'The Amazing Race' Reveals Season 34 Cast, Including 'Big Brother' Couple, Pitbull Dancer and Ex-NFL Coach
The Amazing Race has revealed the competitors for season 34, and it will feature several familiar faces!
Big Brother couple Derek Xiao and Claire Rehfuss, who began dating after appearing on season 23 last summer, are among the dozen teams vying for the $1 million grand prize in the upcoming installment of the CBS reality competition, it was announced Tuesday. Other notable competitors include former NFL head coach/current ESPN analyst Rex Ryan, who is paired up with his golf buddy, Tim Mann, and Michelle Burgos, a backup dancer for Pitbull, who will compete with her firefighter husband, Luis Colon.
The new season will also be a special one as the franchise celebrates its 400th episode milestone. The latest edition will kick off the globe-trotting race outside of U.S. soil for the first time, with the teams beginning their journeys in Munich, Germany, and feature no non-elimination legs. According to CBS, there will also be "a game-changing element in the first leg of the race" that could greatly affect the teams' strategy.
Other international locations featured this season include the ancient city of Petra, Jordan, where teams will ride a train and experience a scene reminiscent of 1963's Lawrence of Arabia, perform a Jordanian folk dance and learn the Arabic alphabet. They will also jet off to cities in Austria, Italy, France, Spain, Iceland and end the race in Nashville, Tennessee, where the winning team will earn the $1 million prize.
Longtime host Phil Keoghan returns to lead the race.
See below for the 12 competing teams on season 34.
Rich Kuo (32, Life Coach) and Dom Jones (35, Gym Owner)
Motivational speakers from Huntington Beach, Calif.
Marcus (38, Army Tank Commander) and Michael Craig (30, Air Force Fighter Pilot)
Military brothers from Richmond Hill, Ga. and Alamogordo, N.M., respectively
Aastha Lal (33, VP of Operations) and Nina Duong (34, Director Business Dev.)
Engaged from Marina Del Ray, Calif.
Derek Xiao (24, Product Manager) and Claire Rehfuss (25, AI Engineer)
Reality romance from Los Angeles, Calif.
Emily Bushnell (36, Law Firm Admin) and Molly Sinert (36, Healthcare Admin)
Long-lost twins from Ardmore, Pa. and Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., respectively
Linton (50, Assistant Principal) and Sharik Atkinson (23, Masters Student)
Father and daughter from Brooklyn, N.Y.
Quinton Peron (29, Choreographer) and Mattie Lynch (27, Dance Coach)
Former Rams cheerleaders from Pasadena, Calif. and Vista, Calif, respectively
Aubrey Ares (29, Dance Studio Owner) and David Hernandez (29, Helicopter Mechanic)
Ballroom dancers from Los Angeles, Calif.
Abby Garrett (24, Data Scientist) and Will Freeman (25, Accountant)
Childhood sweethearts from Birmingham, Ala.
Glenda (41, Insurance Underwriter) and Lumumba Roberts (41, Middle School Teacher)
Newlyweds from Norcross, Ga.
Luis Colon (34, Firefighter) and Michelle Burgos (34, Dancer)
Married from Miami, Fla.
Tim Mann (40, Probation Officer) and Rex Ryan (59, ESPN Analyst)
Golf buddies from Brentwood, Tenn.
The Amazing Race kicks off Wednesday, Sept. 21 at 10 p.m. ET/PT on CBS.
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