‘The Challenge’: A Contestant Said She Could Feel Her ‘Bones Cracking’ During an Elimination
The Challenge: Total Madness has come to an end, but we’re still hearing about all the ins and outs of what went down on season 35. Jenny West won $500,000 from the show, and she’s spoken out about what it was like as a contestant. And it seems the show may have to address some safety concerns. She told the Challenge Mania podcast that she wasn’t even given a “proper helmet” and she could feel her “bones cracking” during one of her eliminations.
Jenny West won ‘The Challenge: Total Madness’
The Total Madness finale was brutal — and two of the strongest competitors all season long came out on top. Johnny “Bananas” Devenanzio took his seventh win and his share of the $1 million prize. But West, a relative newcomer to the game, beat Devenanzio to the top. She was also awarded $500,000 for her efforts.
“When I crossed the finish line, I think Johnny was only a couple of minutes behind me,” West told HollywoodLife. “I saw him coming up the hill and I was shouting to him, ‘It’s the end, Johnny! You won!’ I could see the surprise on his face. Kaycee came in about 25 minutes after me, so I’d gotten a really good head start.”
Devenanzio knew West was a serious contender to take the win — but he didn’t actually know how well she’d fair. While West has strength, he wasn’t sure she had the endurance necessary to complete all of the obstacles in the snow. In the end, she proved him wrong. He called her pace “blistering” to the Challenge Mania podcast, and it’s clear he’d work with her again in the future.
She talked about the feeling of her ‘bones cracking’ during ‘Hall Brawl’
West seemed to enjoy her time on The Challenge, and fans might see her again on future seasons. But she talked to the Challenge Mania podcast about her experience competing against Dee Nguyen in the “Hall Brawl” elimination — and the entire ordeal seemed gruesome.
“Hall Brawl” involves two players running down a narrow hallway at full speed — and whomever can pass the other player and ring a bell at the end of the hallway first wins.
“It’s pretty gruesome. I wouldn’t wish it on anybody. I know the fans love watching it, but I hate watching ‘Hall Brawl,'” West noted. “I don’t like the impact — it just, you can literally feel the bones cracking. And I don’t like watching them. I don’t know why the fans love them so much.”
West also raised concerns about the safety of the elimination game. “The helmets we had last time as well weren’t even proper helmets,” she shared. “It was really dangerous. I was took aback by how much the impact hit on the first one.”
West had personal training specifically for ‘Hall Brawl’
While West conquered “Hall Brawl” in Total Madness, she lost the same game in the past to contestant Tori Deal. And she wanted to make sure she was ready for it this time.
A fan on Twitter asked West if she remembered the time Deal defeated her in “Hall Brawl.” To that, West replied back, “I sure do! That’s why I went home and hired a contact sports coach for the first time in my life. Tori is a beast! She deserved that win.”
Not only that, but it seems Devenanzio helped West prepare for that specific elimination game as well. He confirmed on his Instagram Live that he knew West and Nguyen were going to duke it out in “Hall Brawl,” so he made West practice the game with him prior to the elimination.
We’re sure no one will mess with West when it comes to contact sports again after her showing in Total Madness. And we hope to see her on future seasons to possibly dominate once more!
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