Amazing Finish for All-Stars

Mon., May. 7, 2007 8:28 AM PDT by Gina Serpe

Chemistry trumped history on The Amazing Race: All-Stars.

After 28 days and five continents, Eric Sanchez and Danielle Turner, the only pair of contestants who had not previously teamed up on a prior edition of the globe-trotting reality show, were crowned the $1 million winners of the 11th, all-star season.

"I'm so happy to be here," Turner, a 23-year-old bartender, said after crossing the finish line. "I'm shaking. I can't believe this is real right now…I got into the best shape being in this race with Eric because he kicked my butt, the race kicked my butt."

Sanchez, a 28-year-old waiter whom Turner met and began dating after competing on opposing teams—neither of which won—for the ninth season of the series, expressed similar joy at being the first to cross the finish line in San Francisco.

"I'm so happy to be here with Danielle," he said. "From what I went through last time—coming in second, so close—I mean, to be in first is just unbelievable."

The duo beat out Dustin Seltzer and Kandice Pelletier, the "beauty queens" from season 10 who placed second, and season-6 cousins Charla Baklayan Faddoul and Mirna Hindoyan, who came in third. The latter teams were trying to become the first all-female duos to win the race.

The 12th and final leg of the 45,000 mile journey saw the pairs travel from Guam to Tokyo to Hawaii and finally to San Francisco.

All three teams were on relatively equal footing upon arriving at San Francisco's Old Mint. There, the three teams were forced to answer a series of four questions testing how well they knew each other and the rest of the 11 teams that competed in The Amazing Race: All-Stars. Only after the partners matched answers to the questions—including which team was the least trustworthy, most overrated, the most likely to keep in touch and had the best sense of humor—were the duos able to move forward.

Sanchez and Turner managed to match all the answers, giving them the edge they needed to be the first to arrive at the finish line, the city's botanical gardens, where host Phil Keoghan and the previously ousted eight teams were waiting to greet the winners.

"I definitely knew I could do anything I want to do, that's what the race taught me," Turner said.

Sanchez, meanwhile, said he saw his million-dollar relationship "progressing" as a result of their win and that he was "really proud" of his girlfriend.

However, there may be some competition on the horizon. After winning the race, both team members were allowed to phone family members—and Sanchez's first call was to his former partner, Jeremy Ryan, who promised Sanchez a "spanking" upon his return home.

CBS has already committed to another season of the series, which averaged about 10 million viewers this cycle and has won four straight Emmys for Best Reality Competition.