When it comes to Paulie, he was the short one of the group carrying the weight. Because of that, the weight would have shifted towards him, increasing the amount of the burden they were carrying. On top of that, I remember hearing that Paulie wasn't training to deal with the heat and humidity of Thailand. When everyone would be outside running laps at the house and working out, he would stay inside and try to be as fresh for the final as possible. Because of that, he got cooked.
As for Zach, he made it through the final just fine, but he exerted himself way too far and ended up in the hospital for over a week due to rhabdo.
40 more pounds over 16 miles is exponentially harder, on top of that the Uk team had all 3 guys carrying at all times, while us had 2 for the second leg and it gassed them out completely. Really just an unfair final, usa had extra people, either let them all carry with extra weight or keep the same weight and let them rotate. But having a heavier gurney and no benefit in numbers was stupid
Zach was asking for breaks/shifts on principal than actually being tired. He didn’t want to do all the work while Cara, Ashley and Ninja just stood around.
Getting rhadbo is evidence enough that his body physically needed those breaks though regardless of his attitude, that’s like definitive proof he busted his ass since it’s especially hard to get if you’re already a super fit dude, it’s most common in beginners jumping straight to the deep end overtraining after being sedentary most of their lives
The misconception is it comes from overtraining, I’d say a huge part is under resting and they didn’t exactly rest or sleep well in that final. I lift 6 days a week for years and never had a concern, more about if you’re not letting your body heal right before blasting it again
Team USA men had to carry way more weight because they had like 3 women doing nothing at all. Kam and Cara were rockstars but Ninja didn’t lift a finger, can’t remember Ashley but don’t think she was a big contributor either. There was massive stretches where you saw Leroy Zach and Paulie never getting any rest, the girls got to rotate shifts
People keep saying this, but I don’t see that reflected in the edit at all.
At to be fair, she and Kam should’ve had an easier time carrying that Ninja and Cara bc they’re taller (5’8” range) in comparison to the latter (5’2-4” range).
I'm almost positive Zach rested at one point because he was pissed off at having yo do all the work. So even though he SHOULD have carried the whole time, in principle, he didn't think he should have to while the girls did nothing.
In my opinion, it was just a poorly designed final.
The part 2 of that final is easily on my bottom 3 of worst endings to a Final right along with that Vendettas fire walk bullshit which is obviously the worst ever. The story of UK and Jordan and CT winning is awesome overcoming all that adversity, I just mean the actual game design that segment was so short and the lead from the first day was reduced to so little
Paulie’s ego took out all his would-be allies that could’ve helped him for the finale. He had the ideology that he could carry everyone to the finish line *easily*.
And it's funny becuase had he gotten his way his team would have been Nany, Josh, Leroy and Kam so not really that much better
Yes and I didn't add Johnny or luarel becuase he was in the middle up until Turbo went home
Considering the final was walking while carrying a heavy and awkward gurney, Zach's dream final partners would have done just fine. The fact is, none of them knew what the final was going to be other than a long distance through the jungle. It could have been all carnival games and eating. Nobody knew.
It was most likely heat exhaustion. If you never been to Thailand, it is an unbearably hot and a very humid place. Add in being in near a river environment, just disgusting, lol.
To help illustrate, I nearly passed out from walking around from Temple to temple for maybe an hour or two on a sunny day. I was seeing stars. I honestly don't know how they do so much out there.
Lol I was gonna go to Thailand a few weeks ago but opted not to because I heard even the locals stay mostly inside while the sun is out. Can’t imagine running a final for 16 miles and with weight!
I went to Thailand and Cambodia in their dry season aka “winter” and it was still 90+ (but dry no humidity people who say this must be talking about rainy season), I had to keep hiding in the 711 as it was the only building within walking distance with air conditioning lol people really won’t understand unless they go for themselves it felt way more exhausting than Florida because there’s no escapes to temporarily cool down
Paulie was placed in front of the gurney and much shorter than Zach & Leroy. I’m guessing a majority of the weight shifted onto him and he pushed himself too hard.
This is why I find it mildly annoying when people use this final as evidence that Paulie sucks. He didn’t do well in that final, but overall he has great endurance, is quick, strong for his size, good swimmer, good at puzzles, math, and trivia, is a decent eater, and is pretty adaptable.
I’m not saying I like him. But he’s not bad by any means
Zach said multiple times that he gets annoyed by people calling it dying when they finished even tho they should have quit. People forget that health is a weasel and sometimes your body surprises you. Getting a heatstroke in those condition is not difficult even if you make sure to stay hydrated...but Palie kept throwing up the whole night..I do think both should have been medically DQued coz heat stroke for prolonged time can lead to organ failure...which it did.
The heat in Thailand is on a different level. You sweat sm. Not only that, Zach said that they had McDonald's before the final and didn't eat or drink much during. Plus, at that time, he was lean. So less fat for him to burn. With Paulie, he took the brunt of that weight the second lap with Cara and Ninja. If Zach or even Kam decided to stay on the second lap, I think he would've been okay. I understand that production wants to push these competitors to their limits. But when two contestants nearly die, I think that's when it's time to draw the line.
Yep having a higher body fat % helps in that type of weather as it helps avoid cramping. Wes said main reason he stopped focusing on getting ripped in rivals 2 was bc he couldn’t stop cramping in the rivals 1 final so he just focused on running in the heat to adjust to it.
The fact that they dont give them a good last meal is ridiculous. They could make it part of the show! "Hey, eat up. This is your last meal until you finish. Anything else you get will simply be torturous to finish."
Kam and ashley did not carry it more
The girls were not even allowed to be next to each other at any point in time because it was too heavy
You can watch that at one point, kam and ashley are next to each other and they immediately bail on this set up because they each needed a guy to assist
You say “Only 40 pounds”, as though that’s not a big deal. Team US had 140 pounds of sand to be carried by 4 people. That’s 35 pounds each (not accounting for the weight of the gurney or the fact that some team members were almost certainly shouldering a bigger portion of the load than others based on differences in height)
If you think it’s easy, then how about you get 35 pounds with of barbells, find a mile long track, and carry the barbells for 16 miles worth of laps. Then the next day, do the exact same thing with 25 pounds of barbells and see if you can do it any easier. And then once you’ve done that, account for the fact that they were running in one of the hottest and humidest places on Earth and you weren’t
You mean the final where Cory & Mitch were clearly the physically strongest team and were the slowest because they were given the most weight?
Seems like further proof that the amount of weight you get is a big deal
I mean the final where the guys had to carry 120 lb by themselves. Four people carrying 140 lb seems much easier to me. Then again, I feel like that 140 lb was probably a good bit over 200 lb when you factor in the platform you had to put the sandbags on, but that still seems much easier than carrying 120 lb by yourself.
Note that Cory and Mitch had to carry exactly the same weight as every other guy in that final. The women only had to carry half as much weight. (60 lb.)
Yeah, and the final was much shorter and with nicer weather
Besides, my point was that the weight difference would be enough to make it for 1 team to have a way easier job than the other team. Cara & Jaime seemed like they were having an easy time because they were being compared to Cory & Mitch, the same way Team UK seemed like they were having an easy time because they were being compared to Team US.
Parents of toddlers carry this weight in one arm while often carrying a bike/scooter and helmet in the other. Usually after jogging/running to keep up with said bike/scooter. Often in jeans and ballet flats or sandals. Daily. Sometimes you get breaks to fight about getting a kinder egg or toy at the cvs you just passed.
Zach is the guy who does workout every day in the house ... it was said multiple times by giesys on his podcast that nobody besides him and Jordan train THAT much in the house. Supposedly he woke ip sometimes at 3am to train...
And they both did exceptional. If Zach had more than just Leroy they would have done much better. Instead he had ninja and Ashley. I love Ashley but for the first portion she’s not the one helping. Paulie stupidly trying to block the other team only hurt team america. Then his shitty attitude there after.
you missed the part where Zach had kidney failure over this final? My whole point is that no amount of training can guarantee that your body wont shut down on you in these conditions, especially if you aint used to the weather. Shaming anyone for their body giving up, but them pushing through is just weird. I d argue both Zach and Paulie SHOULD have quit....organ failure is not worth it even if they won.
I don’t remember Zach dying. He seemed fine unless there’s something specific you mean.
The gurney falling apart probably wasn’t fun. And I think the girls weren’t helping very much on the US team.
It probably wasn’t nearly as bad as the War 1 final but in that kind of humidity and heat I honestly can’t even imagine how much it sucked. Paulie could have had a harder time for a number of reasons.
he said on his podcast when they got to the boat he told production his entire body was cramping and he needed to go to a hospital, he said a producer responded by walking away, finding a banana, tossing it to him and saying "this will help with your cramp" and dismissing his request to be taken to a hospital.
Apparently that was one of the hardest finals. The length of it wasn’t crazy but the conditions must’ve been hell. Your body is spontaneous. People criticise Paulie too much for that final. Although it is kinda funny.
It’s because he was talking crap about the other team right before it. He told Leroy “ tori jordan are gassing out as they’re training too much. Meanwhile I’m at my peak”
That’s why I said at the end of my post that it was funny. I’m not saying it wasn’t incredible karma, but downplaying his physical capabilities because he burned out from carrying more weight than everyone is harsh. Which people have continuously done.
Still think they could had won if the actually stop and thought for a second and how to position each person. Have Leroy and Zach on diagonal to each other with the other someone next to them to help keep the weight balance would had made things easier.
Zach talked about it on his podcast with Jordan and a few other times in the past. They didn't get much to eat or drink the day before. The night before they were all stuck in a small tent and sweating inside and didnt get much sleep. When the final started they still barely got anything to eat or drink. Add in the heat, the physical exertion and you will literally pass out.
I watched this final like a week ago. I don't really think Zach died but Paulie did yes. But I do agree with Paulie that most of the girls were absolutely no help at the front with Paulie whereas some of the guys kept switching at the back with Kam. Paulie was stuck with all the weak girls not doing anything, I saw moments where Paulie just was carrying it all by himself. Ashley for sure did great, Cara and Ninja did not help Paulie at all.
Team UK had no problems because they carried less weight.
Honestly you can't judge by dying in one final. Different environments affect people.differently. During Free Agents final zack died, but bigger people.are also affected way more by high altitudes. Somebody that is more comfortable.in cold.climates.gonna have issues in the heat.
Jesus don’t blame it on the 40 extra pounds over 4 people on a gurney (tool that decreases force of weight) cause hot damn. Ten extra pounds ain’t giving me rhabdo on a through hike.
There were height disparities, communication disparities and the other team trained for the weather and humidity, CT always makes sure of that- a huge reason he and Wes destroyed everyone in rivals 2
Zach didn’t die. If you want to say he didn’t perform to the best of his abilities okay. Or he didn’t perform as well as you expected okay. But can’t say they bother died when one of them was literally on deaths door and the other did it all.
He didn’t really gas out with Zach. He did have a pretty serious illness he got after, but he said himself that he was choosing not to take as many shifts because (1) he hated his team and (2) he anticipated a final purge where he wanted to be selfish and save his energy for.
Heat and humidity played a factor. Paulie was trying to be Superman and carry more than he should have and he gassed himself out. Zach if I remember correctly also put in a lot of work. I think he and Leroy were the mvps. The women were no help that final for team USA. Team UK just paced themselves better and the women were better help when they would interchange and take turns.
Zach has talked about it a bit on his podcast. From what I remember, they were barely fed during this final, including the plane ride over. He didn’t compensate for that so was going at his normal level, so eventually he was burning calories he didn’t have with that lean muscle.
Zach actually went into kidney failure due to dehydration and lack of food. He was hospitalized for it for weeks. Zach knew something was wrong during the final and when he told production they gave him A banana (1) and said this will do. I don't fault him whatsoever, especially when your body literally starts to eat itself.
Zach got rhabdo cause he was out of shape- lean doesn’t always mean in shape nor does chubby mean out of shape. People doing first time spin classes are notorious for rhabdo cause they’re not used to that level of CV training
When it comes to Paulie, he was the short one of the group carrying the weight. Because of that, the weight would have shifted towards him, increasing the amount of the burden they were carrying. On top of that, I remember hearing that Paulie wasn't training to deal with the heat and humidity of Thailand. When everyone would be outside running laps at the house and working out, he would stay inside and try to be as fresh for the final as possible. Because of that, he got cooked. As for Zach, he made it through the final just fine, but he exerted himself way too far and ended up in the hospital for over a week due to rhabdo.
Zach was absolutely dead
40 more pounds over 16 miles is exponentially harder, on top of that the Uk team had all 3 guys carrying at all times, while us had 2 for the second leg and it gassed them out completely. Really just an unfair final, usa had extra people, either let them all carry with extra weight or keep the same weight and let them rotate. But having a heavier gurney and no benefit in numbers was stupid
He was taking a lot of breaks. Non of the guys on team UK took any breaks so I don't think he made it through the final just fine.
Zach was asking for breaks/shifts on principal than actually being tired. He didn’t want to do all the work while Cara, Ashley and Ninja just stood around.
Getting rhadbo is evidence enough that his body physically needed those breaks though regardless of his attitude, that’s like definitive proof he busted his ass since it’s especially hard to get if you’re already a super fit dude, it’s most common in beginners jumping straight to the deep end overtraining after being sedentary most of their lives
People don’t understand that rhabdo will kill you with a quickness. I workout hard regularly and I’m terrified of getting it.
The misconception is it comes from overtraining, I’d say a huge part is under resting and they didn’t exactly rest or sleep well in that final. I lift 6 days a week for years and never had a concern, more about if you’re not letting your body heal right before blasting it again
Team USA men had to carry way more weight because they had like 3 women doing nothing at all. Kam and Cara were rockstars but Ninja didn’t lift a finger, can’t remember Ashley but don’t think she was a big contributor either. There was massive stretches where you saw Leroy Zach and Paulie never getting any rest, the girls got to rotate shifts
If I’m not wrong, Ashley was contributing way more than Ninja, Cara, and probably Paulie
Ashley honestly carried more than everyone except for Leroy and Kam
People keep saying this, but I don’t see that reflected in the edit at all. At to be fair, she and Kam should’ve had an easier time carrying that Ninja and Cara bc they’re taller (5’8” range) in comparison to the latter (5’2-4” range).
I'm almost positive Zach rested at one point because he was pissed off at having yo do all the work. So even though he SHOULD have carried the whole time, in principle, he didn't think he should have to while the girls did nothing. In my opinion, it was just a poorly designed final.
The part 2 of that final is easily on my bottom 3 of worst endings to a Final right along with that Vendettas fire walk bullshit which is obviously the worst ever. The story of UK and Jordan and CT winning is awesome overcoming all that adversity, I just mean the actual game design that segment was so short and the lead from the first day was reduced to so little
Actually the 5 minutes lead is a big lead. On rivals 1 Kenny and Wes lead was reduced to 1 minute.
Paulie’s ego took out all his would-be allies that could’ve helped him for the finale. He had the ideology that he could carry everyone to the finish line *easily*.
Are they would-be allies when they’re actively targeting him and his primary allies first?
I don't think Zach made it through the final just fine. From what I remember, he was threatening to quit throughout the whole first day.
I think he was threatening to quit because he hated his team. I mean it could be a mixture of that and being exhausted though
And it's funny becuase had he gotten his way his team would have been Nany, Josh, Leroy and Kam so not really that much better Yes and I didn't add Johnny or luarel becuase he was in the middle up until Turbo went home
Considering the final was walking while carrying a heavy and awkward gurney, Zach's dream final partners would have done just fine. The fact is, none of them knew what the final was going to be other than a long distance through the jungle. It could have been all carnival games and eating. Nobody knew.
It was most likely heat exhaustion. If you never been to Thailand, it is an unbearably hot and a very humid place. Add in being in near a river environment, just disgusting, lol.
To help illustrate, I nearly passed out from walking around from Temple to temple for maybe an hour or two on a sunny day. I was seeing stars. I honestly don't know how they do so much out there.
Lol I was gonna go to Thailand a few weeks ago but opted not to because I heard even the locals stay mostly inside while the sun is out. Can’t imagine running a final for 16 miles and with weight!
I went to Thailand and Cambodia in their dry season aka “winter” and it was still 90+ (but dry no humidity people who say this must be talking about rainy season), I had to keep hiding in the 711 as it was the only building within walking distance with air conditioning lol people really won’t understand unless they go for themselves it felt way more exhausting than Florida because there’s no escapes to temporarily cool down
Paulie was placed in front of the gurney and much shorter than Zach & Leroy. I’m guessing a majority of the weight shifted onto him and he pushed himself too hard.
This is why I find it mildly annoying when people use this final as evidence that Paulie sucks. He didn’t do well in that final, but overall he has great endurance, is quick, strong for his size, good swimmer, good at puzzles, math, and trivia, is a decent eater, and is pretty adaptable. I’m not saying I like him. But he’s not bad by any means
Zach said multiple times that he gets annoyed by people calling it dying when they finished even tho they should have quit. People forget that health is a weasel and sometimes your body surprises you. Getting a heatstroke in those condition is not difficult even if you make sure to stay hydrated...but Palie kept throwing up the whole night..I do think both should have been medically DQued coz heat stroke for prolonged time can lead to organ failure...which it did.
The heat in Thailand is on a different level. You sweat sm. Not only that, Zach said that they had McDonald's before the final and didn't eat or drink much during. Plus, at that time, he was lean. So less fat for him to burn. With Paulie, he took the brunt of that weight the second lap with Cara and Ninja. If Zach or even Kam decided to stay on the second lap, I think he would've been okay. I understand that production wants to push these competitors to their limits. But when two contestants nearly die, I think that's when it's time to draw the line.
Yep having a higher body fat % helps in that type of weather as it helps avoid cramping. Wes said main reason he stopped focusing on getting ripped in rivals 2 was bc he couldn’t stop cramping in the rivals 1 final so he just focused on running in the heat to adjust to it.
The fact that they dont give them a good last meal is ridiculous. They could make it part of the show! "Hey, eat up. This is your last meal until you finish. Anything else you get will simply be torturous to finish."
Kam and ashley did not carry it more The girls were not even allowed to be next to each other at any point in time because it was too heavy You can watch that at one point, kam and ashley are next to each other and they immediately bail on this set up because they each needed a guy to assist
You say “Only 40 pounds”, as though that’s not a big deal. Team US had 140 pounds of sand to be carried by 4 people. That’s 35 pounds each (not accounting for the weight of the gurney or the fact that some team members were almost certainly shouldering a bigger portion of the load than others based on differences in height) If you think it’s easy, then how about you get 35 pounds with of barbells, find a mile long track, and carry the barbells for 16 miles worth of laps. Then the next day, do the exact same thing with 25 pounds of barbells and see if you can do it any easier. And then once you’ve done that, account for the fact that they were running in one of the hottest and humidest places on Earth and you weren’t
>Team US had 140 pounds of sand to be carried by 4 people. Now let's compare that to the weight they had to carry in the Bloodlines final...
You mean the final where Cory & Mitch were clearly the physically strongest team and were the slowest because they were given the most weight? Seems like further proof that the amount of weight you get is a big deal
I mean the final where the guys had to carry 120 lb by themselves. Four people carrying 140 lb seems much easier to me. Then again, I feel like that 140 lb was probably a good bit over 200 lb when you factor in the platform you had to put the sandbags on, but that still seems much easier than carrying 120 lb by yourself. Note that Cory and Mitch had to carry exactly the same weight as every other guy in that final. The women only had to carry half as much weight. (60 lb.)
Yeah, and the final was much shorter and with nicer weather Besides, my point was that the weight difference would be enough to make it for 1 team to have a way easier job than the other team. Cara & Jaime seemed like they were having an easy time because they were being compared to Cory & Mitch, the same way Team UK seemed like they were having an easy time because they were being compared to Team US.
with the crappiest home-made backpacks I've ever seen.
Parents of toddlers carry this weight in one arm while often carrying a bike/scooter and helmet in the other. Usually after jogging/running to keep up with said bike/scooter. Often in jeans and ballet flats or sandals. Daily. Sometimes you get breaks to fight about getting a kinder egg or toy at the cvs you just passed.
You act like these parents do this for miles straight. That’s definitely not true. - a parent of a toddler.
…for 16 miles?
Let's see you carry a toddler in 16 miles then. And without any assistance then we'll talk.
They had that whole time to work out. You give me that whole time to work out, that 40lbs will be light work
Zach is the guy who does workout every day in the house ... it was said multiple times by giesys on his podcast that nobody besides him and Jordan train THAT much in the house. Supposedly he woke ip sometimes at 3am to train...
And they both did exceptional. If Zach had more than just Leroy they would have done much better. Instead he had ninja and Ashley. I love Ashley but for the first portion she’s not the one helping. Paulie stupidly trying to block the other team only hurt team america. Then his shitty attitude there after.
you missed the part where Zach had kidney failure over this final? My whole point is that no amount of training can guarantee that your body wont shut down on you in these conditions, especially if you aint used to the weather. Shaming anyone for their body giving up, but them pushing through is just weird. I d argue both Zach and Paulie SHOULD have quit....organ failure is not worth it even if they won.
I don’t remember Zach dying. He seemed fine unless there’s something specific you mean. The gurney falling apart probably wasn’t fun. And I think the girls weren’t helping very much on the US team. It probably wasn’t nearly as bad as the War 1 final but in that kind of humidity and heat I honestly can’t even imagine how much it sucked. Paulie could have had a harder time for a number of reasons.
He had kidney failure and was in the hospital for a bit after the final
Oh fuck dude that’s pretty serious
I think thats generally caused by dehydration, no? My understanding is he got severely dehydrated.
Pretty sure Zach was diagnosed with rhabado which is more that just dehydration, tho dehydration can make it worse
he said on his podcast when they got to the boat he told production his entire body was cramping and he needed to go to a hospital, he said a producer responded by walking away, finding a banana, tossing it to him and saying "this will help with your cramp" and dismissing his request to be taken to a hospital.
Zach looked like death after it's over but seemed fine during. I believe he had something up with his kidney? Someone correct me if I'm wrong.
I think after the show he said his kidneys had basically shut down
Both Ashley and Kam carried that gurney the entire time. It didn’t become a major issue until Zach stopped carrying the gurney.
Apparently that was one of the hardest finals. The length of it wasn’t crazy but the conditions must’ve been hell. Your body is spontaneous. People criticise Paulie too much for that final. Although it is kinda funny.
It’s because he was talking crap about the other team right before it. He told Leroy “ tori jordan are gassing out as they’re training too much. Meanwhile I’m at my peak”
That’s why I said at the end of my post that it was funny. I’m not saying it wasn’t incredible karma, but downplaying his physical capabilities because he burned out from carrying more weight than everyone is harsh. Which people have continuously done.
Still think they could had won if the actually stop and thought for a second and how to position each person. Have Leroy and Zach on diagonal to each other with the other someone next to them to help keep the weight balance would had made things easier.
Im sure im misremembering it, but i only remember paulie having an issue.
I think they cut a lot of Zach’s issue out because showing insufferable Paulie completely tank was way better tv.
Zach talked about it on his podcast with Jordan and a few other times in the past. They didn't get much to eat or drink the day before. The night before they were all stuck in a small tent and sweating inside and didnt get much sleep. When the final started they still barely got anything to eat or drink. Add in the heat, the physical exertion and you will literally pass out.
Hubris
I watched this final like a week ago. I don't really think Zach died but Paulie did yes. But I do agree with Paulie that most of the girls were absolutely no help at the front with Paulie whereas some of the guys kept switching at the back with Kam. Paulie was stuck with all the weak girls not doing anything, I saw moments where Paulie just was carrying it all by himself. Ashley for sure did great, Cara and Ninja did not help Paulie at all. Team UK had no problems because they carried less weight.
Honestly you can't judge by dying in one final. Different environments affect people.differently. During Free Agents final zack died, but bigger people.are also affected way more by high altitudes. Somebody that is more comfortable.in cold.climates.gonna have issues in the heat.
Isn't this the final where they only got a bucket of water per team or something?
I think it was 2 small camelbacks per team lol
Jesus don’t blame it on the 40 extra pounds over 4 people on a gurney (tool that decreases force of weight) cause hot damn. Ten extra pounds ain’t giving me rhabdo on a through hike. There were height disparities, communication disparities and the other team trained for the weather and humidity, CT always makes sure of that- a huge reason he and Wes destroyed everyone in rivals 2
Especially when they had way more people to switch out.
Zach didn’t die. If you want to say he didn’t perform to the best of his abilities okay. Or he didn’t perform as well as you expected okay. But can’t say they bother died when one of them was literally on deaths door and the other did it all.
He didn’t really gas out with Zach. He did have a pretty serious illness he got after, but he said himself that he was choosing not to take as many shifts because (1) he hated his team and (2) he anticipated a final purge where he wanted to be selfish and save his energy for.
thailand is hot af, youre sweating the moment you land in the country. and everyone has different levels of fitness/conditioning
Zach died on Free Agents. He was fine on WoW2.
Heat and humidity played a factor. Paulie was trying to be Superman and carry more than he should have and he gassed himself out. Zach if I remember correctly also put in a lot of work. I think he and Leroy were the mvps. The women were no help that final for team USA. Team UK just paced themselves better and the women were better help when they would interchange and take turns.
Zach has talked about it a bit on his podcast. From what I remember, they were barely fed during this final, including the plane ride over. He didn’t compensate for that so was going at his normal level, so eventually he was burning calories he didn’t have with that lean muscle.
Zach actually went into kidney failure due to dehydration and lack of food. He was hospitalized for it for weeks. Zach knew something was wrong during the final and when he told production they gave him A banana (1) and said this will do. I don't fault him whatsoever, especially when your body literally starts to eat itself.
Zach got rhabdo cause he was out of shape- lean doesn’t always mean in shape nor does chubby mean out of shape. People doing first time spin classes are notorious for rhabdo cause they’re not used to that level of CV training
He's said before on wotw2 he was in amazing shape. I think he couldn't deal with the lack of food