Episode Recap: The Amazing Race All-Stars — Sabah, Malaysian Borneo

Tonight’s leg took the teams to Sabah in Malaysian Borneo, where they faced waterfall rappelling, a challenging river Detour that required raft building and jungle blowgun hunting, and a race to the Tanjun Aru Water Village Pit Stop. Read on for a clear, polished recap of how each team fared and which all-star team was eliminated.

The leg began with Brendon and Rachel departing first and discovering their destination: Kionsom Waterfall. Teams needed to secure flight tickets—there were two flights, the earlier one offering a three-hour advantage but only six seats. On the drive to the airport, Brendon and Rachel were delayed by traffic and were overtaken by six teams. Those teams—Dave and Connor; Margie and Luke; Jet and Cord; Flight Time and Big Easy; Caroline and Jennifer; and Leo and Jamal—all reached the counter before them. Brendon and Rachel ended up on the later flight with John and Jessica and Joey and Meghan.

The first flight arrived on time, so the three teams on the later flight were clearly at a disadvantage. Still, those teams bonded and promised to help each other where possible as they headed to the waterfall. At Kionsom Waterfall they found a Roadblock requiring one team member to rappel down the falls with a Travelocity gnome and retrieve a clue. Dave completed the Roadblock first, followed soon after by Jamal. Jet and Cord and Margie and Luke arrived shortly after; Cord initially descended without grabbing the clue and had to redo the task, which reshuffled the order and left the cowboys slightly behind.

After the Roadblock, the teams traveled to Kampung Tompinahaton for a Detour that offered two options: deliver supplies by raft or pretend to hunt in the jungle with blowguns. Both options involved navigating the same river, so raft construction speed and handling the strong current were decisive. Dave and Connor chose to deliver supplies and began building their raft first, with Leo and Jamal and Margie and Luke soon joining them. Dave and Connor were the first into the water, followed by Leo and Jamal.

Jet and Cord also opted for the delivery task, managing to get ahead of Margie and Luke on the water and taking third place at that stage. Flight Time and Big Easy and Caroline and Jennifer selected the hunting option, using bamboo blowguns to knock down fake birds in the jungle while the raft teams navigated strong rapids downstream.

Complications arose as teams navigated the river. Dave and Connor mistakenly missed their delivery turn, forcing them to leave their raft and walk back upstream to the proper drop-off. Leo and Jamal avoided that error and were the first to deliver their supplies, briefly vaulting into the lead. Their honesty later stood out when they guided Jet and Cord to the correct drop-off point, a notable moment given the couple’s reputation for playing a more deceptive game in a previous season.

Jet and Cord delivered next, followed by Margie and Luke. The Globetrotters (Flight Time and Big Easy) and Caroline and Jennifer battled the rapids after choosing the hunting Detour, while Dave and Connor’s misstep ironically put them back in contention when they returned to their raft and crossed the delivery checkpoint first after walking back down.

The next clue directed teams to the Pit Stop: Tanjun Aru Water Village, a fishing village of about 3,000 people. It turned into a footrace to the mat. Dave and Connor arrived first and clinched the leg win, taking home a trip for two to Budapest, Hungary. Jet and Cord and Leo and Jamal followed closely, arriving seconds apart and filling out second and third places, respectively.

Meanwhile, the three teams that flew on the later flight—John and Jessica, Brendon and Rachel, and Joey and Meghan—were racing to catch up. At the waterfall Roadblock they all completed the rappel without issue, but Joey and Meghan had additional trouble finding a taxi to the Detour and fell further behind. John and Jessica struggled a bit with the blowgun hunting task, but they completed it and secured seventh place.

Brendon and Rachel experienced the toughest time on the river. Their raft repeatedly came apart and they were forced into several repairs, with Brendon even swimming to fetch replacement materials at one point. Despite significant frustration, they maintained composure and finished eighth. Joey and Meghan, who had been unable to find timely transport earlier and ultimately arrived last at the mat, were eliminated. Meghan acknowledged the embarrassment of an early exit but emphasized that, as returning racers, they had fun and enjoyed the experience again.

Overall, the leg combined demanding physical tasks—rappelling and river navigation—with precision in the Detour options, producing tense moments and dramatic recoveries. The three-hour flight advantage at the start reduced some suspense, but raft-building, river currents, and navigation errors still created significant shakeups among the all-star teams.

Episode Summary:

1st place: Dave and Connor (Prize: Trip for two to Budapest, Hungary)
2nd place: Jet and Cord
3rd place: Leo and Jamal
4th place: Margie and Luke
5th place: Flight Time and Big Easy
6th place: Caroline and Jennifer
7th place: John and Jessica
8th place: Brendon and Rachel
9th place: Joey and Meghan (Eliminated)

Thanks for reading this recap of The Amazing Race: All-Stars. Join us next week for another episode summary and highlights from the race.