‘The Challenge’: Sarah Lacina on Why She ‘Doesn’t Come Across Well’ on TV, Says Her ‘Funny Side’ Isn’t Shown
Iowa-based police officer Sarah Lacina is perceived as a boring reality TV character, despite her winning Survivor: Game Changers and The Challenge: USA. She recently addressed the edits she received, noting her hilarious side doesn’t usually make the final episodes.
Sarah Lacina on how she got cast on reality TV
Survivor champ and The Challenge: USA winner Sarah Lacina hasn’t gotten the most exciting edits throughout her near decade competing on reality TV.
The Iowa-based police officer is usually portrayed as very serious and lacking personality, making her unpopular in the reality TV competition community. Sarah acknowledged her boring edits during a February 2023 appearance on the podcast Challenge Mania.
The Game Changers winner began by detailing her casting story, explaining she applied online after watching Denise Stapley, who lives in her same town, win season 25’s Philippines in 2012.
The following day, Sarah recalled receiving a call from the casting director and noted the two hit it off, eventually leading to her joining the franchise in 2014 for Cagayan. Host and three-time Challenge champ Derrick Kosinski was surprised at how quickly the producers reached out to her after applying, and Sarah responded by claiming she didn’t understand why her personality “doesn’t come across well” on TV.
Sarah said her hilarious side isn’t shown in ‘Survivor’ or ‘The Challenge’
She claimed that most of her former castmates refer to her as “genuine” and “funny” in their exit interviews.
However, she pointed out that her hilarious side rarely makes it into the show, outside of a fashion show she did in Winners at War.
The police officer revealed she had an entertaining dance battle with co-stars Justine Ndiba and Cashay Proudfoot during The Challenge: USA that didn’t get featured in the show.
She found it more amusing than the failed romance between Cinco Holland and Cash, adding that the cameramen were “crying” with laughter but understood why it didn’t make the show. According to Sarah, she also played a strategic game and thought the producers stuck to that storyline to form a complete season.
Sarah won ‘Survivor: Game Changers’ and ‘The Challenge: USA’
The then-29-year-old Cedar Rapids, Iowa-based police officer made her reality TV debut on the 28th season of Survivor, titled Cagayan – Brawn vs. Brain vs. Beauty, as part of the Brawn tribe.
After finishing in 11th place, she returned for season 34’s Game Changers, where her impressive strategic gameplay earned her the win in a 7-3-0 vote.
Sarah’s victory made her eligible for the first season entirely featuring former champions, Winners at War. She played another great game, teamed up with Cagayan rival Tony Vlachos, but he sent her home right before the Final Tribal Council by defeating her in the final four fire-making challenge.
Two years later, she competed in the new CBS reality competition series The Challenge: USA, which she went on to win after nearly half the finalists couldn’t solve a Sudoku puzzle, causing them to quit. She will appear in the upcoming World Championship, which premieres March 8, 2023, on Paramount+.
