INQUIRER EXCLUSIVE
Good guys, amazing racers
By Ruth L. Navarra
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 22:47:00 01/30/2008
Filed Under: Television, Entertainment (general)
MANILA, Philippines—The “good guys” finished first in the recently concluded season 12 of “Amazing Race” (aired on Studio 23).
Dating couple Thomas Kyle “TK” Erwin, 22, and Rachel Rosales, 23, won the $1 million grand prize in a race around the world.
The couple had several close calls but their calm response each time ultimately worked in their favor.
“We have so many things in common [and] we always made the same decisions,” says Rachel.
But that was not the only thing they brought to the race. TK says they learned a lot from previous seasons of TAR, that they discussed what strategies worked and what didn’t.
“We noticed that most of the winners had one thing in common — they were enjoying themselves during the race,” TK adds.
Treats
Prior to the competition, TK had traveled widely. Yet, he says, the savviest of travelers can make big mistakes on the road. Like he and Rachel did, losing a clue in Italy.
TK recounts: “We had driven 40 minutes before we realized we had lost our clue. We had to go back and find it.”
Rachel says they will use their prize money to travel some more, buy some treats and invest in the future— a future, she stresses, that has both of them in it.
“Rachel is a workaholic,” says TK. “I’m happy because having [this much] money means she can take some time off.”
Closest rivals
Had TK and Rachel slackened at any point, the father-daughter tandem of Ron and Christina Hsu would have snatched the prize. Ron and Chris’ relationship benefited a great deal from the race. They started out with hot-headed Ron intermittently snapping at Chris. Gradually, he learned to trust his daughter and even allowed her to make decisions for the two of them.
“I realized she was an adult and I didn’t mind that she took control,” says Ron.
For her part, Chris made sure that her father was getting enough nourishment during the race.
With someone taking care of him, Ron had the time to take care of everybody else. One instance was caught on cam: Ron sharing a cookie with 68-year-old Don during a roadblock in Japan.
The TAR experience has not ended for them. They recently auctioned off their “Who’s your daddy” t-shirts online to benefit an orphanage in Burkina Faso, West Africa, where they spent some time. Printed on the back of the shirts are Chinese characters that say, “Tiger Father, Tiger Daughter.”
Age at work
For the third placers — grandson and grandfather Nick and Don — the challenge was how to make age work for them.
“I have life experiences that Nick had to go through, like gutting fish, milking the camel and all that stuff. These helped us through,” says the oldest racer to ever reach the final three.
Don admits, though, that his grandson took charge whenever the challenge involved technology, like computers and the Internet.
The worst part, he says, were the roadblocks, “[when] one partner couldn’t help the other and just had to wait.” For Nick, it was exhaustion and lack of sleep.
“Looking back,” says Nick, “I kinda wish I took notes. I [also] wish I had watched previous seasons. I know Rach and Chris were keeping a diary.”
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