"I've had no feeling in my right leg," Steve Meinke on an injury not shown in The Challenge: All Stars Rivals final

Winning The Challenge is hard enough when you’re at full strength. It’s a whole different beast when your body starts breaking down mid-race — and nobody even sees it. That’s what happened to Steve Meinke, one half of the winning duo on The Challenge: All Stars Rivals finale.

"I have no feeling in my entire right leg, for a while,"

Meinke revealed to EW after the finale aired. Despite battling multiple injuries — including a quad strain, bleeding toes, and nerve issues — Meinke powered through to claim the title alongside Adam Larson. And if you thought that was wild, there was also a behind-the-scenes engagement plan brewing.

Below, we dig into how Meinke and Larson clawed their way to victory, what injuries Meinke kept hidden, and how The Challenge shaped major moments in their lives offscreen, too.

---

Steve Meinke battled major injuries during The Challenge final

While viewers watched Meinke tough it out, most of the serious injuries he endured never made it on air. Talking about it later, Meinke shared,

"I suffer from peripheral neuropathy, and so anything with extreme weather changes or extreme heat or a change in heart rate, my fingers, my fingernails, and my toenails start kind of going crazy."

He revealed that he lost two toenails before the final event began and ran part of it barefoot as his toes started bleeding.

"The last half hour I was running back and forth barefoot because my toenails were bleeding," he said.

Things got worse on a sand dune sprint.

"I popped my quad where it attaches to my hip, right on the third or fourth step going down that hill,"

Meinke said.

"Instant explosion, I strained my quad, and I was done for the rest of the day."

On top of that, ongoing physical therapy and a disintegrated disc made it a brutal experience. Yet, somehow, Meinke still crossed the finish line first on The Challenge.

---

A final push to the limit on The Challenge

Even without the injuries, the final of The Challenge was no joke. Steve and Adam started off rocky, landing third (and last) in the early checkpoints. But with pure grit, they clawed their way back into the lead. It came down to a photo finish against Shane Landrum and Da'Vonne Rogers, but Steve and Adam managed to call for a check just seconds earlier.

At the moment, Steve thought it wasn’t even that close.

“We called for check probably six times,”

Adam said, noting that Shane and Da’Vonne had started calling for checks, too. But victory was theirs. For Steve, though, it wasn’t just about winning The Challenge — it was about surviving it. With his quad barely hanging on and his leg numb, crossing that finish line wasn’t just sweet; it was a massive personal triumph.

---

The long road to recovery after The Challenge

Winning The Challenge was just the beginning for Steve. The real work came afterward.

“I'm still going through physical therapy for it, so that's fun,"

Steve said dryly, describing the state of his body post-final. The discovery of a disintegrated disc and a slipped vertebra explained why his injuries during the show had been so extreme.

Steve’s peripheral neuropathy also meant the damage didn’t end when the cameras stopped rolling. Even months later, he continued battling the lingering effects of what his body went through during The Challenge. It's a reminder that behind every confetti shower, there's a lot of grit — and sometimes a lot of physical therapy.

---

Why Steve's win matters in The Challenge history

Steve’s win on The Challenge wasn’t just another trophy moment. It was the culmination of perseverance, resilience, and pure stubbornness. Most people would have tapped out after the first toenail popped off or after feeling a muscle explode mid-run. But Steve kept moving.

While Adam celebrated proposing to his longtime girlfriend, Averey Tressler, after the win, Steve’s biggest victory was simply making it through The Challenge alive — and in (almost) one piece. It’s a victory that deserves its own celebration, even if Steve's still limping a little when he gets there.