Robert Voets/CBSNFL cheerleaders face off with Division 1 college athletes, flight attendants take on movie stuntmen, and the screenwriter of School of Rock and his clergyman dad do battle with Harvard-schooled lawyers on the latest season of The Amazing Race.
But, Hollywood players, buff dudes and blonde babes aside, the most interesting team on the 14th cycle of the hit CBS reality show is arguably a mother and son from Denver. Luke Adams, 22, has been deaf since birth. On a show where the language barrier can stymie the fiercest of competitors, Luke and his mother Margie will have a fresh, albeit daunting, challenge as they trek more than 40,000 miles through nine countries in 22 days.
The journey begins Feb. 15 at Los Alamitos Joint Forces Training Base outside Los Angeles. Phil Keoghan returns to guide the 11 teams as they make their way through Switzerland, India, Russia and, for the first time ever, Romania. They'll make the world's second-tallest bungee jump and survive the bitter cold, below-zero temperatures of Siberia and the extreme-heat of India, all for the shot at a million bucks.
"Heading into our 14th season, I wanted to pull out all the stops," says show mastermind Bertram van Munster. "We have extreme climates, intense roadblocks and less time in airports, which adds up to an exhausting course for the Racers. Whether you're a screenwriter, a Harvard graduate, a jockey or a carpenter, this Race will test your stamina, your heart and your will to win."
Here's a look at the traveling twosomes:
- Amanda Blackledge, 23, student; Kris Klicka, 24, sales representative (dating)
- Victoria Hunt, 47, tax manager; Brad Hunt, 52, distribution dispatcher (married; she was born with hip dysplasia and recently had major foot surgery)
- Cara Rosenthal, 26, law student; Jamie Edmondson, 29, former police officer (former cheerleaders for the Miami Dolphins)
- Christie Volkmer, 37, flight attendant; Jodi Wincheski, 40, flight attendant (work together for Southwest Airlines)
- Jennifer Hopka, 26, student; Preston McCamy, 28, software engineer (on-again, off-again dating)
- LaKisha Hoffman, 28, program coordinator; Jennifer Hoffman, 24, marketing assistant (sisters and former University of Louisville athletes)
- Linda Cole, 52, customer service supervisor; Steve Cole, 43, carpenter (married)
- Margie Adams, 50, clinical research associate; Luke Adams, 22, college graduate (mother and son; he has been deaf since birth)
- Mark Munoz, 48, stuntman/jockey; Michael Munoz, 51, stuntman/actor (brothers and colleagues)
- Tammy Jih, 26, lawyer; Victor Jih, 35, lawyer (siblings; both graduated from Stanford University and Harvard Law School)
- Mel White, 68, writer/clergyman/gay rights activist; Mike White, 38, actor/screenwriter known for School of Rock and Nacho Libre (father and son)