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TAR 25 WINNERS: Amy DeJong & Maya Warren "Sweet Scientists"

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Dånooky:
They're kind of doing just average so far, I hope that they get their moment to shine and get some momentum going instead of just having them bumbling throughout the race.

gamerfan09:
Please give them MORE SCREENTIME!  :hrt: <3

The few times we actually SEE them, they have loads of great potential, hopefully they emerge more into the later legs of the Race like Nicky & Kim! :hoot:

http://www.stltoday.com/entertainment/television/gail-pennington/is-amazing-race-still-sweet-for-st-louisan/article_2813b477-61e9-50dc-923e-f118ca510900.html

They gave Bethany shoes apparently after she lost them in Leg 1, #SweetScientists indeed <3

georgiapeach:
The sweet science of 'The Amazing Race'

October 03, 2014 5:00 am  •  By Gail Pennington / TV critic / gpennington@post-dispatch.com
 

Maya Warren wants the world to know something about scientists: “We’re not just nerds.”

Warren, 29, intends to prove that on “The Amazing Race.” The Rosati-Kain High School graduate, who is completing her doctorate in food science at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, races around the world with friend and lab mate Amy DeJong in the 25th season of the Emmy-winning reality competition, now underway on CBS.


Warren and DeJong compete as “the Sweet Scientists” because of their specialties. Warren studies ice cream (“the microstructure, behavioral and sensorial properties of frozen-aerated treats”); DeJong, candy.

And yes, Warren’s early interest in frozen desserts was sparked in part by visits to Ted Drewes. Her on-screen tag reads Madison, Wis., but Warren is a St. Louisan through and through, explaining that she grew up in the Ferguson-Florissant area and attended grade school at the Cathedral Basilica.


“I always loved food, and I loved science, and I was so excited when I found out I could combine them as a career,” she says. “And ice cream — who doesn’t love ice cream?”

Warren had been a fan of “The Amazing Race” for years and had always thought she would try out some day. “I imagined I’d race with my future husband, but I’m not married yet, so that was a problem.”

When she learned about an open casting call in Chicago last fall, she brainstormed with DeJong, 24, with whom she shares a lab.

“I was going to be in Chicago then anyway, to run the Chicago
Marathon” (see? not just a nerd) “and I talked her into going along. We had nothing to lose, so why not?”

The two wrote a skit and got a tryout in which “we blabbed and blabbed.” They went away thinking, “cool, that was fun.”

Casting producers moved them along. “I think they liked our careers,” Warren says. “They’ve never had a team of women Ph.D. candidates before, and the fact that our specialties are ice cream and candy made us unique. We just had to make sure our personalities matched.”

In last Friday’s season premiere, viewers briefly got to know Warren as a little dynamo, always bouncing with enthusiasm, and DeJong as lankier, with a slightly goofy demeanor. They seemed to work well together, although by finishing in the middle of the pack on a difficult challenge in which three other teams gave up, they didn’t get much screen time.

As the race goes on, though, audiences may see that this duo showed up well prepared.

“We’re scientists, so we analyzed the show,” Warren says. They watched many previous seasons to see “how to get the most done the easiest way. We studied the challenges and tried to figure out what we’d do in similar situations.”

They worked out every morning in the lab, pushing themselves through the Shaun T “Insanity” routine. “I’ve always been athletic; I’ve run marathons and competed in triathlons,” Warren says. “Amy isn’t super athletic, but we knew we both needed to be stronger both mentally and physically.”
 
Warren taught DeJong how to drive a car with standard transmission, a skill that has tripped up competitors in the past. They brushed up on navigation and maps.

“But our approach was to have fun, to smile and laugh our way around the world. We wanted to show what scientists look like and what scientists can do. We hope along the way we can inspire young girls to branch out and think about science.”

Warren also took the opportunity to try new ice cream whenever she could, which wasn’t that often. “We were running, and we didn’t want to spend the money. But I did ask for a free sample whenever I could.”

Last weekend, Warren was home in St. Louis, watching the season premiere with close to 80 family members and friends. “I’m so excited to see it with them and let them see us,” she said before the episode aired. “It’s been over since June, and, of course, we haven’t been able to talk about it.”

“The Amazing Race,” she says, “was so much more than I expected it to be. It’s so much harder, so exhausting, but also so much fun. I loved it. I still miss it a lot.”


http://www.stltoday.com/entertainment/television/gail-pennington/the-sweet-science-of-the-amazing-race/article_526034c4-122b-5806-ab17-c282b3e6ad58.html

Jobby:
They are definitely one of my favourites this season. Cool and calm, completing challenges in average positions but at least they are not struggling, but randomly doing really well at times as well.

Most importantly, I think giving the pair of shoes to Adam and Bethany will help them in a long run and forge a positive relationship between the two teams actually!

Bookworm:
Holy crap! Maya runs marathons!  :luvya:

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