Race to Survive: New Zealand episode 3 ends with a self-elimination, here's who went home

Update: July 18, 2024 - A previous version of this article wasn't accurate in its ranking of the teams. The information has been updated accordingly.

Race to Survive: New Zealand episode 3, "Grit Trumps Calories," picks up with the eight remaining teams at survival camp. For two teams--Steffen & Mikhail and Nik & Kennedy--the decision to skip both the food caches in the first leg of the race had dire consequences. They were starving and doing what they could to stave off hunger.

By the time the second leg began, they were nine days into the competition, food was imperative for the teams that had gone that long without sustenance. But, while one pair made it to the first food cache of the second race and managed to get ahead of a couple of teams in the process, the other didn't fair well at all. Who tapped out? Here's what we know about the eliminated team and where the remaining teams rank going into episode 4.

Who went home in Race to Survive: New Zealand episode 3?

Steffen Jean-Pierre and Mikhail Martin

It was always going to be a fight for Steffen and Mikhail in the second leg of the race because it'd been days since they'd last eaten. In order to continue on in the competition, they needed to not come in last. As long as they were able to beat at least one team, they still had a chance to win. However, they didn't get the opportunity to fight for a position. As they were making their way down to the food cache checkpoint, Mikhail slipped and injured his knee.

He limped to the checkpoint but, considering how much further they had to travel, Mikhail made the difficult decision to tell Steffen that he wouldn't be able to carry on with the race. The pair self-eliminated and were flown out of the area. But, their departure doesn't mean there won't be another elimination at the end of this leg.

Team rankings

1st place - Oliver Dev and Spencer "Corry" Jones

I'm really rooting for Oliver and Corry. The two friends have maintained their lead so far in the competition. Briefly, at the beginning of the second race, Bronsen and Ryan had taken the lead but they fell behind when Bronsen needed a moment since he'd started getting dizzy during an uphill climb. From there, the river guides kept the pace they've been going at which has served them well as has their strategy to stop for each food cache available. However, with Ethan and Tyrie on their heels, it's possible that they could be at risk of losing the lead.

2nd place - Ethan Greenberg and Tyrie Mann Merrill

Like Oliver and Corry, Ethan and Tyrie have kept a steady pace during the competition. They, too, have been stopping for food caches and have a strategy of making sure to store up in the earlier parts of the race. But they do want to come in first, giving them first pick of whatever is in the end crate for the second leg. Given how close behind they are to Oliver and Corry, there's a chance for them to overtake the river guides in the race to the second food cache.

3rd place - Ryan Stewart and Bronsen Iverson

Ryan and Bronsen slipped to third place during the second race due to Bronsen's initial struggle with the dramatic temperature change. They'd gone from freezing temps because of the pouring rain at survival camp to over 80 degrees under the hot sun while going uphill. Ryan also took a tumble when they were in the marshland, hitting his knee in the process. But, thankfully, unlike with Mikhail's injury, it wasn't a game ending fall. The pair rested and then got back to it, still managing to keep their Top 3 position.

4th place - Coree Woltering and Daniel "Jeff" Watterson

Coree and Jeff shifted up in the rankings thanks to their ability to navigate Zone 3. An integral part to this leg of the race was being able to discern where to descend in the red canyon to get to the mandatory check point. There'd been a warning that if the right path wasn't taken, it could force teams to have to double back and, in doing so, put them at risk of falling majorly behind in the competition. Two teams fell sharply in the rankings because of an error in this portion of the race.

5th place - Paulina Pena and Creighton Baird

Paulina and Creighton were nearly second to last thanks to Creighton leading them past the mandatory checkpoint. The mistake could have cost them dearly as there's no guarantee that a team won't be eliminated simply because Steffen and Mikhail dropped out of the race. The managed to get ahead of Nik and Kennedy to put themselves in a better position.

6th place - Nikola "Nik" Milutinovic and Kennedy Taylor

Going from 7th place to 6th place was quite the feat for Nik and Kennedy considering they'd gone 10 days without food. But they pushed hard and were able to successfully navigate down to the checkpoint while two other teams had shot right past it. Since they decided to go down to get the food cache, they were fortified with the energy they needed to keep pushing forward. Episode 3 was also named after what was said about them, "Grit Trumps Calories," because they didn't give up. Had Paulina and Creighton not surpassed them in the closing minutes of the episode, they would have secured their highest position since the start of the competition.

Last place - Rhandi Ohrme and Ashley Paulson

Rhandi and Ashley took a gamble and it didn't pay off. Since they don't consider themselves to be great navigators, they decided to trail behind teams they thought would lead them to where they needed to go. At first, they followed Coree and Jeff but the two men shook their tail. Then, they struck up a rapport with Creighton and Paulina but, what they didn't realize, was that Creighton was not going in the right direction. Because of his navigational mistake, they fell in the rankings as well, and with Steffen and Mikhail self-eliminating, it's now put the two friends in last place, and possibly in danger of being eliminated themselves.