time they lost.
New episodes of The Amazing Race season 36 air Wednesdays at 9:30 pm ET/PT on CBS. Previous episodes are available to watch on Paramount Plus.
