The Island, The Ruins, Rivals, Battle of the Exes, Free Agents, Rivals III — and now, Total Madness. Johnny Bananas is in first place once again and has lucky seven Challenge titles to his name.
The legendary competitor bested Kyle, Cory and Fessy (in that order) to nab the $500K prize on his record-setting 20th season. (Jenny beat Kaycee on the ladies side). “Oh my God” is a good way to sum it all up after being told by TJ he was victorious — following two long days of checkpoint obstacles on a treacherous cold wintry course (The Alps).
“I’ve never wanted anything and I’ve never needed anything this bad,” the longtime MTV personality reflected. “Without this one, had I not come and not seen this one through, I don’t know if I would have had what it took mentally and physically to ever make it this far again,” Johnny stated as he choked up. “Do this again.”
Johnny was already in a league of his own in the Challenge record books — and this gold medal outcome snaps a streak of six seasons without standing on top of the podium. How did this final compare to his previous Challenge appearances at the end?
“I’m not going to say that this is the hardest final I’ve ever done because I measure that from how long I have to recover from a final,” Johnny told MTV News. “Rivals, I couldn’t walk for a week. But that was a different kind of final. That was a long endurance battle of attrition. This was more a battle against the elements. What made this final so much more difficult was the road I had to trek to get to this final. The trials and the tribulations that I had to go through to make it there. And the amount of pressure that was on me — the naysayers who said I was cursed. Losing was not an option.”
And even though there is always talk about the hard earned cash, this triumph meant more.
“If I had to choose, do you want your seventh win and everything that goes along with it or half a million dollars, I would take the seventh win,” he concluded. “In a second. The money was the cherry on top.”
Offer your congrats to Johnny Bananas on his major Challenge accomplishment and do not miss Part 1 of the Total Madness reunion on Wednesday at 8/7c!
