St. Albert’s two-time Olympic gold medalist Meaghan Mikkelson can now add Amazing Race competitor to her list of achievements.
It was announced this week that the women’s hockey Olympian and her Team Canada teammate Natalie Spooner joined forces for the second season of The Amazing Race Canada.
The Canadian version of the show is a spinoff from The Amazing Race, which is a reality show in which teams of two follow clues that send them traveling to various destinations. The last team to arrive at a destination is at risk of being eliminated.
Mikkelson first found out about the show via an email sent from Hockey Canada.
“Natalie Spooner then asked me if I wanted to apply with her. I didn’t think anyone wanted to,” explained Mikkelson, who quickly agreed to partner up with Spooner.
Mikkelson isn’t allowed to say much about the show, as it is pre-recorded and will be airing this summer.
“It was interesting. I’ve been on camera lots before for sponsors … but I’m not used to having a camera in my face all the time,” Mikkelson said of her experience competing on the show.
When asked about how the challenge was for her and Spooner,
Mikkelson said the challenge brought her and Spooner closer together.
Part of the motivation behind joining the competition for the two hockey players was to spread awareness about women’s hockey, along with trying to win the race.
“We’re very, very close now. I talk to her pretty much every day. We’ve been in high-pressure situations, like the Olympics, together before, so we knew how each other would react to stress. We know how we are as competitors.”
The show is known for bringing competitors to some remote, or “off the map” locations, an experience Mikkelson said she enjoyed.
“There’s so much in Canada to see. I’m so glad we got to go to some of the places that we went, or else I would have never known they existed,” she said.
Any lessons to be learned for the two-time Olympian participating in such a high-stress competition?
“I realized in playing hockey that things happen that are out of your control. It was reiterated on the show: so, so much is out of your control. Things are going to happen. So worry about what you can control,” Mikkelson explained.
Mikkelson and Spooner can be caught in action on The Amazing Race Canada which airs on CTV Tuesday evenings starting on July 8.
