‘The Challenge: USA’ Stars Swim for Survival in Toughest Task Yet (Exclusive)

The Challenge: USA contestants are facing their most physically intense task yet this week as seen in an exclusive sneak peek from Wednesday’s episode. The Big Brother, Survivor, Love Island and Amazing Race alumni are tasked with swimming across muddied waters to find the puzzle pieces that are waiting in tins. Considering that this is the hardest water-based challenge they’ve dealt with so far, the task presents its fair share of problems for more than one contestant. 

Thanks to the exclusive clip, fans can determine some of the pairings that the elusive algorithm put together. Sarah Lacina is paired with Leo Temory, who is having some trouble swimming out to the buoys to gather their team code. Derek Xiao and Cayla Platt seem to be working together especially well, as they appear to be one of the first teams to get to their code, which they easily memorize. As she expressed earlier in the season, Cashay Proudfoot isn’t the most avid swimmer. Luckily for her, she’s paired with Tyson Apostol, who has made his swimming prowess known to the other competitors. Cashay explains in her confessional that they already had a plan in place to make up for her lack of swimming skills, as she will be the “motor” while Tyson pulls her across the water by her life jacket. Talk about teamwork. 

While Derek and Cayla are able to get their puzzle pieces quickly, Cashay and Tyson find themselves in trouble after she opens up the wrong tin. She says in her confessional about the faulty move, “Oh my God! I opened up the wrong tin! Immediately, we have to go back to the buoy. He’s pissed. I’m pissed. I hate that I’m the weak link.” Tyson also reflects on the situation by saying, “This adds a ton of time and then is going to put us in near last place.” Will Tyson and Cashay be able to make up time and pull out the win? Or will their faux pas provide them with a straight path to the elimination round? Fans will have to tune in on Wednesday at 9 p.m. ET on CBS to find out. 

The next episode of The Challenge: USA will likely also feature some of the fallout from the previous elimination. In a shock to everyone, the winners of the daily challenge, Alyssa Lopez and Kyland Young, put their Big Brother 23 co-star Xavier Prather and his partner, Survivor alum Shan Smith, into the elimination. During a conversation with PopCulture.com, Xavier and Shan didn’t mince words as they spoke about their blindside, which ended up with them being sent home after their loss to Justine Ndiba and David Alexander.