Hockey champions Meaghan Mikkelson and Natalie Spooner were by far and away audience favourites to walk away from The Amazing Race Canada with gold.
But in a staggering victory upset at the Sunday finale, best friends Mickey Henry and Pete Schmalz, who had never won a single leg, thwarted Olympians Mikkelson and Spooner from a first place finish.
Throughout the international race, the Olympic stars were formidable opponents who dominated nearly every challenge winning seven out of 12 legs.
The jump-to-the-front occurred in Ottawa as the final three teams were given a series of physical and memory challenges.
The first challenge at the Fleet Street Pumping Station required them to paddle kayaks to the Rideau Canal. At ease on water, the hug-addicted Ontario boys pushed themselves to a strong lead they maintained throughout the race.
In their moment of triumph at the finish mat, Henry and Schmalz inexplicably dropped their pants. A breathless Schmalz said, “Oh, my God. It’s absolutely life changing, man. Mickey and I are both in huge debt. We’ll be able to pay it off.”
St. Albert raised Mikkelson and Spooner raced up to the finish mat several minutes later. Holding each other’s hands they projected stoic expressions and were naturally having difficulty holding back tears.
Even though the upset stunned everyone, CTV host Jon Montgomery saluted the girls’ efforts.
“You crushed Season 2 of the Amazing Race Canada. You have so much to be proud of. What you did in this show is nothing short of spectacular. Please do me a favour. When you leave this race, leave with your heads so high,” he said.
At the time of the race, Spooner noted that, “It was really upsetting not to win, but the experience we got out of this – I don’t think anyone can take that from us. It was such a crazy experience.”
The finale was held on May 23 and in looking back, Mikkelson reflects that it was bad luck and a series of mishaps that plagued their last leg.
Not only was she competing with an injured hand from the Sochi Olympics, but also “We had vehicle problems. We had very good luck with taxis throughout the challenge and in the last leg we ran into problems from the raft to the Parliament Buildings. And then getting around the Diefenbunker, Natalie had problems. We were always good at choosing Road Blocks, but this time luck ran out. It wasn’t one particular thing. It was everything even though we were usually three or four minutes behind.”
The final challenges included a paddle to the Rideau Canal, a bit of detective work leafing through Hansards at the Parliament Buildings and racing around the Diefenbunker searching for military toys.
Starting from the river excursion, the girls had problems with Mikkelson’s hand. Complications further swelled when their taxi developed transmission problems as they sputtered towards the Diefenbunker.
Mikkelson showed her mettle in an incredible test of the Olympic spirit climbing a harness-assisted 60-foot rope at the Canadian Museum of Nature atrium with an injured hand.
Despite wincing in pain, Mikkelson pushed everything out of mind and focused on the task – a feat she estimates took 20 minutes.
Although the golden girls of hockey settled for silver, The Amazing Race Canada turned out to be a platinum experience.
“The fun part of this race has been being together. We’ve gotten to know each other so well. We were good friends before this, but we’ve taken friendship to a whole new level,” said Mikkelson.
Of all her experiences, she was most touched by the trip to Normandy.
“It was an incredibly humbling experience to know how many soldiers risked everything and lost their lives.”
In closing Mikkelson added, “It’s not about the outcome. It’s about the journey. I’m lucky to have had all these experiences and I’m very happy for the boys.”
The girls receive seven trips, gas for one year and $20,000 in cash.
“I just hope I made St. Albert proud and I wish the race would have stopped in St. Albert.”
