Survivor: Africa’s Kim Johnson Dead at 79

Kim Johnson, the runner-up from Survivor: Africa , has died at 79 after a long battle with cancer.

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The season’s winner, Ethan Zohn, confirmed the news in an Instagram tribute to his friend. “Rest in peace Kim Johnson,” he wrote. “It was a blessing to call you my friend and a privilege to experience the final tribal council with you. I will forever have that planters punch in your honor!”

Host Jeff Probst also took to Instagram to share his thoughts about Johnson, who he called a “pioneer.”

“Kim was a pioneer on Survivor and we are deeply sorry to learn of her passing,” he wrote. “I remember even then at just 56, how inspiring she was to other ‘older’ people because she showed that age was merely a number and that if you were willing to risk failing you might just amaze yourself. She definitely left her mark on the game and on all of us who were lucky enough to work on that season and tell her story.”

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Teresa Cooper (aka “T-Bird”), who played with Johnson and placed fifth on the season, commented on Probst’s post writing, “My heart is broken 💔 to lose such a phenomenal lady! She left her mark on many of us. Blessed to have known her.”

Johnson, a retired teacher from Oyster Bay, N.Y., was 56 when she headed to Kenya to compete in Season 3 of Survivor . Despite fearing she’d be eliminated first, she made it all the way to the season’s Final 4 spots, where she went on to win the last two immunity challenges. In the Final 3 challenge, she bested both Zohn and Lex van den Berghe while standing on two uneven poles and holding a totem in 104-degree heat. She lasted a total of three hours and 20 minutes in the hot African sun.

Johnson is the oldest Survivor contestant to win a final immunity challenge and is still the oldest female finalist in the show’s history. Unfortunately for her, she lost the final jury vote for the million dollars by a vote of 5-2.

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