Courtney Marit

Courtney Marit is a contestant from Survivor: Panama.

Despite being constantly attacked and being the ire of her tribemates, Courtney made it all the way to the final six. However, she fell victim to an unrivaled blindside orchestrated by ally Cirie Fields, which would go down as one of the most influential and revolutionary moves the show has ever seen.

Profile[]

Retrieved from CBS.com

Courtney Marit was born in Washington, D.C. An avid gymnast, she reached elite level, was nationally ranked and eventually received a gymnastics scholarship from the University of Georgia, where she was part of the 1993 NCAA Championship team.

Marit is currently a performance artist, working with others to collaborate and create theatrical shows that include music, fire, trapeze, stilts and a myriad of circus arts. She is founder of Revolve Productions, a company that has brought together musicians, disc jockeys, designers and performers dedicated to creating one-of-a-kind events. She also teaches fire dancing with the intention of celebrating this ancient art form as a tool of self-expression, meditation and fun. Additionally, she is working on her first screenplay and focusing on creating film and documentaries that promote world unity.

Having traveled to over 30 countries around the globe, Marit previously worked as a deckhand/cook and helped deliver luxury yachts across the Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea. She also worked as a massage therapist, ski instructor, snow maker, farmer, elder caregiver, trailblazer, biking/hiking guide and importer.

Marit's many adventures include climbing mountain peaks in the Cordilla Blanca of Peru, skiing the mountains of Alaska, running a marathon in Honolulu, performing throughout Europe, living in caves in India, surfing in Costa Rica, hitchhiking through Mexico and walking the deserts of Chile. Marit wants to have the experience of a lifetime and lives for adventure and knowledge. Learning about other countries and cultures is her passion. She enjoys celebrating life and the world she lives in.

Marit describes herself as free spirited, creative, fun, sensitive and compassionate. She enjoys being part of an artistic community that integrates music, creation, dance and travel.

Marit is currently single and living in Los Angeles. Her birth date is May 24, 1974.^[1]

Survivor[]

Aged 31 at the time, Courtney was placed on the Bayoneta tribe, which consisted of "younger women". The tribe got off to a bad start when Danielle DiLorenzo failed to find an amulet in the first Reward Challenge, costing them flint and leaving them with the task of leaving someone to stay on Exile Island. After a game of rock-paper-scissors, Misty Giles was chosen to stay behind. The women had problems at camp too when they could not find a place to build a shelter, much to the annoyance of Sally Schumann. Courtney in particular, was distracted by a dead sea turtle, which she believed to symbolize fertility and motherhood, which annoyed Danielle. Despite all of the problems, the women rallied together to come in first at the Immunity Challenge keeping them safe from Tribal Council.

On Day 4, Bayoneta was dissolved and the four tribes became two. Courtney was selected by Shane Powers to be on the new Casaya tribe in the Schoolyard Pick and she chose Aras Baskauskas to be on the tribe. Courtney aligned herself with Aras, Danielle, and Shane. Casaya lost the next two challenges, sending the new tribe to Tribal Council. Adding to this, Shane, suffering from nicotine withdrawal, had rampant mood swings and even asked be lifted from his word and be voted out. Aras managed to calm him down and they continued to vote out Melinda Hyder as planned.

Bruce Kanegai would replace Melinda, and he proved to be a powerful asset to the tribe. He built a water filtration station, which Courtney would question. Casaya would go on a winning streak, winning immunity twice, along with an outhouse, toiletries, large fish, rice, and beans. During this time, Courtney would often get in petty fights with Shane. She also befriended and aligned with Cirie Fields. Courtney was also annoyed by Bobby Mason for wanting to use the outhouse Casaya won as a bathroom as opposed to a storage place for firewood, and Bruce Kanegai would be annoyed with her for messing with his "Zen Garden". The La Mina tribe manage to win the Immunity Challenge on Day 14, sending Casaya back to Tribal Council. The women felt that Bobby was causing too much problems at camp despite winning the last Reward Challenge for the tribe. The vote was erratic, but the women got their way and Bobby was voted out 3-2-1-1. Casaya would win the next challenge, which was for immunity and a trip to a local Panamanian village. During the trip, the group bonded and felt unified for the first time.

On Day 16, the men of the La Mina tribe arrived at the Casaya camp and Sally arrived from Exile Island and the tribes merged into the Gitanos tribe. The Casaya Alliance held strong, despite the efforts of the former La Mina members to get one of them to flip. The first target, Terry Deitz, went on an immunity streak, forcing them to eliminate Nick Stanbury, Austin Carty, and Sally. At the final seven Reward Challenge, Courtney was shocked and hurt when she was deemed many negative things, such as being the most annoying castaway left in the game. Courtney lost the challenge and was sent back to camp with Shane and Bruce, while Cirie, Aras, and Danielle went on reward and Terry went to Exile Island. Later at night, Bruce suffered from severe stomach pains and called the medical team. The medics diagnosed his condition as severe constipation and Bruce had to be medically evacuated. Courtney and Shane were saddened by Bruce's departure and were left with the task of telling the others on how Bruce left.

At the final six Reward Challenge, Courtney, along with Danielle and Terry, won a trip to eat a barbecue and the right to win a car, which Terry won. Terry started trying to align himself with Courtney. Shane would do the same, with him stating that anyone could win against her. At the next Immunity Challenge, it came down to her and Terry. Despite the support of her tribemates, Courtney's endurance ran out and Terry won his fourth consecutive Immunity Challenge. Courtney ultimately chose to side with Terry, and thought that Cirie and Danielle were on her side. However, she was blindsided at Tribal Council in a 3-2-1 vote. Although shocked, she took her elimination well.

At Final Tribal Council, Courtney cast her jury vote for Aras to win.

Episode	Tribe Affiliation	Challenge	Challenge Type	Sit-Out?	Result
1	Bayoneta	Skull Crush	Reward	Yes	Lost
1	Bayoneta	4x4	Immunity	No	1st
Switched Tribes, Day 4
2	Casaya	A Reptile Dysfunction	Reward	No	Lost
2		Anchor Management	Immunity	No	Lost
3		Cross Fire	Reward	No	Lost
3		Battle Dig	Immunity	No	Won
4		Puzzle Paranoia	Reward	No	Won
4		Sea Level, Tree Level	Immunity	No	Won
5		For Cod's Sake	Reward	Yes	Won
5		Buried at Sea	Immunity	No	Lost
6		In-Cog-Neato	Reward/Immunity	Yes	Won
Tribes Merged, Day 16
8	Gitanos	Vampire Bats	Immunity		Lost
9		Rock the Boat	Reward		Lost
9		Ups and Downs	Immunity		Lost
10		Get Hooked	Reward		Won
10		Marine Memory	Immunity	Yes¹	Lost
11		Voo Doo	Reward		Lost
12		The Key of Sea	Reward²		Won
		The Key of Sea	Reward²		Lost
		Hold Your Own	Immunity		Lost
Voted Out, Day 30
Notes: ^1 Courtney elected to sit out of the challenge to eat hamburgers. ^2 This was a two-part Reward Challenge. The members of the team that won the first part of the challenge were eligible to compete in the second part for another reward.

Episode	Courtney's Votes	Voted Against Courtney
1	Bayoneta Tribe Immune
2	Melinda	-
3	Casaya Tribe Immune
4	Casaya Tribe Immune
5	Bobby	Bruce
6	Casaya Tribe Immune
8	Nick	-
9	Austin	-
10	Sally	-
11	No Tribal Council
12	Aras	Aras, Cirie, Danielle
Voted Out, Day 30
Voted for Sole Survivor	Aras

Post-Survivor[]

On January 9, 2010, Courtney attended Survivor's 10-year anniversary party.

Trivia[]

Courtney is the oldest member from the original Bayoneta tribe.
Courtney's luxury item was her fire dancing poi.
Courtney holds the record for being most recurring answer in the Q and A challenge, with 4.
According to Coby Archa, Courtney was cast for Micronesia but was cut at the last minute.^[2]