Crocodile Rock (also known as Under Pressure) is a recurring endurance challenge in Survivor. It originated in Survivor: Ghost Island and reappeared in Island of the Idols and Survivor 43.
Rules[]
Castaways must push upwards on a bar, with which they must try to keep a ball wedged between a set of jaws. If they release the bar, the lower jaw will fall, causing their ball to fall out. Once their ball falls, they are out. The last person remaining wins.
In Australian Survivor and Koh-Lanta, a variation of the challenge was used such that the castaways will hold onto a handle with a single hand. Additionally, the castaways compete in the water instead of on land as in the original American version of the challenge.
History[]
United States[]
The challenge debuted in Ghost Island as an Immunity Challenge where the Lavita tribe was divided into two teams of five for a Split Tribal Council that evening. The last person standing on both teams would win immunity, and the last person standing overall would win reward for their team the right to vote second. Chelsea Townsend beat out Angela Perkins to win immunity on the purple team. However, Chelsea dropped out soon afterwards, giving the orange team the right to vote second. After nearly 45 minutes, Domenick Abbate outlasted Wendell Holland to win immunity on the orange team.
The challenge would later reappear in Island of the Idols, where before the challenge, host Jeff Probst offered the castaways breakfast food in exchange for not competing in the challenge. Most of the Lumuwaku tribe decided to sit out, with only Elizabeth Beisel, Karishma Patel, and Noura Salman choosing to compete. Karishma dropped out almost immediately after the challenge began. Noura ultimately outlasted Elizabeth to win immunity.
The challenge appeared again at the Split Tribal Council of Survivor 43, where the Gaia tribe was divided into two teams of five, each of which would attend a separate Tribal Council. The last person standing on both teams would win immunity, and the last person standing overall would win a reward of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for their team, as well as the right to vote second. Karla Cruz Godoy won the challenge on the blue team before dropping out soon after, while Cody Assenmacher won the challenge on the red team. As the overall winner, Cody won the reward for his red team.
Australia[]
In All Stars, the challenge appeared as an individual Immunity Challenge. Unlike the American version of the challenge, the castaways competed in the water, with one hand on the handle instead of both hands. Shonee Bowtell defeated David Genat to win her second Immunity Challenge.
The challenge returned to its original land-based format in Brains v Brawn (2021). After 42 minutes, the challenge came down to Andrew Ucles and Emmett Pugh. Despite struggling with fatigue to the point of offering Andrew a protection deal if he dropped out of the challenge, Emmett ended up pulling off the victory to win the first post-merge individual Immunity Challenge.
A variant of the challenge appeared as the first individual Immunity Challenge of Titans v Rebels, requiring the final fourteen castaways to lift a weighted rack using only their shins. After a grueling challenge that went on for over 20 minutes, Jaden Laing decided to throw the challenge to Winna Bhun, giving him his first immunity win.
Finland[]
France[]
Sweden[]
Winners[]
| Episode | Challenge Type | Winners | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ghost Island "The Finish Line Is in Sight" |
Individual Immunity |  Chelsea Townsend |
 Domenick Abbate |
| Island of the Idols "Bring On the Bacon" |
Individual Immunity |  Noura Salman | |
| Survivor 43 "What About the Big Girls" |
Individual Immunity |  Karla Cruz Godoy |
 Cody Assenmacher |
| Team Reward |     Cassidy, Cody, Gabler , Jesse, Ryan | ||
| Episode | Challenge Type | Winners |
|---|---|---|
| Champions v Contenders (2019) Episode 18 |
Individual Immunity |  Janine Allis |
| All Stars Episode 16 |
Individual Immunity |  Shonee Bowtell |
| Brains v Brawn (2021) Episode 13 |
Individual Immunity |  Emmett Pugh |
| Titans v Rebels "Revenge Is a Dish Best Served Russian" |
Individual Immunity |  Winna Bhun |
| Episode | Challenge Type | Winners |
|---|---|---|
| Selviytyjät Suomi 8 "Harhautus" |
Individual Immunity |  Rami Hietaniemi |
| Episode | Challenge Type | Winners |
|---|---|---|
| Le Totem Maudit Episode 10 |
Individual Reward |  François Descamp |
| Episode | Challenge Type | Winners |
|---|---|---|
| Robinson 2023 Episode 21 |
Individual Immunity |  Erik Wahrolén |
Gallery[]
Trivia[]
- This challenge has only been used as an individual Immunity Challenge.
- The challenge was named after the Elton John song of the same name.
- This challenge has only appeared on seasons featuring the Split Tribal Council twist.
References[]