Villages snowbirds eliminated one leg short of the final 3 in 'Amazing Race'
By THERESA CAMPBELL, DAILY SUN
THE VILLAGES - Villages snowbirds Meredith and Gretchen Smith can smile with pride knowing they had a great ride on "The Amazing Race," where they persevered through 11 legs of the race and ended their impressive run just short of the final three.
They did better than anyone ever expected of the retirees, and they made history as the oldest couple to advance so far in the CBS-TV adventure reality show.
Next week's two-hour episode, airing at 9 p.m. on Tuesday, will be the finale.
As the Smiths stepped on the mat in last place in London during Tuesday's show, Meredith, 69, and Gretchen, 66, flashed wide smiles and said they were happy with their finish.
"It was a great ride," Meredith said.
"We lasted much longer than we ever dreamed that we could," Gretchen said.
Meredith glanced over at his wife and marveled at her stamina and determination throughout the globetrotting trek that began March 1 with 11 teams.
"I have said over and over again that this is an amazing woman. She's the love of my life and my soulmate. I'm very proud of her and I think she's the most beautiful woman in the world."
Host Phil Keoghan praised the Smiths and told The Villages snowbirds that they were an inspiration.
"We are so happy we came this far. All the things we've been able to do and friendships that we've made, it's just been a totally incredible experience for the two of us," Gretchen said.
The Smiths were in New York City on Wednesday to do TV and radio interviews about the show, beginning with a chat on "The Early Show" with Harry Smith, who announced the couple had been "Amazing Race" fans' favorite couple.
"You have made it farther by far than anybody in your age group," Smith said, before asking them about Tuesday night's challenges and their thoughts on the Rob and Amber factor.
"There is always the Rob and Amber factor. We had it throughout the race," Gretchen said.
"What was the feeling by the rest of the contestants about them?" the CBS anchor asked the couple.
"I think they were somewhat disappointed, and that the playing field wasn't level," Meredith said.
Harry Smith replayed an earlier clip of the show when the Villages snowbirds had lost all of their money and possessions and sought help from fellow contestants.
Rob declined to help, while other contestants gave Meredith and Gretchen a few dollars.
"I'm not giving them money. They are the biggest con artists going," Rob said. "They want people to feel bad for them."
"And when you heard that, you thought ... ?" Harry Smith asked.
"Oh, golly," Meredith replied.
"He would have punched his lights out if he had said that to us directly," Gretchen said, causing Harry Smith to chuckle. "How could he have possibly called Meredith ... "
"I think some people attribute their own personality to others," Meredith said, chiming in.
The pair concluded that they had a great time during the race and the Smiths shared even more thoughts on "The Amazing Race" Web site.
"This was an opportunity for the two of us to understand that we could 'talk the talk' but that 'walking the talk' is entirely a different thing," Meredith said. "It's easier to sit in your armchair and say, 'I could do that better' ... Why did they do that?' That's the easy part. The hard part is being right in the middle of things and experiencing it yourself. There is a lot more going on here than what you see on television."
Meredith and Gretchen loved watching previous seasons of the show and were thrilled to be selected from more than 25,000 applications to be on the show.
" 'The Amazing Race' was a culmination of a dream the two of us had, to have a great adventure together, to work as a team, and to experience the many wonders that we experienced during these past several weeks," Gretchen said. "We are just delighted as to what we have seen, the places that we have been, and I don't think that there has been another team on the show that has fully appreciated every little thing that has happened like we have. We've just lived in wonder of all the sights that we've seen, all of the things that we've been able to do, the friendships that we've made, and it just has been a totally incredible experience for the two of us, and I almost get teary talking about it because it really has been a very special time."
Host Phil Keoghan asked the couple if the race brought them closer together.
"I really can't say that this has brought us closer together, because I think we've always been very close," Gretchen said on the race's Web site. "But this has been one of the most wonderful adventures that we can always talk about and share and enjoy, and it's what we really wanted to do together and we did, and it helped us trust each other and love each other more."
Keoghan asked Meredith to share a moment of the race that he never will forget.
"The time Gretchen fell (in the cave), and it scared me to death," he said. "I remember how my heart jumped out of my chest and how I ran to her, and I don't think she knew for sure what had happened to her at the time. I asked her how she was doing and she said, 'Never mind me. Find the damn clue!' That probably typifies the spirit and indomitable courage that this woman has."
Gretchen also had words of praise about her teammate.
"When I have been at my lowest ebb, often in the race when I thought we were coming in last, or when I had my accident, he kept being so supportive and encouraged me to keep moving on," she said.
Keoghan marveled, once more, about the Smiths being part of "Amazing Race" history.
"You are the oldest team that has ever come this far, and probably a lot of people thought, 'They are the older couple. They are not going to get very far,' " Keoghan said.
The Smiths even admit they were amazed how far they advanced. Their initial wish was not to be the first team eliminated.
Gretchen said she was proud of how she and Meredith persevered after being stripped of their possessions during the non-elimination leg, where they came in last, and everything was removed except their passports and the clothes on their backs.
When Ron and Kelly recently lost their possessions during a non-elimination leg of the race, Meredith was shown Tuesday night giving the pair money to help them get by.
"Ron and Kelly were very good to us when we were stripped of all of our possessions, and I wanted to reciprocate," Meredith said.
Gretchen summed up her thoughts of their performance in the race.
"A lot of times we capitalized on other people's mistakes and we were still hanging on by our fingernails," she said. "And there were many times when we got there on our own just by doing the right thing. We're delighted. We have no sad feelings about anything and we're so happy that we came this far, and to get to see beautiful England."
Meredith agreed.
"We've given it our best shot," Gretchen added. "We made it farther than anybody else our age and we're proud of ourselves. Aren't we?"
"I'm particularly proud of you," Meredith said to his wife. "You really hung in there."
They both did.
Theresa Campbell is senior features writer with the Daily Sun. She can be reached at 753-1119, ext. 9260, or
theresa.campbell@thevillagesmedia.com.
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