Advertisement

Ernie and Cindy claim $1 million prize on season conclusion of 'The Amazing Race'

The Associated Press
December 12, 2011 at 3:58PM
In this undated photo provided by CBS, host Phil Keoghan, right, greets engaged couple Cindy Chiang and Ernie Halvorsen, winners of the 19th installment of "The Amazing Race," in Atlanta. The finale aired Sunday, Dec. 11, 2011. (AP Photo/CBS, Sonja Flemming) MANDATORY CREDIT
In this undated photo provided by CBS, host Phil Keoghan, right, greets engaged couple Cindy Chiang and Ernie Halvorsen, winners of the 19th installment of "The Amazing Race," in Atlanta. The finale aired Sunday, Dec. 11, 2011. (AP Photo/CBS, Sonja Flemming) MANDATORY CREDIT (Associated Press - Ap/The Minnesota Star Tribune)

NEW YORK - "The Amazing Race" took its final three teams on a frantic scramble through Atlanta during Sunday's conclusion of the CBS competition show.

In the end, it was Ernie Halvorsen and his fiancee Cindy Chiang, both from Chicago, who crossed the finish line at Atlanta's historic Swan House to win the $1 million prize.

In second place were Californians Jeremy Cline and Sandy Draghi. In third place were former NFL player Marcus Pollard and his wife Amani, from Pine Mountain, Ga.

During this last leg of the round-the-world race, the couples were required to land a jetliner in a flight simulator, find "Gone With the Wind" author Margaret Mitchell's home, and plot their 40,000-mile odyssey on a giant world map erected high above the parking lot at Turner Field.

But interviewed after the broadcast, the winners said their most unnerving moment was the basic task of getting a cab at Atlanta's airport.

"Nobody wanted to take us," Ernie said. "That was the most stressful thing as we saw the other teams departing."

Finally a driver volunteered, "and we give him all the rest of our money as a tip," said Cindy.

The episode's most comic scene: when Jeremy and Sandy went in search of "the Dump," the name for Mitchell's famous residence, but instead were delivered by their driver to a huge department store called The Dump, where they wasted precious time prowling its aisles in vain to find the clue that wasn't there.

Advertisement
Advertisement

"This is so nerve-racking," said Draghi when they were back on the road. "I have to get on Prilosec when I get home."

___

Online:

about the writer

about the writer

More from Minnesota Star Tribune

See More
In this photo taken Monday, March 6, 2017, in San Francisco, released confidential files by The University of California of a sexual misconduct case, like this one against UC Santa Cruz Latin Studies professor Hector Perla is shown. Perla was accused of raping a student during a wine-tasting outing in June 2015. Some of the files are so heavily redacted that on many pages no words are visible. Perla is one of 113 UC employees found to have violated the system's sexual misconduct policies in rece

We respect the desire of some tipsters to remain anonymous, and have put in place ways to contact reporters and editors to ensure the communication will be private and secure.

card image
Advertisement
Advertisement

To leave a comment, .

Advertisement