Biggest Loser: Olympic style

After two weeks of not seeing any or all of the Biggest Loser, I made sure to stake my claim in the family room with plenty of time before the show started.

And start it did -- with a big announcement -- that the contestants would be going to the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado. Of course the fact that NBC is the television home of the 2010 Winter Olympics probably had a lot to with that.

Once on the ground at the Training Center, the really big announcement was made -- that the teams would be separated, the contestants would be playing as individuals, and two people would be going home. One would fall below the red line and go home immediately. Two others would fall below the yellow line and a vote would determine which of the two would leave the ranch.

To kick off the week, they lit the torch at the Training Center, with each contestant having an opportunity to carry it for part of the trek. The contestants were moved and feeling very patriotic. I couldn't get there. I kept feeling like it was all for show, too orchestrated. But I know if I'd been there, part of that, I would be teary-eyed and heart-swelled, too.

Ok, the autographed USA pillowcases got me. That was cool.

Oh my gosh...EVERY week with the Extra Sugar Free Gum. Enough already! Although, I'll admit to keeping some in my drawer at work for after lunch when I feel the need for something sweet.

The contestants were introduced to two Olympic athletes who set up obstacle courses for them to go through. The ladies were paired with gold medal skier Julia Someone and the men with Olympic aerialist Speedy Petersen.

Koli from the gray team was struggling with whether or not he deserved to still be on the ranch. He kept telling himself that John, who was voted off last week, should be there instead. Bob, of course, slid in with a pep talk and set him straight.

J.R. Celski, short track speed skating athlete set up the Pop Challenge. He told the story of how he sliced his leg open with his skates on the last day of the Olympic trials. He said, "No matter what situation you are in, you gotta get back up."

Considering that I've been a bit (ok, a lot) cardio challenged this week, those were words I really needed to hear.

Pop Challenge was a slide board challenge. Each contestant had to slide side to side for 500 touches. My 10 year old has declared that he wants a slide board for his birthday. Sure, I'll just ring up the Olympic Training Center and see if they have an extra one lying around.

Turns out the slide board is not as easy as it looks and in the beginning several people fell repeatedly. In the end, Sam won the "gold" prize; Melissa the "silver" prize; and Sunshine (aptly of the yellow team) took the bronze. In addition to Olympic-style medals, the winners each won something else, though what that was wouldn't be revealed until later.

After the Pop Challenge, the contestants went to Garden of the Gods (beautiful!) for another challenge -- the Biggest Loser biathalon. Run around the field, take a shot with a laser gun at another contestant's target. They get 5 hits and they are out. Before the biathalon got underway, the rewards for winning the Pop Challenge were revealed.

Sunshine, the bronze winner, got to choose one person's target to shoot at before the competition began. Melissa got to choose two and Sam got to choose three. They basically ended up negating themselves by dividing up the shots among the three of themselves instead of choosing another challenger.

One the challenge was underway, everyone lined up against Lance, most likely because they knew he is a hunter and a very good shot. What was interesting was that the final three were probably three of the most out of shape, O'Neal, Darryl and Ashley. It ended up in a literal shoot-out between O'Neal (yellow) and Darryl (black). I was pulling for O'Neal because he and Sunshine just got back to the ranch -- and he did it, just in the nick of time!

Then it was back to California. First stop, 24 Hour Fitness (nice plug) for a bootcamp class, which it turns out was just a precursor to the real last chance workout.

Weigh in

O'Neal (immunity) - PW: 333 CW: 325 = -8 (2.40%)
Michael - PW: 443 CW: 432 = -11 (2.48%)
Stephanie - PW: 225 CW: 221 = -4 (1.78%)
Sunshine - PW: 245 CW: 239 = -6 (2.45%)
Koli - PW: 335 CW: 326 = -9 (2.69%)
Andrea - PW: 262 CW: 255 = -7 (2.47%)
Darrell - PW: 343 CW: 338 = -5 (1.46%)
Sam - PW: 310 CW: 298 = -12 (3.87%)
Sherry - PW: 180 CW: 177 = -3 (1.67%)
Ashley - PW: 317 CW: 311 = -6 (1.89%)
Daris - PW: 283 CW: 274 = -9 (3.18%)
Cheryl - PW: 194 CW: 191 = -3 (1.55%)
Miggy - PW: 206 CW: 199 = -7 (3.40%)
Lance - PW: 314 CW: 305 = -9 (2.87%)
Melissa - PW: 198 CW: 199 = +1 -- AUTOMATIC ELIMINATION

I can't figure Melissa out. Is her body really that unpredictable? Could this be game play? An attempt to secure the $100,000 at-home prize? Or did she just miss her kids enough that she wanted to go home to see them? I have to believe that this was just the rotten luck of the scale. I have a feeling that she's going to be looking amazing at the weigh in. During the Biggest Loser transformation moment, they showed that she's down to 175 pounds.

But there is still an elimination to be done. But there won't be any voting, Allison springs on them. Instead, it's a head to head challenge and the loser will go home. The challenge has each competitor in a squat, holding an Olympic torch on his/her head. Cheryl looked cool where as Darrell really appeared to be struggling because his knees were hurting.

And the winner is...AAAACCCCKK! To be continued! That was really annoying and sneaky! It's not just one week we have to wait -- it's TWO thanks to the Olympic games (which I didn't realize until Michelle at Bargains Rock reminded me.)

So who do you think will win the challenge and get to stay on the ranch? And what's your take on Melissa?