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Ireland's Fittest Family revealed after crushing Mountain final

Updated / Monday, 20 Dec 2021 13:09
After weeks of swimming, climbing, sprinting and hanging on, our 16 families were whittled down to just four, with a winner being crowned in last night's final.
After weeks of swimming, climbing, sprinting and hanging on, our 16 families were whittled down to just four, with a winner being crowned in last night's final.

It's been another series full of harrowing challenges and punishing eliminators, but as always Ireland's Fittest Family delivered most when it came to spectacular shows of determination and teamwork.

And after weeks of swimming, climbing, sprinting and hanging on, our 16 families were whittled down to just four, with a winner being crowned in last night's two-day final.

The four families – the Kinsellas, the McIntyres, the Cuddys and the Greenans – each gave it their all, putting in an inspirational effort and doing themselves justice. But only one could be crowned winners.

Anna Geary's Kinsella family emerged victorious as winners of Ireland's Fittest Family 2021, walking away with the crown, €15,000 and more than a few bruises.

In this crushing final, they faced off against a new challenge: Slingshot. The task saw each family tied with bungee cords of varying weights then wade their way through murky water, charge up a muddy hill to then toss a football into a barrel.

It was a tough task, and landed the Cuddys and the Greenans in the first eliminator. Despite a tremendous effort, the Cuddys, coached by Anna Geary, were the first of the four sent home, having given women watching a fine example of a female-dominated team blowing so many others out of the water.

This first blow to Anna was a tough one, but proved to be all the motivation she needed taking her remaining family into the final.

The second day on the Mountain brought Mountain Escape, a hazardous race through obstacles, up inclines and past sandbags to the finish. Sadly, it was the Greenans, coached by Derval O'Rourke, who finished last, after a phenomenal performance on the show.

Finally, it was a face off between the Kinsellas and the McIntyres, coached by Anna and Donncha O'Callaghan respectively, and it was a fierce, nail-biting finish. In the scramble to the finish, Caoimhe Kinsella lost a shoe going through the tricky cargo net, prompting coach Anna to shout "take off your socks" before attempting the final ramp.

It was a winning move, with the Kinsellas cinching the title with barely seconds between them and the McIntyres.

As always, there was as much cheering from viewers at home as there was on the obstacle course, with fans rejoicing the win as one of the most thrilling shows on RTÉ winds to a close for another year.

Here are some of our favourite tweets:

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