The Amazing Race > The Racers
TAR 19: Justin Young & Jennifer Young (Siblings)
Prophet:
I know, hopefully these two will go far, I kind of like them.
AmazingRace:
I like how Jennifer kinda lookes like Karlyn. :lol:
georgiapeach:
Love our local Media!!
Stone Mountain siblings, local former NFL player and wife part of ‘Amazing Race 19′
8:00 am September 22, 2011, by Rodney Ho
Pine Mountain residents Amani and Marcus Pollard will compete for $1 million on "The Amazing Race" starting Sunday, Sept. 25. CREDIT: CBS
For the first time ever, Georgia will have not just one – but two – teams in “The Amazing Race” for season 19 starting Sunday at 8 p.m.
The two teams are:
- Amani and Marcus Pollard: husband-wife team with four kids from Pine Mountain. Marcus had a solid 14-year career as a tight end in the NFL, retiring in 2008 after one game with the Atlanta Falcons. He now coaches high school football. Amani owns a boutique.
- Jennifer and Justin Young – A brother-sister team from Stone Mountain. He’s a medical resident. She’s a special education teacher.
I interviewed both couples though as standard with these shows, restricted by what we could talk about related to the show itself.
Marcus, 39, and Amani, 36, hope their strong marriage will guide them to victory and the $1 million. “We may not be the fastest or strongest or smartest,” Amani said in the promo video above. “But ultimately, we want to finish first.”
Their audition tape was done by their oldest son Myles, who is all of nine years old. Their kids (ages 3 to 9) supported them doing the show though it meant they had to disappear for a month. “We promised to come back bearing gifts,” Marcus said. “We had to come back full force!” And the kids had to keep their mouths shut about the show until CBS announced the cast, so the gifts were a good incentive.
Though neither are “Amazing Race” experts, they had seen the show enough and studied tape before they left to understand the challenges they faced. They worked out quite a bit to get ready, too. “I couldn’t have him make me look bad!” Amani said.
Interestingly, even during pit stops, she said, the competing couples didn’t interact all that much. “What you see is what you get in terms of alliances and friendships during filming,” Amani said.
And though both have traveled quite a bit, they hadn’t done much internationally beyond Aruba, Jamaica and the Virgin Islands. “We had very little experience getting on planes in different countries and going through customs,” Marcus said. The entire trip, he added, “was more mentally challenging than I thought it would be.”
“Sitting at home, it’s easy to say you have the answer to everything,” Amani said. “Then we’re put in these situations and it’s like, ‘What in the world?’ ”
Jennifer and Justin are siblings who used to fight a lot growing up but grew to appreciate each other as friends as they got older.
Both were drawn into “The Amazing Race” by an aunt and believed they have the right rapport and intelligence to win the race. “We’ve got great smiles and great attitude,” said Jennifer. “We wanted to have fun and push ourselves to do our best.” She said they came in with a goal to play with integrity. (Will they? They couldn’t say.)
While Justin has been to Mexico and London and Jennifer has been to the Caribbean, neither has exactly filled up their passports until this adventure. “This is truly a Golden Ticket,” said Justin, who will start working in urgent care n Johns Creek in two weeks before pursuing a residency next year in emergency medicine.
Justin, a rock climber who took time off from residency to work at REI, said if they win the big prize, he’ll pay down his medical school debt and give their parents money to travel around the world themselves. Jennifer, who recently moved to Newark, N.J. to teach elementary school kids, would like to go to grad school and get her PhD.
“There’s a distinct reason why this show is so watchable,” Justin noted, “why it’s so enjoyable, why it continues to win Emmys year after year. This is truly a great production full of people who are phenomenal.”
On TV
“The Amazing Race,” 8 p.m. Sundays, debuting Sept. 25, 2011
http://blogs.ajc.com/radio-tv-talk/2011/09/22/former-nfl-player-and-atlantan-marcus-pollard-and-wife-amani-on-the-amazing-race/
kiki:
Team 2: Justin and Jennifer (Siblings)
Justin Young
Age: 31
Hometown: Stone Mountain, Ga.
Connection to your teammate: Brother
Current occupation: Doctor
Describe what you do: I took time off from surgery residency and am now considering a change into emergency medicine. I plan to work part-time as an ER physician and at REI, while transitioning back into clinical training as an emergency medicine resident in 2012.
How will these skills help you win The Race? Focus, drive, attention to detail and endurance are skills essential to surviving residency. I know they will help on even the toughest legs of The Race.
Three words to describe you: Funny, observant and adventurous.
Favorite hobbies: Watching movies, rock climbing and skiing.
What famous person reminds you of yourself? Charlie Brown
What famous person reminds you of your teammate? Tina Turner
What is the accomplishment you are most proud of? Becoming a doctor.
What scares you most about traveling? Accidentally getting lost in dangerous areas or offending local people. I would like to represent the U.S. in a positive way.
What excites you most about traveling? The novelty of it. I love adventures, seeing new places and meeting new people.
Biggest challenge you and your teammate will face on The Race together: She shuts down when she gets hungry or sleepy and has a tendency to get really mean when this happens.
Pet peeve about your teammate: Her hunger and her sleep rage – she can get pretty irrational when she feels she has been wronged.
What country and place would you most like to visit and why? Fiji.
What do you hope to accomplish by running The Race (other then winning one million bucks)? I hope to gain an even stronger relationship and give her another reason to be proud of me as her big brother.
Jennifer Young
Age: 26
Hometown: Stone Mountain, Ga.
Connection to your teammate: Sister
Current occupation: Special Education Teacher
Describe what you do: I teach kids to reach beyond the limits of their labels.
How will these skills help you win The Race? Teaching special education has taught me that the sky is the limit and the only stumbling block is you. Patience, caring and understanding come with this job too.
Three words to describe you: Outgoing, determined and loving.
Favorite hobbies: Reading, napping and watching TV.
What famous person reminds you of yourself? Taraji P. Henson because she is classy and sassy.
What famous person reminds you of your teammate? Taye Diggs because he’s smart, charming and always smiling.
What is the accomplishment you are most proud of? I’m very proud of my teaching career as a whole. It takes a special person to teach and an extra special person to teach special education.
What scares you most about traveling? Losing my passport and having to rot in some foreign prison for a crime I didn’t commit - a la "Brokedown Palace."
What excites you most about traveling? Meeting new people and seeing beautiful places.
Biggest challenge you and your teammate will face on The Race together: I’m always the kid sister in his eyes. He doesn’t always listen to me or take my word without double checking. This Race is fast and we won’t have time for that.
Pet peeve about your teammate: His whistling. Arrgh!
What country and place would you most like to visit and why? Italy. I am fascinated and caught up in the beauty of the people, art, language and architecture.
What do you hope to accomplish by running The Race (other then winning one million bucks)? I hope to grow closer and have a good time. We want to see the world and meet, greet and touch the people in it.
http://www.cbspressexpress.com/cbs-entertainment/shows/the-amazing-race/bios?id=team-bios
Prophet:
I like these two better than I used to. Maybe it's the editing, but they seem like a decent team. :)
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