The Amazing Race: Where Kim & Penn Holderness Rank Among Winning Teams

The most unconventional season of The Amazing Race has come to an end, and in the finale of an unprecedented race drastically altered by the pandemic, YouTube stars Kim and Penn Holderness emerged as the winners of the million-dollar prize. Season 33 originally began filming in 2020, but production was shut down due to the pandemic and didn’t resume for well over a year. After the long hiatus in filming, several teams weren’t able to return to the show, and the entire production and race schedule were retooled to to salvage the season.

Among the many changes to the season was the introduction of a private plane to transport the cast and crew between countries. The race route was also changed so that the contestants would only be traveling to European nations with low COVID transmission rates. Additionally, the fact that several Amazing Race 33 teams weren’t able to return to the show when production resumed led the producers to bring back two already-eliminated teams for a second shot at the competition.

Ultimately, the season’s victors were married couple Kim and Penn Holderness, who should be considered one of the strongest winning teams in the history of The Amazing Race. Well-known for their YouTube success, Kim and Penn ran an extraordinarily strong race. They performed exceedingly well in nearly every leg and rarely had any interpersonal conflict between them on their path to victory. Skilled communicators, they bested their strongest competitors in the final leg. Flight attendants Raquel Moore and Cayla Platt were unable to beat Kim and Penn to the mat when it came down to the wire, and best friends Ryan Ferguson and Dusty Harris couldn’t catch up after falling behind early in the leg. Kim and Penn’s knowledge of the show, combined with Kim’s studious nature, gave them the upper hand against their competitors and led them over the finish line.

Kim and Penn ran one of the most dominant races ever seen on The Amazing Race. Their overall competence and aptitude for the show is matched by only a handful of teams in Race history. Coming away with five winning legs and an average placement of 2.09, Kim and Penn put forth an incredibly strong showing in season 33 and definitely earned their win. They were never in danger of elimination along the way, and their preparedness for the season’s twists and turns, as well as their strong relationship with one another, places them comfortably in the upper echelon of winning Amazing Race teams.

In terms of their ranking among other winning teams, the only knock against Kim and Penn’s win is that the structure of The Amazing Race 33 was was far different from any other season of the show. It’s difficult to measure how Kim and Penn would fare in a traditional season with public transportation, ticket purchase haggling, and a full cast. Despite the addition of several non-elimination legs in the season, several of their competitors were eliminated in one fell swoop, so Penn and Kim had fewer teams to beat to win the race. However, it’s likely that the skill set they displayed on season 33 and the bond they share with one another would make Kim and Penn strong contenders to win any season of The Amazing Race.

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