‘The Amazing Race 14′ finale in Hawaii - who were you cheering to be the winner?

The 12^th and final lap of “The Amazing Race” found the three remaining teams - siblings Tammy and Victor Jih, mother and son Margie and Luke Adams and friends and former NFL  cheerleaders Jaime Edmonson and Cara Rosenthal - leaving Beijing and flying 18 hours and 5,000 miles to Maui, Hawaii.

Arriving at the airport, the teams took taxis — in which they also had to change into their bathing suits — to a section of beach where they had to put spices on a whole pig for a luau and then, using poles, carry the hefty sow some 200 yards and prepare it for the luau. Needless to say, the whole affair undoubtedly turned vegetarians’ stomachs, as well as those of fans of the movie “Babe,” as Tammy and Victor and Jaime and Cara kept dropping the poor swine in the ocean or on the beach. Though Margie and Luke were the last to arrive at the location, they managed to hoist the poles over their shoulders and pass the struggling other teams.

They were the first to arrive at McGregor Point where they had to ride a Jet Ski out to 100 buoys to find their next clue. Even though Margie, who was piloting the craft, fell out of it at one point, she and her deaf son managed to complete the task with plenty of breathing room from the other two teams.

From there, the teams were sent on the Hana Highway to the Surfboard Fence. Jaime and Cara, though, got a cabbie who didn’t know the way, eventually forcing Jaime to call the police and ask for directions. At the Fence, the teams encountered the Road Block in which one member had to go through 300 vintage surfboards to find 11 with drawings that corresponded to the previous laps of the race. Once the boards were found, the contestant had to line them up in order.

Luke moved like a house on fire, finding the majority of the boards quickly, but stumbled on the final two. As he got more and more frustrated, Tammy and Victor arrived and Victor quickly finished the task at hand. Jaime also was moving quickly, but couldn’t locate the picture for the first board.

Leaving the surfboards behind and clutching the clue to the final Pit Stop at the King Kamehameha Club, Tammy and Victor (below with host Phil Keoghan) were beaming and crying in the taxi because they knew they won the $1 million grand prize.

Margie signed to Luke that he and Jaime should collaborate to finish the fence. Luke showed her the first board and Jaime revealed the final one to Luke.

On their way to the Pit Stop, Jaime broke down crying, blaming herself for losing the race because she couldn’t find the correct first board. Luke also couldn’t stop crying in the car because he felt he let his mother down. Margie held him and told him she was so proud of him.

Host Phil Keoghan and the eight teams that had previously been eliminated applauded while each team arrived. After 40,000 miles, the 14^th season of “The Amazing Race” was completed.

– Susan King, Los Angeles Times staff writer

[Photos: CBS]

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This entry was posted on Monday, May 11, 2009 at 12:23 pm by Susan King and is filed under Amazing Race, Hawaii, Maui, News, Tips & Advice. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a comment, or trackback from your own site.