Though Princeton University classmates and a cappella singers Connor Diemand-Yauman and Jonathan Schwartz lead the pack after their stop in Ghana on week three, by the end of the very next episode, they plummeted to the bottom and were ultimately eliminated from the competition of The Amazing Race 17. The best friends tell In Touch what went wrong in the frigid Swedish Lapland.

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IT: When did everything fall apart?
Connor:
Everything started to go wrong when the first group found the other plane tickets that got them to Sweden first. Then things got even worse with the sledding. Those two factors are what caused us to finish last.

IT: Jonathan, you had so many problems sledding. Had you ever rode a sled before?
Jonathan:
I’ve ridden a sled before, but never anything so fast! It was a comedy of errors. Everyone said the track was the fastest it had been in months. Other teams using it first made the track faster. It just didn’t work out for me. The helmet kept us safe, but I landed on my neck one time and almost broke my ankle! It was so intense. One time, I was just one second too slow!

IT: Did Connor ever get frustrated with you?
Jonathan:
He never got mad at me! After five trials, I just couldn’t do it! We were so positive. We were in an amazing place. We couldn’t complain. It was a once in a lifetime experience.

Connor: Jonathan and I didn’t fight once! We were always on great terms and communicating. I wasn’t frustrated at all in the race. During the final challenge, I was proud of him for continuing to try. He kept on doing that. He fought his hardest. I was really proud of him and proud of our performance.

IT: You skipped your college graduation to be on the show! Do you regret not going now that you’re eliminated?
Jonathan:
Not at all! It’s sad to not see your friends, but being on the Race was a celebration of our friendship. It was so amazing.

IT: Now that school is over, will you keep singing together?
Jonathan:
We have our own separate jobs in separate countries, but we’ll definitely sing together if we can!

Connor: We’ll be singing together forever.


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