The top Amazing Racers

MANILA, Philippines - After covering five continents, 10 countries and more than 34,000 miles, The Amazing Race (TAR) 27 ended on a high note with dating news anchors Kelsey Gerckens and Joey Buttitta finishing first. The race (which aired on AXN) concluded in the Southhampton in New York, one of the most photographed places in the area.

Kelsey and Joey came in second in five legs and never had the chance to arrive first on the mat throughout the race. However, in the final leg, they nailed the first place finish where it mattered most importantly, beating engaged couple Justin Scheman from New York and Diana Bishop from Pennsylvania.

Kelsey and Joey perhaps reminded viewers about dating pair Jason Case and his beauty queen girlfriend Amy Diaz, who won TAR 23. The latter won only one leg and came in second in six legs. However, Jason and Amy strongly ended in first place in the final leg of the race in Juneau, Alaska.

Justin and Diana, the pair who scored seven, first place finishes in TAR 27, came in second. They had their biggest regret by not shelling out an extra $100 for their cab fare. So after completing the task at the New York Fire Department, the pair was forced to take the bus.

They earlier had an upset in the Hong Kong and Macau leg when they couldn’t find the place to get their clue. And just when they thought they were already at the Pit Stop, they even incurred a 55-minute penalty to wait it out when they took the wrong ferry.

However, Justin and Diana nonetheless made it to the final three, despite the penalty and sent home professional cheerleaders Tiffany Chantell from New York and Krista DeBono from New Jersey.

From the first leg, Justin and Diana were already strongly competitive. In Rio de Janeiro, they attempted to take the Fast Forward hang gliding challenge that would have given them the chance to skip all tasks and proceed to the Pit Stop. Unfortunately, strong winds prevented them from completing the task, so that gave them a huge setback but they still ended up in ninth place.

Dating paparazzi Logan Fazio and Chris Gordon from Florida came in third in the last leg. The constantly bickering pair still finished strongly to join the final three in the race.

TAR 27 race kicked off at the Venice Beach in Los Angeles, where the open start was witnessed by the public. Then, the participants headed to Rio de Janeiro in Brazil and later explored iconic sites like the Taj Mahal in India, the Arc de Triomphe in France and the Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe.

Other places in the racers’ itinerary were Argentina (Buenos Aires), The Netherlands (The Hague), Poland (Krakow), China (Hong Kong and Macau) and ending in Long Island, New York.

First pair eliminated were TMZ (Thirty Mile Zone) racers and co-workers Kelly Berning and Shevonne Sullivan from California, followed by cousins Alex Manard from Illinois and Adam Dingeman from Iowa and brothers and street dancers Ernest Phillip from Vermont and Jin Lao from Massachusetts.

Succeeding teams booted out were track best friends Jazmine Lewis and Danielle Littleton from California, newly-married couple Rick (OB gynecologist) and Cindy Chac (dentist) also from California, best friends Tanner Kloven and Josh Ahern from Texas, mother and son Denise Williams and James Earl Coley from Alabama.