"I was very surprised" — The Challenge star Aneesa comments on Jenny's performance in the elimination round

The Challenge season 40 aired its latest episode on Wednesday, September 5, 2024. Titled "My Trivia Era", episode 4 saw the eliminations of two contestants, Aneesa and Horacio. Both put their best foot forward, aiming to extend their stay in the competition, however, their opponents outperformed them in the final seconds and sent them packing.

Era 1 representative Aneesa went head-to-head against Era 4's Jenny in an endurance challenge. Although Aneesa ended up on the loser's side, she gave tough competition to her opponent. Considered the underdog in the challenge, the cast members were surprised by Aneesa's performance against Jenny.

In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, published on September 4, 2024, The Challenge season 40 star Aneesa revealed she was surprised by Jenny's execution. She confessed she did not expect her to struggle in an endurance challenge when she was much fitter than her.

"I didn't look at her while I was playing, so I didn't know that was happening until after. I was like, "Why are you so out of breath?" She's so fit, so I was very surprised. And you never want to see people struggle, unless you're evil, but I was fine," Aneesa said.

The Challenge cast member added that the task was exhausting and taxing as it continued for over an hour. Despite putting up a commendable fight, Aneesa was eliminated from the show with a score of 40-37.

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"I was ahead for a while" — The Challenge star Aneesha reflects on her elimination competition with Jenny

In the elimination challenge, the contestants had to reach into a basket, grab a ball, roll it down a track, and gather as many jacks as they could before it got to the end of the track. They had to catch the ball before it dropped for the jacks they had picked up to count. Having collected the jacks, the players had to race over and place them on a board. The first team to gather all 40 would clinch the winner's title.

Aneesa was ahead of Jenny and had only three jacks remaining. However, her efforts were invalidated as she missed the ball in the final seconds. It allowed Jenny the time to finish the race and win the contest, resulting in Aneesa's elimination.

Aneesa recalled what happened in the final moments of the challenge and said:

"I was ahead for a while. My last run to the ball where my hand's out, she was just throwing her last ball up. So if I would've just put [the jacks] in, that would've been it. Or if she would've missed, I would've had the chance to run it back, but yeah, it was definitely that close. Like seconds."

The cast member stated that it felt good to perform better than expected. It made her realize she needed to give herself "more credit." She explained to win the challenges one needed "an element of coordination and timing and strategy." Nobody could emerge victorious by depending solely on muscle power.

Although she lost the game in episode 4, Aneesa admitted it felt like "such a win." Her loss did not upset her because she "wasn't too invested" in the game. She thanked her friends and co-stars Tori and Jordan for supporting and "coaching" her through the challenge.

"I'm so grateful to have such amazing friends, to be recognized as an athlete by TJ after that, to be that impressive in an elimination that I thought I had no business being in, to tally surprising everybody on that stage, everyone in production, and myself. It was a win," Aneesa stated.

Looking back at the challenge, Aneesa confessed she felt "very naked in this one." It was a "me vs. me" competition since neither her brain nor her strength was fully present. She placed the challenge in her "top five feel-good ones" since it made her feel good about herself despite the loss.

Although it seemed difficult to forget the eviction, she noted she had to because she gave it her all and could not have done anything else. She was excited to see the viewers' response to her performance.

"Hopefully I silence the haters and that it shows people that at any age and size and whatever, we can be athletes, we can be strong, and we are capable of a lot more than we allow ourselves to believe," Aneesa said.

Despite being put up for elimination multiple times, she confessed she did not harbor grudges against anyone. However, she intended to remember the cast members who attempted to sabotage her game.

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The Challenge season 40 airs every Wednesday on MTV at 8 pm ET.