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Fear Factor Episode 314
Original airdate: January 13, 2003

The gray Los Angeles skyline served as a backdrop for the first stunt in this new episode. In true log-rolling fashion, players would each have to barrel roll a huge "barrel" across a track suspended seven stories up between two rooftops. The men and women would not be divided this time, meaning the four fastest times would advance to day two. Kim, an emergency technician from St. Louis, was up first. She started out strong and got the barrel moving. However, she got it going too fast and it pitched her forward and off the barrel. Kim was out. Next up was Kamasu - whose name means quiet warrior/silent killer. He was focused and started out slow. His steady pace gradually increased until the speed knocked him off balance. Kamasu fell, but managed to cling to the barrel for a few tense seconds before plunging down between the tracks. Two players in a row - eliminated! Dale, who was competing on Fear Factor for his young son, really got the barrel rolling. He made it within three feet of the other rooftop before losing his balance and tumbling over the side. Ericka, Mark and Sue remained. One by one, they each made an attemptôand they each failed! It was the first time in Fear Factor history that all six players failed the first stunt. Consequently, everyone was invited back for day two - but the prize money was cut to $25,000.

For day two, players arrived in what looked like an abandoned warehouse. Just the type of place you'd expect to find rats. Sure enough, Joe revealed a table spilling over with big, dead, frozen rats: Their little pink paws frozen into a permanent upright position. The stunt was set up as a relay between three teams of two. The three players who won their heats would advance to the finals. What did they have to do? Simple. They had to transfer as many rats from the table to a nearby container using only their mouths! Plus, the containers were behind a little barricade, requiring each player to stop a few feet away from it and "toss" the rats in. The first team that was randomly selected was Dale versus Kamasu. The rat "feeding" frenzy got off to a wild start. Kamasu was flinging rats all over the place, but not many of them seemed to be hitting the target. When time was called, Dale had 17 rats and Kamasu had only 7. Kamasu was out. Next up were Mark and Sue. Mark, a South African native, kept saying he was used to eating bizarre things. Apparently, he wasn't just saying that because he flung those rats with total accuracy. Sue, meanwhile, sort of gave up halfway through despite Joe's taunts for her to continue. Mark calmly and efficiently tossed a heap of rats, while Sue only managed to nab 9. Sue was sent packing as Kim and Ericka prepared to battle it out. These two were perfectly matched and tossed rats in tandem. They were neck-and-neck, even-steven, until Ericka overshot rat #11 and never quite recovered. Kim beat her by two rodents.

Day three began at what looked like an abandoned campgroundô complete with a large, built-in swimming pool. As Mark, Kim and Dale met up with Joe poolside, he revealed their final stunt. They would each drive a car up a ramp and launch into the pool. Once submerged they would each free themselves, grab a flag from inside the car, swim out of the pool using a designated pool ladder and plant the flag. The player with the fastest time would claim the $25,000. Mark was up first. He revved the engine and launched the car into the pool. The front of the car ripped apart upon impact, but Mark remained calm. He snatched the flag and quickly swam to the ladder. Out of the pool, he hooked the flag with an amazing final time of 37 seconds. Dale geared up next. He managed to launch the car closer to the pool ladder and also retrieved the flag fairly quickly. However, Dale swam out the passenger side of the car and got completely disoriented in the pool. Once he finally swam over to the ladder and hooked the flag, precious time had been wasted. His final time was 44 seconds. If Kim could beat Mark's time, she would claim the prize. She raced down the ramp and into the pool. Quickly unhooking the flag, Kim surfaced but had trouble swimming to the ladder. It's unclear whether or not she got hooked up on the car or just wasn't a strong swimmer. Either way, after 39 seconds, she gave up while still in the pool. Mark was the new Fear Factor champ!