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Natalie Spooner and Meaghan Mikkelson (Teammates)
(http://i62.[banned image hosting site].com/35jmj9c.jpg)
Natalie Spooner (@natspooner5)
Age: 23
Occupation: Member of Canada’s National Women’s Hockey Team (Forward)
Current City: Scarborough, Ont.
Hometown: Scarborough, Ont.
Strengths: Physically fit, energetic, positive
Fears/Phobias: Feet
Favourite Travel Destination: Scotland
Pet Peeve about Teammate: “Sometimes she likes too much control.”
Meaghan Mikkelson (@Mikkelson12)
Age: 29
Occupation: Member of Canada’s National Women’s Hockey Team (Defence)
Current City: Calgary, Alta.
Hometown: Regina, Sask. and St. Albert, Alta.
Strengths: Physically fit, detail-oriented, calm under pressure
Fears/Phobias: Bugs
Favourite Travel Destination: Hawaii
Pet Peeve about Teammate: “She does not always pay attention to details.”
TEAM BIO
Natalie and Meaghan met as members of Canada’s National Women’s Hockey Team in 2008 at training camp where Meaghan, a hockey player since age seven, took new recruit, Natalie, under her wing. As Olympic and World Champions, these two elite athletes have faced many challenges and bested many rival nations as part of the Canadian hockey team. The pair recently won gold with the women’s team at the 2014 Olympics in Sochi.
This duo will not accept second place and will be fierce competition for other racers.
POTENTIAL ROADBLOCK: Meaghan played the gold medal game in Sochi with a broken hand, which gives a sense of the toughness they are bringing to the starting line. She has since had surgery which might affect her physically in the challenges.
Both understand what it takes to win and more importantly, what it takes to work as a team. Meaghan tends to let stress and hard work rule her life, which is where Natalie’s friendship comes in handy. Natalie brings out the youthful silliness in Meaghan, a release she often needs.
“Although we may not be related, our relationship is similar to sisters,” said Natalie. “We may bicker at one another at times, but we move on quickly from that because we understand each other and love one another like sisters.” “We also think that we may be underestimated as females,” said Meaghan,
Winning 'The Amazing Race Canada' will extend their Olympic dream and allow them to devote their time to the sport they love. Hockey is not as lucrative a career for women as it is for men who play professionally, and their significant investment in training is both physical and financial. These determined women are passionate ambassadors of the sport and want to continue building support for the game.
Motto: “One clue at a time.” “Unity in adversity.” – Motto for 2014 Olympic Team
Team they most associate with from Season 1: A mix of Vanessa and Celina and Jet and Dave.
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Natalie and Meaghan ready to move from the hockey rink to 'The Amazing Race Canada'
What do you do after you win an Olympic gold medal in women’s hockey? If you’re Natalie Spooner and Meaghan Mikkelson, you go on “The Amazing Race Canada.”
“Obviously the Olympics were incredible and it was an amazing experience it’s such a high . . . and then all of a sudden it’s over and you kind of ride the wave for a little bit and then it starts to die off . . . so it’s nice to have another challenge to jump into,” says Meaghan.
Natalie, 23, and Meaghan, 29, who met as members of Canada’s National Women’s Hockey Team in 2008, won their gold medals at the 2014 Olympics in Sochi after a historic, nail-biting game that saw the team come back from a two goal deficit, scoring twice in the final minutes of the third period and going on to beat the U.S. team in overtime.
Meaghan also won gold at the 2010 Olympic Games in Vancouver, but the gold medal experience was all new for Natalie.
“It was amazing. It blew out of the water everything I thought the Olympics were going to be and I don’t think it could’ve been any better. And then winning the gold medal on top of that, it was an experience that I’ll never forget.”
The team is hoping to use their experience competing at an Olympic level to their advantage.
“Especially this year, our Olympic year, we overcame a lot, we had a lot going on within our team with coaches’ changes, people being cut, we lost a lot of games to the U.S. leading up to the games, so just having a lot of adversity I think that whatever’s thrown at us here we’ll be able to handle it the same way and move forward,” says Natalie.
Extremely competitive, they won’t let anything get in their way, something Meaghan proved during the Olympics, playing much of the tournament with a broken hand.
It has healed since then but it’s not 100 per cent, something they know may be a challenge during the “Race.”
“Natalie and I have talked a lot about it. We’ll figure out a way to work around it,” says Meaghan.
The two teammates, who have become close friends, say they also know each other extremely well.
“We’re always really supportive of each other, when you’re teammates you know your other teammate has your back and it’s always nice to know there’s someone there supporting you. It will be different with only the two of us now, instead of 21 people but I think it will be really good,” says Natalie.
“We’re a little bit nervous but you want to get that first leg out of the way as it’s kind of like your first shift of a hockey game, like at the Olympics. It’s a huge deal and there’s a lot of uncertainty going into it – nerves, stress, whatever it may be but it’s something we’re used to dealing with,” says Meaghan.
The team says winning “The Amazing Race Canada” would allow them to continue to pursue their dream of playing the sport they love – they don’t get paid to be on the national team – but either way they’re hoping to inspire other young hockey players, and maybe the rest of the country, in the process.
“As female hockey players we try and grow the game as much as we can and give back because we feel like the sport has given so much to us so we’re hoping that there’s young hockey players out there watching and they’re excited we’re on the show and it gets women’s hockey out there more,” says Meaghan.
“Another thing that’s cool is we’re not just representing our hometowns, I hope all of Canada can get behind us,” says Natalie.
Source:http://www.ctv.ca/TheAmazingRaceCanada/Articles/Season-Two/tarc_season_2_Natalie_Meaghan_feature_hockey_rink_.aspx
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Mikkelson going after Amazing Race title
Meaghan Mikkelson has two Olympic gold medals, but now she’s going after a new title: The Amazing Race Canada champion.
Mikkelson announced via her Twitter account on Tuesday morning that she and Olympic teammate Natalie Spooner are one of the first three teams to be unveiled for the second season of the reality show, which premieres July 8 on CTV.
St. Albert
“Obviously the Olympics were incredible and it was an amazing experience it’s such a high … and then all of a sudden it’s over and you kind of ride the wave for a little bit and then it starts to die off … so it’s nice to have another challenge to jump into,” Mikkelson, 29, told ctv.ca.
The Amazing Race Canada is a homegrown spin on the highly successful The Amazing Race series that sees teams race to destinations across the country, with the last team to arrive at each week’s pit stop risking elimination. The team that reaches the finish line first will win the grand prize of $250,000 cash, gas for life from Petro-Canada, the chance to fly free for a year anywhere Air Canada flies across the world, and two Chevrolet pickup trucks. There are also other prizes to be won at different pit stops along the way.
The Amazing Race Canada is hosted by Jon Montgomery, himself an Olympic gold medallist in skeleton at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver.
While Mikkelson patrols the blueline for Team Canada, Spooner, 23, is a forward, who hails from Scarborough, Ont. Her bio on CTV’s website describes her as “physically fit, energetic (and) positive,” and lists feet under “fears/phobias.”
Meanwhile, Mikkelson lists bugs as her phobia, and describes herself as “detail-oriented” and “calm under pressure.” She is, however, still dealing a broken hand suffered during the Winter Olympics earlier this year in Sochi, Russia, but she told ctv.ca that they have talked about it and “we’’ll figure out a way to work around it.”
The other teams announced Tuesday include actor Alain Chanoine and real estate agent Audrey Tousignant-Maurice, a dating couple from St-Hubert, Que., and best friends Shahla Kara and Nabeela Barday from Toronto.
There are a total of 11 teams competing on the second season of The Amazing Race Canada.
The show will air on Tuesdays this summer at 9 p.m. ET/PT.
Source:http://www.stalbertleader.com/2014/06/17/mikkelson-going-after-amazing-race-title/
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https://www.youtube.com/v/__PEXW8xadI
Credit: Youtube user: cisolatw
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Go hockey <3 My fav f/f this season !
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I just love how they are alphafemales <3 I don't think we have seen this before :hrt:
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I just love how they are alphafemales <3 I don't think we have seen this before :hrt:
A female team this strong on Amazing Race US has been pretty rare, Jimmer. In part, you could chalk that up to casting's preference for the kind that feels the need to flirt their way through the race, rather than do it on their own ability.
It's anyone's guess who's going to get the 2nd Express Pass. Nobody brought it up at all on Episode 2.
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No spoilers in this thread please, let's take that to the Discussion threads. :tup:
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Love their spirit and competitive nature
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Extra: ‘Amazing Race Canada’ Episode 4: Meaghan Psychs Herself Up to Bungee Jump
Meaghan tries to calm her nerves, but what does Natalie have to say?
http://www.ctv.ca/TheAmazingRaceCanada/video.aspx?vid=407655
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Extra: ‘Amazing Race Canada’ Episode 4: Natalie and Meaghan’s Rap Song of the Day
The hockey players drop a beat in Macau, China.
http://www.ctv.ca/TheAmazingRaceCanada/video.aspx?vid=407654
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Extra: ‘Amazing Race Canada’ Episode 4: Extended Mat Chats: Natalie and Meaghan
Have the hockey players decided who they’re giving the Express Pass to?
http://www.ctv.ca/TheAmazingRaceCanada/video.aspx?vid=408409
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Extra: ‘Amazing Race Canada’ Episode 5: Mat Chats: Natalie and Meaghan
What you didn’t see on the show from the Olympic Gold medalists.
http://www.ctv.ca/TheAmazingRaceCanada/video.aspx?vid=411653
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Extra: ‘Amazing Race Canada’ Episode 6: Hockey Fight
Natalie and Mickey throw a playful punch on the ice
http://www.ctv.ca/TheAmazingRaceCanada/video.aspx?vid=415569
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Extra: ‘Amazing Race Canada’ Episode 6: Extended Mat Chats: Nat and Meaghan
What you didn’t see on the show from the Olympic gold medalists.
http://www.ctv.ca/TheAmazingRaceCanada/video.aspx?vid=415567
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Amazing Race Canada: Olympians laugh off hockey challenge woes
It wasn’t a golden moment for Team Canada Olympians Meaghan Mikkelson and Natalie Spooner, but the pair say they’re not too worried about their combined struggles to hit the “five hole” during the latest episode of The Amazing Race Canada.
“It’s funny, we were just talking about it, but we haven’t gotten many messages at all from teammates or coaches or anyone giving us any problems,” Mikkelson said Wednesday afternoon from Alberta, less than 24 hours after the popular pairing on the reality game show needed an embarrassing 56 shots to hit the five hole on a cutout goalie during a challenge seemingly made for them.
“It’s been pretty positive, we’re receiving a lot of support, so it’s not as terrible as some people might think.”
Most viewers probably felt the way Mikkelson and Spooner did when the showpresented participants with the option of making perogies or taking shots on the ice at a cutout goalie similar to the popular “shooter tutor” hockey training aid.
The choice was a no-brainer for a pair of players who helped bring home a gold medal for Canada with a thrilling comeback victory over the arch-rival U.S. at the Sochi Olympics. All contestants needed to do was shoot a puck through holes in all four corners of the cutout goalie, then shoot the puck through the cutout’s legs (or five hole).
“It’s kind of a challenge made for us,” Spooner, 23, said on the show.
“I want to wear this all day,” the 29-year-old Mikkelson added when she strapped on her helmet.
Everything pointed to an easy win for the gold medallists, but it was anything but.
They breezed through the top- and lower-shelf shots, but needed an astounding 56 shots to finally put a puck between the cutout goalie’s legs.
By contrast, Sukhi and Jinder Atwal, the brother-and-sister team from Terrace, B.C., needed just 39 shots. And the Atwals had difficulty just standing up on skates to begin with.
“Do you know how to skate, Sukh?” Jinder asked his sister.
“No, (but) how hard can it be?” she replied.
The siblings didn’t know, or care much, if they were left- or right-handed shots, either.
And so the embarrassment mounted for the Olympians, but afterward, Mikkelson and Spooner managed to keep a healthy athletic perspective on the whole episode.
“Everyone playing hockey realizes it’s a shooter tutor — you can hit the post a ton of times,” said Mikkelson. “So everyone who plays hockey understands it can happen, but (as Olympians), they expect more of us. We’re not worried about it, we’re gold medallists, it’s not ruining our hockey credibility.”
In fact, Mikkelson and Spooner were trying to have fun with the entire thing amongst themselves.
Spooner blamed “the stick” on the show, but said Wednesday they were just kidding.
“We weren’t blaming the stick, just joking … it was some old piece of two-by-four with a crazy curve so we were just trying to have fun with it,” Spooner said.
Added Mikkleson: “I guess when we got there we figured we’d just get through it quickly, then the five hole … and not hitting it got frustrating. We knew we’d get it, so we kept at it.”
With a television audience tuning in, it was apparent the embarassment was mounting for the Olympians, but Mikkleson noted the show didn’t mention some background info. For instance, Mikkleson broke her hand in Sochi, and the 29-year-old from St. Albert, Alta., played through the Games with her injury, and assisted on Brianne Jenners third period goal that sparked Canada’s comeback from a two-goal deficit in the gold medal game.
“Well, what they don’t mention on the show is that my hands were a mess,” Mikkleson said.
“I was trying to raise the puck and I had trouble holding onto the stick, so it kinda cuts your odds in half. I had broken my hand four days before the gold medal game and I had surgery before (The Amazing Race Canada began filming). Basically, neither one of us had been on the ice since Sochi and I had complications with my hand just before the Race, I had to see doctors and (Spooner) was just so supportive in dealing with it.”
Spooner, of Toronto, and Mikkelson, from St. Albert, Alta., plan to be at the Real Sports Bar and Grill on York St. next Tuesday for an Amazing Race Canada viewing party.
“We’re glad our fans have been supportive and understand these things happen,” Spooner said.
Source:http://www.thestar.com/sports/hockey/2014/08/13/canadian_olympians_less_than_amazing_in_reality_show_challenge.html
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Extra: ‘Amazing Race Canada’ Episode 7: Extended Mat Chats: Nat and Meaghan
What you didn’t see on the show from the Olympic gold medalists in Normandy.
http://www.ctv.ca/TheAmazingRaceCanada/video.aspx?vid=419561
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Extra: ‘Amazing Race Canada’ Episode 8: Nat and Meaghan: Fashion Fail
The Olympic gold medalists explain why they prefer to buy fashionable clothes, not make them.
http://www.ctv.ca/TheAmazingRaceCanada/video.aspx?vid=425431
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75% of legs have been won by them. I don't think any team has won over 6 legs in a season? So one more for them to break the record.
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75% of legs have been won by them. I don't think any team has won over 6 legs in a season? So one more for them to break the record.
8 is the US record
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75% of legs have been won by them. I don't think any team has won over 6 legs in a season? So one more for them to break the record.
8 is the US record
And Mark & Rovilson share the record with them.
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Extra: ‘Amazing Race Canada’ Episode 9: Extra: Mickey and Pete pull a prank on Nat and Meaghan
Watch what happens when the Olympians fall asleep at the airport.
http://www.ctv.ca/TheAmazingRaceCanada/video.aspx?vid=430701
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Extra: ‘Amazing Race Canada’ Episode 10: Extended Mat Chat with Nat and Meaghan, Sukhi and Jinder
The two teams have a heated confrontation at the mat.
http://www.ctv.ca/TheAmazingRaceCanada/video.aspx?vid=435484
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Extra: ‘Amazing Race Canada’ Episode 11: Extended Mat Chats with the Final 3
What you didn’t see from the final three teams on the mat in New Brunswick.
http://www.ctv.ca/TheAmazingRaceCanada/video.aspx?vid=441858&tag=405
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Please win
They are like the best ff team ever
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They're,by FAR,the best FF team to ever race in any edition.
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I think they're guaranteed an average placing of under 2 which is incredible!
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FINAL THREE TEAMS ON WHY THEY SHOULD WIN ‘THE AMAZING RACE CANADA’
The Olympic Gold medalists and friends have dominated this “Race” so far, but do they have what it takes to take home the gold in the championship leg?
Number of Legs won: 7
Number of Times Saved by Non-Elimination: 0
Why do you think you’ve been able to make it this far?
Natalie: “I think we work really well together and we’re very different but also very similar … I think that has helped us in the ‘Race,’ that if I’m missing out on something then Meaghan is going to see it (and vice versa). We’ve been having fun and trying our hardest and things have been going well so far.”
Meaghan: “We have a good balance in our team … we’re both very competitive and very driven. We try to go out there and be our best every single leg of the ‘Race’ and that’s our goal going into the final.”
Why do you deserve to win?
Meaghan: “I think we deserve to win because we are such a great team and we’ve done so well so far in this ‘Race.’ We’ve proven we can win and we deserve to win and we are one of the stronger teams. At the same time I don’t think we can underestimate the other two teams … you never know what could happen on any given day of the ‘Race.’”
Source:http://www.ctv.ca/TheAmazingRaceCanada/Articles/Season-Two/tarc_season_2_final_3_preview.aspx
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Final 3 interview on local news:
http://www.ctvnews.ca/video?playlistId=1.2010983
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OLYMPIC CHAMPIONS NATALIE AND MEAGHAN SETTLE FOR SILVER IN 'AMAZING RACE CANADA' FINALE
Despite dominating “The Amazing Race Canada” with seven first-place finishes, Olympic champions Natalie Spooner and Meaghan Mikkelson had to settle for silver in the final leg.
“It’s very, very upsetting. You go into the finals and you obviously want to win . . . We’d done so well the entire ‘Race,’ and we never had a really terrible leg but it just seems like all our bad luck was saved for one day. Nothing went well for us,” says Meaghan.
Natalie and Meaghan, who earned a gold medal in women’s hockey at the 2014 Olympics in Sochi, finished closely behind best friends Mickey Henry and Pete Schmalz on Sunday’s Season 2 finale in Ottawa. Co-workers Ryan Steele and Rob Goddard finished in third.
“As upset as we are though we couldn’t be happier for Mickey and Pete. They’re really great guys and they ran a really clean ‘Race’ that day,” says Meaghan.
The day got off to a bad start for Natalie and Meaghan, whose broken right hand is still healing, at a rafting challenge that required them to paddle across the Ottawa River.
“I had two things to think about in that ‘Race’ and it’s winning the ‘Race’ and battling through it, and then it’s my hockey career and my responsibility to Hockey Canada and my team. I didn’t want to push my hand to a point where I was going to have any permanent damage so I had to be smart with it,” says Meaghan.
“I was basically paddling with one hand at that point. I wasn’t using my right hand very much and I think that probably hurt us a bit.”
The team finished after Mickey and Pete, who is a river raft guide, and continued to stay just behind them through the next two challenges.
They ran into more trouble at a Roadblock that required one team member to ascend 60ft. up a glass atrium. Since Natalie had done the task of finding miniature cars at the Diefenbunker, Meaghan had no choice but to do the physically demanding challenge.
“Pulling myself across with one arm, that was really tough, and my hand was pretty sore. But we’ve been through a lot of difficult things and we’ve put our bodies through a lot of pain when it comes to training and in preparation for the Olympics this year, you push yourself to a point of mental and physical exhaustion. I knew what that felt like and I knew I needed to kind of push through,” says Meaghan.
The team managed to catch up to Mickey and Pete at the final challenge at the National Gallery of Canada -- arranging paintings of places they saw on the “Race” in the order they saw them -- but the carefree best friends finished the task before them once again and arrived at the Finish Line in first place.
“It was a bad day for us and it didn’t go our way but things happen for a reason and we raced our hardest the whole ‘Race’ and we had the best time ever, we had so much fun doing all these cool things,” says Natalie.
And even though they dominated the entire “Race,” Natalie and Meaghan admit that no one was more surprised than they were.
“We went into the first leg saying we just can’t get eliminated on the first episode. It would be so embarrassing. And then we won and we were like, ‘Wow I can’t believe that just happened’ and it seemed like every time we would walk away from Jon (Montgomery) and turn to each other and say, ‘Did that just happen?’” says Meaghan.
The team is very appreciative of all the support they’ve received from their fans and are hoping that their time on the “Race” will help inspire other young women and raise the profile of women’s hockey.
They will now return to playing for their respective club teams until the next Olympics and say this experience has made them closer than ever.
“I think it brought us a lot closer than either one of us would probably have expected. Now we talk every single day and Spooner is one of my best friends,” says Meaghan.
Source:http://www.ctv.ca/TheAmazingRaceCanada/Articles/Season-Two/tarc_212_nat_meaghan_settle_for_silver.aspx
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Chestermere High School Students Get a Gold Medal Experience
It is safe to say that when there is a hockey game on, most Canadians can be found zeroed in on their TV screens cheering on their favorite team…and even more so when it is Olympic hockey. If you were watching women’s hockey during the 2010 and 2014 winter games, you would have noticed the amazing Meaghan Mikkelson. However, on October 6th, Meaghan could be found at Chestermere High School speaking to a full house of students anxious to hear about her journey.
Mikkelson took the students through the story of her life. Telling them that at age 13, sitting on her living room floor watching the Women’s Canadian National hockey team play at the 1998 Winter Olympics and saying to herself “I want to do that. I want to play hockey in the Olympics and represent Canada”. She continued through her schooling, graduated high school and attended the University of Wisconsin where she won two national championships.
When she graduated with a degree in business and marketing, Meaghan returned to Calgary where she got a job working downtown doing very well at her career while continuing to play hockey. However, the dream of that 13 year old girl wanting to represent her country in a sport that she loved, drove her to make the decision to quit her job and pursue her dreams of Olympic gold.
With footage of the gold medal game in Sochi played on February 20, 2014, Mikkelson took the students through the emotions and feelings of a team facing a silver medal win as they were behind two goals to the USA. Four days prior to this game, Mikkelson broke her hand and she stressed to the students that even in times of adversity and road blocks, anything is possible. Even though it has been 8 months since that Canadian Women’s hockey team came back with 2 ½ minutes left to tie the USA and then win the gold in overtime, as the footage was played for the captivated students, you could still see the two time Gold Medalist fill with emotion as she watched that winning goal.
Following the 2014 Sochi games, Mikkelson and team mate Natalie Spooner were cast to participate in The Amazing Race Canada. She made the comparison of Olympic hockey to The Amazing Race by saying, “when preparing for the Olympics I felt I had done years of training, I knew exactly what to do and how the game is played. Nothing prepared me for what we went through on the Amazing Race Canada”. Mikkelson and Spooner went on to take second place in The Amazing Race Canada, only falling behind the first place team by seven minutes. Meaghan reflected saying, “this wasn’t about winning, and it was about the journey. Being able to travel to all of those amazing places and to be able to stop, enjoy and just being in the moment”.
With two Olympic gold medals and a second place finish in The Amazing Race Canada, what is next for Mikkelson……the hope of that third gold medal at the 2018 Winter Olympics in South Korea.
Source:http://www.theanchor.ca/2014/chestermere-high-school-students-get-a-gold-medal-experience/
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Audition video:
https://www.youtube.com/v/ubP7Uh0x3zE
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Both Spooner and Mikkelson were named to Canada's women's hockey team for the 2018 Winter Olympics.
Canada will be going for its 5th straight gold medal in women's hockey.
:cmas9
Laura from their season posted this video that's a montage of much of their cast cheering them on :) (Jon of course as a fellow Olympian, Mickey, Ryan & Rob, Sukhi & Jinder, Pierre & Michel, Cormac & Nicole, Laura & Nicole, Jen & Shawn, and Nabeela)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=anZa6EtN4wo&feature=youtu.be