Episode 6
My history with "The Superstars" goes way back. I can remember watching as a young kid and being jealous of all the activities. I couldn't think up a show that is more suited for me, or that I would be more excited to be on. When I got the call from abc to be part of the cast, I was ecstatic! It was something I dreamed of for years. I wanted to compete in an event like this ever since Johnny Moseley and Jeremy Bloom dominated it in the late 90's early 00's.
The Finale started out with three teams. Lisa and David, Bode and Paige, and Maks and I. The first event was the kayak pursuit. It was an endurance challege. All three teams started at a different place on the course, an equal distance apart. The idea was to pass the other teams. We had a lucky draw and ended up behind Bode and Paige. Bode is a very strong paddler, and if he were behind us the results might have changed. In the end Bode and Paige caught Lisa and David, and then decided that they had too far to go to catch us. We were in a strong postition, and they gave us the win. I remember thinking... "Does Bode know what's next?" Turns out he didn't, but this was all his event. He was not only the strongest one there, but he thought of every angle. We thought we were doing well in the anchor pull, and next thing we knew Bode and Paige were finished. The look on my face explained it all. Bode powered both the heavy anchors on to the beach by himself. We were going to the rubber match! The next day was the rubber match. They called it a pseudo triathlon. It included running, swimming, a mini obstacle course, and a paddle board race to the finish. Lisa Leslie is pretty darn quick we were neck and neck into the pool. That was my only chance to pull away. I started swimming as fast as I could, while she tried to run. I got a little bit of a lead and passed the torch to Maks. Maks is a strong swimmer as well and started out quick, only problem was he couldn't see where he was going and almost missed to buoy. David was gaining on him! When Maks fell over the 2nd hurdle my heart skipped a beat. He powered it out to give us a slight lead onto the paddle boards. (When we were first told about the paddle board section Maks said he was just going to swim without the board because it would be faster. I had to explain to him that if he swam we would surely lose. We got a moment to practice, and he quickly realized how much faster the board was.) Once we were on the paddle board we never looked back. Obstacle course here we come! Lisa and David made an amazing showing and really showed hard work and dedication. I can't imagine what it must have been like to be at nearly every obstacle course!
The obstacle course was the same night. Maks and I went back to our hotel rooms to relax. A little ice and some stretching to get ready for the night. They make the obstacle course seem really dramatic, even for the competitors. My nerves were racing. We hadn't seen the obstacle course run, and had only heard rumors about how fast Bode was. We paid close attention when they were practicing. He really was brilliant at the obstacle course. I would like to compare his times with T.O.'s fast run. I think Bode took the win there. Anyways.... Maks and I knew from overhearing the other teams talking, that we couldn't make any mistakes! We spent all of our practice in the ropes. I actually got caught up really bad in practice. Luckily I learned what NOT to do. The first race was nerve racking. We were worried that on our first time through it would be hard to keep it clean. I made it through with some minor mistakes, and I was able to give Maks a strong lead. Maks was very fast, but Bode was an animal. We won the first heat by a small margin. The next race the boys went first. Bode gave Paige a little headstart, and it put me on edge. When I saw her slip on the wall, I knew my chances were good. My light turned green, and was out of there! I never looked back! We won "The Superstars"!!!! It was an incredible experience!!!
The afterparty!
