Warning! The following contains spoilers for the Special Forces: World's Toughest Test episode "Courage." Read at your own risk!
Special Forces: World's Toughest Test has taken out a lot of celebrity participants in eight episodes after they suffered injuries. We've seen celebrities medically withdrawn due to neck pain, broken hands, and even dehydration. None of that, however, was quite as scary as what happened to Olympian Gus Kenworthy in the latest episode. Kenworthy was seemingly a frontrunner to be the last celebrity standing to complete the program, but all that came to a grinding halt.
The episode kicked off with baseball legend Mike Piazza's decision to drop out, which was notable as he was the first former athlete to leave since Olympian Nastia Liukin's withdrawal. With Piazza gone, the rest of the participants went to do their next challenge. Their task was to climb a rope onto a helicopter, all while being in the middle of the ocean.
Gus Kenworthy and the previously insubordinate Danny Amendola were the only participants to receive a pass on the challenge, but Kenworthy had a massive problem. While waiting to do the challenge, he lost his armband. As punishment, he had to "pay the man" and do an extra drill when everyone returned to their quarters, and that's when the issues started.
Something strange happened to him in the middle of an intense exercise that involved covering himself in sand, soaking his body, and then repeating the process. In the middle of the drill, he began to cough and was unable to stop. The coughing soon became more violent, and he began to vomit.
Gus Kenworthy was immediately taken to the medical tent, where the medic on site gave him an adrenaline shot. When his condition seemed to improve, the medic said he believed the athlete was suffering from anaphylaxis. He couldn't list anything that he was allergic to, and the medic wasn't quite sure what may have caused the reaction.
While the cause of the severe allergic reaction was unknown, the medic explained to Kenworthy that he was at risk for a rebound attack of anaphylaxis. As such, he would need to leave and go to a local hospital, where he could be further evaluated and treated. He didn't have a strong reaction to the news, but it's possible that his condition was a factor.
Previously, I said that actress Beverley Mitchell had the season's toughest exit, but I'm retracting that statement and awarding it to Gus Kenworthy's withdrawal. It's one thing to be exhausted and need to give up, but it's quite another to be crushing the challenges and unexpectedly have to leave. Sadly, he won't be with the rest of the celebrities in the final challenges as they work to try and finish out the ten-day program.
Special Forces: World's Toughest Test airs on Fox on Wednesdays at 9:00 p.m. ET. Catch up on this season with a Hulu subscription, or revisit old episodes for a reminder of how bonkers this season has been.
