Casey Clark is no stranger to competition, and the Big Brother and Challenge The champion sets her sights on the next best thing: the biggest sporting challenge on the planet.
“Soccer flag it’s going to be in the 2028 Olympics,” Clark, who played women’s tackle soccer professionally for nine years, tells Refinery29 via Zoom. “I’m tiptoeing around it, but I’m going to go into the world of football and see where that takes me. Maybe I’ll try for the Olympics.”
However, before the Games come to Los Angeles, Clark is working to regain his championship title MTV The Challenge. Titled ‘Battle Of The Eras’, the new season, which premieres on August 14, is the reality competition’s 40th series and the anniversary brings 40 legends past and present to see who Challenge era and competitor reign supreme.
This will be the first time Clark will be able to compete against the best of the best from the show’s history, and she’s excited. “I’ve never played a game with Rachel [Robinson]. I have never played a game with Kara [Maria Sorbello]never played a game with Emily [Schromm]. Mark Long, Derrick [Kosinski]says Clark. “Being able to see their styles of play and how they play the game and being in the same house as them, it’s really cool.”
Clark, who is in the Era 4 team along with other younger faces like Olivia Kaiser, Josh Martinez, Horatio Gutierrez, Jr.and Nurys Mateo, it is its own winning power. She has competed in every season since joining the Season 35 flagship. (Against last year’s championless roster at “Battle For A New Champion,” she emerged as Champion during the Chaos eliminations and won.) Clark reached the finals each from its competitive positions, including the opening one World Challenge Championshipsave one, and beat “Spies, Lies, And Allies” on her third try. And as the show celebrates its milestone, it’s in the midst of enjoying its own: her engagement to fellow Challenger Nany González;.
In front of Clark dishes on wedding plans, how he navigates his anxieties Challenge home, and more about her Olympic aspirations.
Refinery29: Belated congratulations on your engagement to Nanny! How’s the wedding planning going?
Kaycee Clark: We are definitely enjoying the engagement stage. we think [a wedding] sometime maybe at the end of 2025. Honestly, we are in no rush, but we are very excited.
Do you find it helpful to be in the same season as your significant other, or is it distracting and difficult?
I started playing the game with Nani, my first season [on “Total Madness”]and we created this relationship and this bond that we trust each other. Obviously we’re together — in fact, we just had our three year anniversary last week — so playing this game with her and anyone you can completely trust and know will have your back makes it so much easier. It’s stressful to [the Challenge house] so when you can have someone who feels at home, it’s everything. It’s actually the second time I’ve performed without it [Nany]which is really quite strange, but I’d say I’d rather play the game with her there. This season, I was like, “God, I wish the baby was here to see all of this.” It’s always a plus when he’s around.
This is it The Challengethe longest season ever. What was it like playing with older alums that you haven’t really played against?
First of all, I’ve never been in a house with 39 other people. It’s a lot of people! And lots of personalities and so much history inside The Challenge world. I didn’t watch The Challenge before continuing [the show]but now that I’ve been around for a while and heard all the stories and everything that’s been going on over the years, I was excited to play this game with the OGs who literally paved the way.
Who surprised you the most in terms of how they were on the show or their reputation versus how they are in person?
You know, I hear a lot of stories about Kara. Kara was, Kara was really really nice. I was expecting a certain kind of energy but it was different so it was nice to see. Emily, I’ve heard, was a beast and I’ve never played a game with her. She was really cool.
This season puts the Challengers in different eras based on when they were on the show, but most of you have relationships that extend beyond your era. How did it feel to be in Era 4 and was it difficult to navigate?
Being in Era 4 – the new kids on the block – I’m all for it. I understand they have the OGs and it takes a long time for it Challenge fans to accept the rookies they come from in this game Survivor, Big Brother, Island of Love. That’s understandable, which is why I love that we’re the newbies of the bunch. We also don’t have a deep-rooted history like the OGs, so we have a slight advantage of not stepping on each other’s toes and trying to one-up each other. [Era 4] has one Survivor champion, Big Brother champion, and Island of Love champion, so we have different mindsets in this game, but still in the same ballpark.
I feel like the women this season are incredible and it’s almost more competitive than the men’s side. I would love your opinion on this.
I love competing with the best of the best and the women this season are stacked. Daphne [Stucky]Kara, Rachel, Tori [Deal] — There is such a large handful of elite competitors when it comes to women. It will be a bloodbath, it will be a battle.
The hardest: winning Big Brother or winning The Challenge?
They are both tough in their own ways. Big Brother it was more. The Challenge it’s more physical of course. But they are both mentally and emotionally very challenging. The physical part is nice, whatever, but the mental part that people can’t see is intense.
What is your self care when you are in the Challenge house? How do you maintain your mental well-being?
To keep myself grounded and not freaking out, I like to write and journal. Fortunately, we can bring a notebook there and write down our thoughts. I also like to go out first thing in the morning when everyone else is still asleep. It reminds you that you’re in a game and why you’re doing it. Many times, you become so addicted to this game that it becomes your new normal. The first thing you think about is this game, and all day long, 24/7 you think about this game. You go to sleep thinking about this game. As time goes on, it becomes your normal and sometimes it’s so hard to think about the outside world, so it’s really good to disconnect in this way. You don’t have much privacy, you always have a microphone, you always have cameras on you. [enjoy] the little things you can do to remind you that it’s a game and get your mind right.
I can imagine, you are constantly in this pressure cooker with all these personalities that it is hard to find time alone.
It is very important to have people with whom you can talk about the outside world. There are some people you can talk to, and there are some people you can’t. And it really makes you feel at home. People would never understand unless they are actually in the game.
What’s next for you?
I always want to find that next level. Will I go to another competition show? I played women’s tackle football for nine years. Flag football will be in the 2028 Olympics [in Los Angeles]. I’m kind of tiptoeing around it, but I’m going to get into the world of football and see where that takes me. Maybe I’ll try for the Olympics.
Yay to Kaycee Clark at the Olympics! I manifest it.
I think this is the next best thing! They compete at a high level in The ChallengeI’m like, “Wow, if I can make it to the Olympics…” You never know if you don’t try, so we’ll see.
Challenge champion and Olympian. No one else is going to have this.
See, I’m trying to get that title! I’m trying to become a three-time champion! Big Brother, The Challengeand the Olympic Games.
This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.
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