"I thought that was really funny": The Challenge 41 winner Yeremi Hykel on Turbo being airlifted from the mountain after the finale

The Challenge: Vets & New Threats concluded on December 3, 2025, with Olivia Kaiser and Yeremi Hykel crowned as the season’s champions. 

Looking back on the finale, Yeremi opened up about his journey and the challenges he faced from Turbo.

For someone who often looked down on Yeremi, Yeremi found it hilarious when Turbo had to be airlifted from the mountain following the final task.

In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, published on December 3, 2025, Yeremi shared his thoughts on Turbo needing assistance to be carried off the mountain, saying:

“I thought that was really funny. When you get to the top of that mountain, there’s not a shiny helicopter there to take you down … For this entire character that Turbo puts on as being like an ‘alpha,’ it makes him feel like he’s just the pinnacle of man, right? He wears blood for makeup. But he was the only one of this entire final to get dragged down by other people.”

In the finale, the remaining contestants had to run up a mountain with several checkpoints. The team to reach the top the fastest would be declared the winner. 

Turbo and his teammate, Sydney, gave it their all and maintained the lead for quite a while, but ultimately lost to Olivia and Yeremi. 

The Challenge 41 star Yeremi reveals that he did not speak to Turbo until they met to film the reunion

Yeremi was overjoyed to have won season 41 and looked back on his journey in a positive light. However, she did not cherish everything Turbo had said to him throughout the season. 

Yeremi saw Turbo as someone who liked speaking “s**t” about others.

Reflecting on one such incident, where he suggested that Yeremi wouldn’t have reached the finale if he had gone up against Cedric and Michaela in the elimination challenge in an earlier episode, Yeremi said:

“Turbo’s just trying to talk s**t, man. He says a lot of things, and one could arguably say that Turbo wouldn’t even be in that final without Sydney.”

The Challenge winner found Turbo’s behavior “crazy,” pointing out that he was “talking all this mess” toward the end of the contest, even though they were supposed to collaborate as an alliance “this entire time.”

Yeremi confessed that a few of Turbo’s comments caught him off guard because they were unexpected. 

Despite the kind of front Turbo put up, Yeremi noted that he had to be carried off the mountain, a service the others did not need. 

While speaking with Entertainment Weekly, he mentioned that despite the climb being challenging, there was no “shiny helicopter” to help the players get down. 

They had to climb down the mountain themselves. Adding on to how Turbo’s actions contradicted his words, Yeremi said:

“When we did the swimming checkpoint, he was like, ‘Yeremi’s cardio is so bad,’ but you are literally the only person that had to get other people to carry you off this mountain. Wow, dude. You are so far from what you think you are, and you don’t even know it.”

He then revealed that he did not keep in touch with Turbo until the two met while filming the reunion, which will air next Wednesday for viewers. 

That said, Yeremi noted that the feeling of surpassing Turbo and Sydney in the last part of the hike was “shocking” but also “beautiful.”

He described the winning moment as a feeling he had never felt before.

Stay tuned for more updates.