Rod Gardner was in 'Superman mode' tonight on Amazing Race episode 9 in Dominican Republic; Results for former NFL player, wife Leticia
Warning: Spoilers ahead from Episode 9 of CBS' "The Amazing Race" season 36 that aired on Wednesday, May 8.
In football terms, this was the NFC Championship game for Rod Gardner and his wife, Leticia, during episode 9 of "The Amazing Race."
It was the final episode before the season finale of season 36 and the former Green Bay Packers wide receiver and Leticia wanted to be playing in next week's "Super Bowl" as Rod puts it.
After Rod and Leticia finished second place during tonight's leg in the Dominican Republic, they are one of the final four teams left and are getting closer to that "Lombardi Trophy" aka the $1 million prize. There will be two legs in next week's finale — one more in the Dominican Republic and the 11th and final leg back in the United States.
The Gardners appear to be peaking at the right time.
"We've done exactly what we came to do," Rod said at the end of tonight's episode as each of the final four teams told the audience in a confessional why they'll win. "You can’t stop us. There will only be one winner and it will be us."
Rod and Leticia come in second place behind Ricky Rotandi and Cesar Aldrete during episode 9 of Amazing Race
If they are to win, they'll have to find a way to overcome the dominating duo of boyfriends Ricky Rotandi and Cesar Aldrete.
The Gardners won the first two legs to begin the season, but Rotandi and Aldrete have been unstoppable since. They have won six of the last seven legs, including the last three, and are the favorite heading into the season finale. Rotandi and Aldrete have finished first or second every leg this season.
But Rod and Leticia aren't backing down. And they'll look to end the race just like how they started it: in first place.
Their mindset was clear heading into tonight's leg.
"I feel like we’re one of the best teams," Rod said before departing for the leg. "This is the road to the Super Bowl. We’re not going home without the prize."
They almost came short of that goal last week when they finished as the second-to-last team to check in to just avoid elimination.
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Rod Gardner was in 'Superman mode' during tonight's episode of Amazing Race
Tonight, they rebounded with their usual confidence and efficiency while utilizing their strengths.
The first competition took place at the 27 Charcos de la Damajagua, where players had to work their way through waterfalls while finding and memorizing 10 Taíno petroglyph symbols located in nature. When they returned to a spot on the ground, they had to arrange a group of stones with the symbols on them in chronological order.
It was an exhausting challenge for players to kick off a leg that featured two Roadblocks. Rod finished the challenge in third place, ahead of the two other teams that he and Leticia left with to begin the leg. That was just a warmup for him on this leg.
At the next task teams had to harvest cacao pods, remove the seeds, and spread them out across a tarp before moving on. Rod and Leticia were the stars. Teams were given a tool to get the cacao pods down from the trees, but Rod didn't need it. His 6-foot-2 height was more than enough while Leticia was effective in her role.
"Being tall helps sometimes," Rod said to the camera as they went from tree to tree with ease. "I was in Superman mode. I started jumping up, grabbing them off the tree. I was picking up things as fast I could.
"I knew today we had to make up time."
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Leticia, who was also key in her team's success by starting to open the pods even before they returned to the tarp, added: "For sure this is a situation where raw stature is helpful."
While the Gardners were effective, other teams struggled finding and retrieving the cacao pods. Rod and Leticia were so good that they left the task in second place. Besides receiving the clue to the second Roadblock of the leg, teams received a piece of chocolate as a reward. Cacao pods, of course, turn into cocoa and that gets turned into chocolate.
Naturally, Rod was fired up heading to the final Roadblock of the leg.
"That's why you put in the grind," Rod said to the camera from the car.
Rod, a former first-round draft pick, played six seasons in the NFL from 2001-06. He had a 1,000-yard campaign in his second year with Washington in 2002.
How was he at baseball?
Well, we saw that despite saying that he threw 93 mph in high school he may want to stick to the gridiron. His baseball skills would come into focus at the Roadblock.
Bartolo Colón on Amazing Race: Former MLB pitcher gave teams clue during leg at his baseball stadium Estadio Bartolo Colón in Dominican Republic
At the Roadblock one player had to go through a series of three baseball drills at a facility that former MLB pitcher Bartolo Colón funded. There's a statue of Colón outside the stadium.
Colon, a native of the Dominican Republic, spent 22 years in the MLB, where he became a four-time All-Star and won the prestigious 2005 Cy Young Award. Colon was even at the field for the show and gave teams their next clue when they finished the task.
Players had to field a grounder and throw to first base, catch a fly ball in the outfield and then hit a bottle cap with a broomstick 25 feet.
Rod had difficulty throwing to first base in the first drill and then kept swinging and missing in the batting part of the challenge.
After more than a dozen attempts with his hitting he finally succeeded.
What happened, Rod?
"I think I’ve been out of the game for too long," the always-confident Rod said, before admitting that Leticia should have stepped up to the plate in the challenge.
Leticia joked with him that while his strength helped him in the previous task he needed to be more "graceful" in this one.
The Gardners were now in a battle with best friends Juan Villa and Shane Bilek for second place. It was a foot race to the Anfiteatro de Puerto Plata, an outdoor amphitheater. Rod and Leticia legged it out for their best finish since their Week 2 first place.
Rod was so proud of his wife.
"She did not stop," Rod said about Leticia running to the pit stop and beating out the Army pilots. "So proud of her."
Who went home on Amazing Race tonight?
Girlfriends Yvonne Chavez, 40, and Melissa Main, 38, were eliminated after being the last team to check in to Keoghan at the amphitheater.
Chavez and Main, who started in the second grouping with the Gardners and dating couple Amber Craven and Vinny Cagungun, couldn't catch up after falling behind in the first Roadblock.
Later, they took too long at the cacao pods challenge and by the time they got to the baseball Roadblock the other teams had already finished it.
Amazing Race episode 9 in photos
Amazing Race in the Dominican Republic
"The Amazing Race" took teams to the Dominican Republic for the first time in the show's 23-year history.
Here were some site shots of the Dominican Republic as Keoghan provides facts about the Caribbean country, including how it is the world's largest producer of organic cacao, baseball is the national sport and is home to the tallest mountain (Duarte Peak) in the West Indies.
Amazing Race teams 2024, season 36 cast, order of finish after ninth leg in the Dominican Republic
Ricky Rotandi and Cesar Aldrete (dating) - First place (have won six of the nine legs this season, including the last three)
Rod and Leticia Gardner (married; Rod is a former NFL wide receiver who played for the Green Bay Packers late in the 2005 season) - Second place, up three spots
Juan Villa and Shane Bilek (best friends) - Third place, down one spot
Amber Craven and Vinny Cagungun (dating) - Fourth place, down one spot
Amazing Race teams eliminated
Yvonne Chavez and Melissa Main (dating) - Eliminated in ninth episode
Angie and Danny Butler (mother, son) - Eliminated in eighth episode
Sunny Pulver and Bizzy Smith (best friends/firefighters from Wisconsin) - Eliminated in seventh episode
Shelisa and Derek Williams (Married couple from California. Shelisa is a Milwaukee native who graduated from Milwaukee Custer High School) - Eliminated in sixth episode
Kishori Turner and Karishma Cordero (cousins) - Eliminated in fifth episode
Michelle and Sean Clark (married) - Eliminated in fourth episode
Anthony and Bailey Smith (twin brothers) - Eliminated in third episode
Chris Foster and Mary Cardona-Foster (father-daughter) - Eliminated in second episode
Rohan and Maya Mody (brother, sister) - Eliminated in first episode
What happened in the last episode of Amazing Race? Who was eliminated on Amazing Race episode 8?
Teams not only battled each other but they had to battle torrential rains in Barbados during the eighth leg of the race.
In the end, mother and son duo Angie and Danny Butler went home. They were in the front of the pack early on after starting the leg in second place, but while driving to the Detour toward the end of the leg they got separated from their crew in another vehicle.
As a result, they had to wait until another crew arrived at the location of that challenge. That was costly minutes as other teams passed them.
Many fans on social media haven't been happy about that ruling and feel the fan favorites were robbed.
What time is Amazing Race on tonight?
The ninth episode of "The Amazing Race," titled "My Precious Cacao," starts at 8:30 p.m. Central time on Wednesday, May 8.
The 90-minute episode follows "Survivor."
What channel is Amazing Race on?: TV, streaming
"The Amazing Race" is on CBS.
"The Amazing Race" streams on the CBS app and Paramount Plus. Fubo offers a free trial.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Amazing Race episode 9 recap: NFL player Rod Gardner, Leticia results