MANILA, Philippines — Eleven new teams who are participants The Amazing Race (TAR) US Season 30 have apparently braced themselves for the “toughest obstacles, wildest contestants and hardest challenges,” when the new season premiered last Jan. 4 on AXN.
Pairing the most competitive teams so far, TAR 30 kicked off at the Washington Square Park in New York City. Thousands of spectators witnessed the teams who would compete for the $1M grand prize. The first clue was retrieved from the fountain in the middle of the park, so the teams got soaked early on in the race.
Erstwhile Big Brother contestants-turned-sweethearts Cody Nickson and Jessica Graf are competing anew this time as a pair (Team Big Brother). Thirty-two-year-old Cody is from Plano, Texas while 26-year-old Jessica is from Los Angeles, California.
Indy Car drivers Alex Rossi, 26 and Conor Daly, 25, are both from Indianapolis, Indiana (Team Indy Car). Yoga instructors April Gould from Gilbert, Arizona and Sarah Williams from Mesa, Arizona are both 39-year-old owners of Arizona Goat Yoga (Team Goat Yoga).
Retired NBA players Cedric Ceballos, 48 and Shawn Marion, 39, are both from Chicago, Illinois (Team Slam Dunk). They used to play for Miami Heat. Twin brothers Eric and Daniel Guifredda, both 33, are both firefighters and paramedics from Ponchatoula and Gonzales, Louisiana, respectively (The Firefighters).
Instagram models Dessie Mitcheson, 27, from Apollo, Pennsylvania and Kayla Fitzgerald, 26, are from Clermont, Florida (Team Ring Girls). Management consultants Henry Zhang and Evan Lynyak, both 22, are dating debaters from Los Angeles, California (Team Yale).
Competitive eaters Joey Chestnut, 33, from San Jose, California and Tim Janus, 41, from New York City (Team Chomp). Professional skiers Kristi Leskinen from Uniontown, Pennsylvania and Scottsdale, Arizona, 36, teams up with 30-year-old Jen Hudak from Park City, Utah (Team Extreme).
Lucas Bocanegra, 35, a lifeguard lieutenant is paired with 31-year-old Brittany Austin, an ocean rescue lifeguard, both from Miami Springs, Florida (Team Ocean Rescue). Classical musicians Trevor Wadleigh, 31 and Chris Marchant, 33, both from New York, perform as string quartet violinists and are both determined to conquer the race (Team Well Strung).
The teams all went to Reykjavik, Iceland, where their first challenge was to zipline across a waterfall and a canyon to get the flag of Iceland, which they subsequently surrendered to retrieve their next clue.
The spelling challenge in the first Roadblock supposedly done by only one member, saw Team Slam Dunk in penalty for 30 minutes before the Pit Stop. Unaware, one member was punished for coaching his partner, apparently in breach of the rules of the race. The spelled out word for the teams led them to their next destination.
Team Extreme, with Kristy and Jen, was the first to arrive at the Pit Stop and they won a trip for two to Santorini, Greece. In a close foot race to the mat were two female teams, Team Goat Yoga and Team Ring Girls, with the latter being the first ones to eventually leave the race.
Multi-Emmy Award winner as Best Reality Series, TAR 30 is hosted by Phil Keoghan. Also included in this season’s itinerary are Belgium, France, Czech Republic, Bahrain, Hong Kong, China, Thailand, Morocco and Zimbabwe.