Uchenna & Joyce

Uchenna & Joyce
Team Profile
Born:	(1964-05-12) May 12, 1964 (Uchenna) (1960-07-04) July 4, 1960 (Joyce)
Hometown:	Houston, Texas
Relation:	Married
Occupation:	Energy broker (Uchenna) Sales manager (Joyce)
Legs Competed:	12
Placement:	1st
Legs Competed:	9
Placement:	5th

Uchenna Agu and Joyce Agu are a Married team and the Official Winners of The Amazing Race 7. They also competed on The Amazing Race: All-Stars.

Profile

Retrieved from CBS.com

The Amazing Race 7 The Amazing Race: All-Stars Uchenna & Joyce are a married Team from Houston, Texas, who are going through an extremely challenging period in their lives. Both worked for now-bankrupt companies that experienced highly publicized accounting scandals: Uchenna worked for Enron and Joyce worked for WorldCom. Uchenna and Joyce's primary motivation for participating in the Race is to regain some of the closeness they've lost during these trying times. Uchenna grew up in Los Angeles and now works as an energy broker in Houston. Uchenna and his wife have been through some challenging financial and emotional times as of late. After several failed attempts to get pregnant, they tried in-vitro fertilization, but it was unsuccessful. Uchenna describes himself as competitive and extroverted, and he enjoys basketball, scuba diving and horseback riding. Joyce was born in Mississippi and raised in San Diego, California. Following her own layoff from WorldCom, Joyce now works in sales in Houston. Joyce and Uchenna desperately want children, and their numerous failed attempts has caused tension within their relationship. Both are adventurous and ready to compete. Both have hinted that if they won the Race they would use the prize money for additional in-vitro fertilization procedures. Uchenna and Joyce are one of the most beloved teams from any season of Race. The winners of Season 7, Uchenna and Joyce were relentless and stopped at nothing to win the $1 million prize… including shaving their heads. They have known each other for 16 years and have been married for seven of those. Both have admitted that the continued inability to start a family has caused a strain on their marriage, but are looking to the Race to get their relationship back on track. This thrill seeking duo will stop at nothing to win the Race as they proved in Season 7, when without hesitation, they shaved their heads for good luck after partaking in the "Fast Forward" task. A decision that moved these tough competitors to the front of the pack and no doubt granted them a stroke of luck for the rest of the Race. Uchenna describes himself as competitive, fair and charismatic, while Joyce claims to be caring, determined and sensitive. Will their competitive nature and luck be enough to propel them to another victory this time around?

The Amazing Race 7

Race History

Uchenna & Joyce's Race History
Episode	Leg	Destination(s)	Detour Choice (underlined)	Roadblock Performer	Placement	Notes
1	1	United States → Peru	Rope a Llama / Rope a Basket	No Roadblock	8 of 11
2	2	Peru → Chile	Shop / Schlep	Joyce	4 of 10
3	3	Chile → Argentina	Paddle / Pedal	Uchenna	2 of 9
4	4	Argentina	Shipwreck / Island	Joyce	3 of 8
5	5	Argentina → South Africa	Tunnels / Tribes	Uchenna	6 of 7
	6	South Africa → Botswana	Food / Water	Joyce	3 of 7
6	7	Botswana	Carry It / Milk It	Uchenna	3 of 6	[1]
8	8	Botswana → India	Solid / Liquid	Uchenna	3 of 5	[2][3]
9			Used Fast Forward		1 of 5►
10	9	India → Turkey	Columns / Kilos	Uchenna	1 of 4
11	10	Turkey → United Kingdom	Brains / Brawn	Joyce	3 of 4
12	11	United Kingdom → Jamaica	Raft It / Build It	Joyce	3 of 3
	12	Jamaica → Puerto Rico → United States	Pony Up / Tee It Up	Uchenna	1 of 3
				Average	3.08
Legend:      The team finished in first place      The team finished in last place and was eliminated from the race      The team finished in last place in a non-elimination leg      The team that won The Amazing Race      The team that crossed the Finish Line second      The team that crossed the Finish Line third > The team used the Yield < Recipient of the Yield
Notes: 1: Uchenna & Joyce initially arrived 3rd, but they didn't complete the Roadblock correctly and were forced to finish it. This did not affect their placement. 2: Leg 8 was double-length with two Detours and two Roadblocks shown over two episodes. The placements listed in the first column reflect the order teams arrived at the leg's halfway point. 3: The leg's Fast Forward was offered after the halfway point, and thus permitted Uchenna & Joyce to skip only the second set of challenges.

The Amazing Race: All-Stars

Race History

Uchenna & Joyce's Race History
Episode	Leg	Destination(s)	Detour Choice (underlined)	Roadblock Performer	Placement	Notes
1	1	United States → Ecuador	Wrangle It / Recover It	No Roadblock	7 of 11
2	2	Ecuador → Chile	By Hand / By Machine	Joyce	5 of 10
3	3	Chile	Vertical Limit / River Wild	Uchenna	2 of 9
4	4	Chile → Argentina	Navigate It / Sign It	Joyce	6 of 8
5	5	Argentina → Mozambique	Pamper / Porter	Uchenna	7 of 7
6	6	Mozambique → Tanzania	Solve It / Schlep It	Uchenna	3 of 7	[4]
7	7	Tanzania → Poland	Perfect Pitch / Perfect Angle	Unknown	3 of 6	[5]
8	8	Poland	Used Fast Forward		1 of 6►
9	9	Poland → Malaysia	Artistic Expression / Cookie Confection	Joyce	5 of 5	[6]
				Average	4.33
Legend:      The team finished in first place      The team finished in last place and was eliminated from the race      The team finished in last place in a non-elimination leg      The team that won The Amazing Race      The team that crossed the Finish Line second      The team that crossed the Finish Line third > The team used the Yield < Recipient of the Yield
Notes: 4: Uchenna & Joyce initially arrived 3rd, but were issued a 30-minute penalty for being "marked for elimination" and not arriving 1st. This did not affect their placement. 5: Leg 7 had an unaired Roadblock. It is unknown whether Uchenna or Joyce performed the Roadblock. 6: Uchenna & Joyce missed a connecting flight early in Leg 9 and were not shown performing any of the tasks; they were shown proceeding from the Batu Caves Route Marker directly to the Pit Stop for elimination. However, in a post-race interview they confirmed that they completed the Cookie task of the Detour while Joyce had done the newspaper recycling Roadblock prior to being eliminated.

Post-Race Life

• On the premiere of All-Stars, it was revealed that the in vitro fertilisation (IVF) they talked about getting after winning the race failed.
• After their first race, they founded a charitable children's organization in Houston, Texas. They hold, "The Great Raise," a Houston-version of the Amazing Race, where teams compete around the Houston area to win money for the charities.
• In a May 2011 interview, Joyce revealed that she and Uchenna were divorced. However, they still remain good friends.

Trivia

Franchise Records

• Uchenna & Joyce are the first team to not use the Yield since its introduction and ultimately win the race.
• Only winners to return for a future season.
• The only former winning team to win two Fast Forwards in a career.
• First team to be penalized for arriving last in the penultimate leg.
  • As a result, the first team not to receive any money on the last leg.
• First team to suffer two different non-elimination penalties in a career.
• First team to have the Marked for Elimination penalty applied and not to be eliminated.

US

• Second African-American team to win the race, after Chip & Kim.

Interviews

Season 7

• Harry Smith on Early Show (05/10/2005): "Uchenna & Joyce Win Race"
  • Early Show (05/11/2005): "Uchenna and Joyce Beg No More"
• Cynthia Wang at People.com (05/11/2005): "The Amazing Race's Uchenna and Joyce"
• AP (05/12/2005): "Uchenna and Joyce Agu win Amazing Race"
• Ethan Alter at TV Guide (05/13/2005): "Amazing Champs Beg To Differ"
• Tamar Alexia Fleishman at Bankrate.com (02/14/2006): "Break out of your rut, advise Amazing Race winners" 

All-Stars

• Julie Chen on Early Show (04/09/2007): "Uchenna & Joyce Lose Race"
• Christopher Rocchio at Reality TV World (04/09/2007): "Uchenna and Joyce Agu discuss their All-Stars experience"
• Oscar Dahl at BuddyTV (04/09/2007): "Exclusive Interview: Uchenna and Joyce Agu, 7th Team Elminated From All-Stars"
• Teeuwynn Woodruff on RealityNewsOnline (04/10/2007): "Everyone Should Live Life Boldly"
• Eric Goldman at IGN.com (04/10/2007): "All-Stars Interview: Uchenna & Joyce"

Post-Show

• Rob Cesternino & Jessica Liese at RHAP (10/28/2013): "LIVE Amazing Race Recap with Uchenna"
• Dalene Rovenstine at EW (11/07/2014): "Amazing Race: Where Are They Now?"

Social Media Profiles

• Uchenna's Facebook: /uchenna.agu.98

• Uchenna's Twitter: @Uchenna_Agu

• Uchenna's YouTube Channel: /UCzLXLmqkJ3kkavVVF6XiaGA

• Joyce's Facebook: /jragu

References

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