The four remaining contestants on The Biggest Loser were sent home for 30 days before returning to campus last night for one final weigh-in to determine who will compete in the finale on May 12, 2009.
The father and son team of 54 year old Ron Morelli and his 18 year old son Mike Morelli went home to South Lyon, Michigan. Helen Phillips, 47, headed back to Sterling Heights, Michigan. Tara Costa, 23, went back to New York City where she was able to see the results of the $25,000 kitchen makeover that she had won during a challenge and had given to her mother.
Trainers Bob Harper and Jillian Michaels made surprise visits to see the contestants. Jillian dropped in on Tara, Helen and Mike and discovered that they were all struggling with the transition back to their former lives and she counseled each of them about finding balance. Mike, in particular, was carrying the heavy burden of trying to motivate his reluctant younger brother. Bob visited Ron and also worked with the youngest son to try to jump start a program for him.
The final challenge was a 26.2 mile marathon that the remaining four contestants were tasked with running. Finishers were awarded $10,000 checks for their favorite charity. All four went the distance, though Tara and Helen were the only two able to run. Father and son opted to walk the course for medical reasons. Mike was bummed but had been advised by his doctor not to chance running because of a training injury suffered since he returned home.
Ron, with a bad knee, got into trouble along the route and was checked out by medical personnel. It looked like he would throw in the towel but in the end, he finished the race with the aid of a cane and the support of a large group of former Biggest Loser contestants, including Heba Salama, Ali Vincent, Michele Aguilar, Bernie Salazar and Jim Germanakos.
The final weigh-in showed that Mike, Ron and Tara all lost 10 lbs. The smallest contestant, Helen, lost 7 lbs. Tara had the highest weight loss percentage with an amazing 5.92%, followed by Helen with 4.55%. This put both Ron and Mike below the yellow line and at the mercy of viewers who will have one week to vote for which of the two they want to see in the finale, competing against Tara and Helen.
Tara has lost 135 lbs, Helen has lost 110 lbs, Ron has lost 151 lbs, and Mike has lost 174 lbs, which is a record for the show. This season the total weight loss by contestants has been an astounding 1601 lbs.
Predictably, Ron has asked everyone to put Mike in the finale. Last year that ploy backfired on the husband and wife team of Heba Salama and Ed Brantley. He pleaded her case but viewers chose him instead. Heba won the lesser prize, but ended up with the biggest percentage of weight loss for the season and would have won the contest if she had been voted into the finale.
Be sure to vote for either Ron or Mike here. The three hour finale on May 12 should be interesting, when all 22 contestants will be back to show off their bodies and vie for either $250,000 or $100,000.