Mark Crawford and Larry Graham’s elimination on The Amazing Race came down to a footrace to the finish line.
“When we drove up, we were trying to get outta the taxi, but there was a bus there and the cab driver wouldn’t allow us to get out there,” Graham, 59, exclusively told Us Weekly of his and Crawford’s elimination. “And by that time when we got out, they were running and so we fell in behind them.”
During the premiere episode, Graham and Crawford were neck and neck with two teams: dating nurses Courtney Ramsey and Jasmin Carey plus brothers Nick Fiorito and Mike Fiorito. Graham added that the time difference between the three teams was “probably less than a minute.”
“It was close,” Crawford told Us. “We could see ’em. They were there.”
Meet ‘The Amazing Race’ Season 37 Cast — And Learn the New Twists
In the episode, viewers saw Ramsey and Carey struggle to find transportation in the busy streets of Hong Kong. The women were the second to last to arrive at the Fork in the Road stop. They ultimately chose to do the dancing task, thinking they could pass other teams, including Graham and Crawford.
Graham and Crawford immediately opted for the dancing challenge rather than the singing one (which had fewer teams signed up at the time) since neither one of them was confident in their vocal abilities. The retired firefighters were also hesitant to attempt to sing in Chinese.
“If you [heard] us sing, then you would know that it really wasn’t [an option],” Crawford quipped. “There was a clear fork there, but we only had one way we were going.”
While Graham and Crawford took some extra time at the dancing challenge, they confessed the task had an extra difficult element due to the language barrier between them and their instructor.
“When we were communicating with our guy, he could dance really well. He could play the little drum beat. But we lost a little bit in interpretation,” Crawford told Us. “The dance wasn’t difficult, but we couldn’t get the steps down because it was just a slight communication issue.”
As Crawford and Graham navigated the challenge, they shared that they weren’t surprised to see Ramsey and Carey catch up to them since they were unsure of their place overall.
The Amazing Race’s Angie and Danny Reveal Their Lost Crew Never Showed Up
“You never know where people are in the race either. We had no idea where we were,” Graham explained. “Like when we got to the Fork in the Road. We were, like, number seven or something right in the middle of the pack. And I was thinking, ‘We’re like dead last.’”
Much like Ramsey and Carey, Graham and Crawford also struggled with getting a ride after letting their cab go once they got to the Fork in the Road.
“Things happen … we’re thankful just to be where we were in the race. And what you don’t realize is it’s not as many taxis,” Graham said. “Sometimes you get one, but then you have to figure out how you can communicate where you’re going.”
The Amazing Race airs on CBS on Wednesdays at 9:30 p.m. ET and is available to stream on Paramount+ the next day.
