STILL IN THE RUNNING
2 #TeamNashville are engaged energy specialist Keith Tollefson (29) and singer Whitney Duncan (29), who’ve put their wedding on hold to race around the world. This isn’t their first shot at reality TV either – they met on rival show Survivor (2000- current) in 2011’s South Pacific season.
Personal pitfalls: they’re self- confessed “stubborn mules who won’t budge”.
3 #TheDentists are married cosmetic dental experts Misti (36) and Jim Raman (37) who’ve got egos as big as their perfect smiles. And if you didn’t already know, the pair will remind you every episode that they’re going to dominate the game and rewrite the history books.
Personal pitfalls: losing focus of the big picture by fighting over small things that don’t matter.
4 #SweetScientists are laboratory best friends Maya Warren (29) and Amy DeJong (24) who put their smarts to good use by investigating sweet treats like ice cream. And they are hoping that their brainpower is going to help them take calculated risks and beat the other teams.
Personal pitfalls: over-thinking problems that are a lot easier than they realise. And they’re not the most physical of contestants in this season…
5 #TheFirefighters are real-life adrenaline junkies Michael Ward (40) and Scott Strazzullo (39), who know all about rushing into situations and thinking on the spot. And if their careers don’t make the guys heroes enough, they’re planning to donate any winnings from the season to charities.
Personal pitfalls: jumping head-first into tasks and speaking their minds without thinking.
6 #TheWrestlers Brooke Adams (29) and Robbie Strauss (30) hate losing and have the physical prowess to beat anyone. While the dating pro wrestling stars get on with most people, Robbie admits that “we will crush anyone who gets in our way!”
Personal pitfalls: non-stop arguments that go unresolved and linger – “and Brooke’s short fuse,” says Robbie.
7 #SoulSurfers and married couple Adam (26) and Bethany HamiltonDirks (24) are professional surfers who claim to be “in sync with each other and the Earth”. Bethany lost an arm in a shark attack in 2003, “So obviously some tasks will be really hard for me, but we’ll balance it out,” she says.
Personal pitfalls: they’ve got three arms and don’t always agree, which makes them late for events.
8 #MomDaughter team Shelley (42) and Nici Porter (26) are former military women who’ve switched careers to work as flight attendants, which they hope will give them the edge over the other teams since they know the ins and outs of airport life.
Personal pitfalls: they’re working on their mother-daughter bond that they describe as “volatile at the best of times”.
9 #TheCyclists Kym Perfetto (30) and Alli Forsythe (26) are putting their fitness and friendship to the test on the show. Their biggest strength, besides physical conditioning, is not backing down from any challenge and “knowing what teamwork is about,” says Kym.
Personal pitfalls: mental puzzles that don’t require a physical response might take a little longer for the pair, who leap before they look.
10 #CollegeSweethearts Tim Tsao (23) and Te Jay McGrath (24) want the other Racers to think that they’re inexperienced in life because they’re the babies of the group, but they’ve been around the world before and know what they’re doing on trips. Personal pitfalls: arguing in the middle of things rather than leaving it for later.