The Amazing Race 15


The Amazing Race 15 is the fifteenth season of the American reality competition show The Amazing Race. Hosted by Phil Keoghan, it featured 12 teams of two, each with a pre-existing relationship, competing in a race around the world to win US$1,000,000. This season visited three continents and nine countries and traveled over during 12 legs. Starting in Los Angeles, racers traveled through Japan, Vietnam, Cambodia, the United Arab Emirates, the Netherlands, Sweden, Estonia, and the Czech Republic before returning to the United States and finishing in Las Vegas. New twists introduced in this season include the starting line task and elimination and the Switchback, a recreation of a notable task from a previous season. The season premiered on CBS on September 27, 2009, with a two-hour premiere, and the finale aired on December 6, 2009.
Dating couple Meghan Rickey and Cheyne Whitney were the winners of this season, while brothers Sam and Dan McMillen finished in second place, and married couple Brian Kleinschmidt and Ericka Dunlap finished in third place.

Production

Development and filming

CBS aired the fifteenth season during the start of the 2009–2010 television season. Teams were spotted at Los Angeles International Airport on July 18, 2009. Teams raced through the Dutch province of Groningen on July 30. A leg was also filmed in Tallinn, Estonia, on August 3. Filming lasted for 21 days and concluded on August 7 in Las Vegas. Teams traveled, visiting eight countries, including first-time visits to Estonia and the Czech Republic.
This season introduced two new twists: a Starting Line Task and a Switchback. The Starting Line Task forced teams to complete a challenge before receiving the clue to their first international destination. The Switchback allowed teams to face one of the series' most memorable or iconic challenges from previous seasons. The Switchback that debuted on Leg 8 revisited the infamous Roadblock in Sweden from season 6, in which one team member had to sort through hay bales to find their next clue.
This was the second season since season 10 to feature a surprise elimination at a location other than a Pit Stop, which occurred at the Starting Line. Eric and Lisa Paskel were eliminated at the starting line when they were the last team to locate the required Shinagawa license plate amongst 1,000 Japanese license plates. They revealed in a post-show interview that they voluntarily left instead of spending the duration of the race at the Elimination Station. Consequently, they had no further involvement in the show, were absent from the finish line in the final episode, and had no knowledge of the outcome of the season before the season finale actually aired.
Wayne Newton appeared in the season finale. Teams were instructed to find him in a suite at the MGM Grand Las Vegas, where he then gave them the location of the finish line.

Casting

Casting calls were held as host Phil Keoghan cycled across the United States during the months of April and early May 2009 to support the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, during which Keoghan made stops to help with those casting sessions.

Contestants

Some of the more prominent members of the cast included professional poker players Maria Ho and Tiffany Michelle, Miss America 2004 Ericka Dunlap, Harlem Globetrotters Herbert "Flight Time" Lang and Nathaniel "Big Easy" Lofton, and country singer-songwriter Canaan Smith. Zev Glassenberg is the show's first autistic contestant having been diagnosed with Asperger's syndrome.
ContestantsAgeRelationshipHometownStatus
41Married Yoga TeachersEncino, CaliforniaEliminated 1st
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43Married Yoga TeachersEncino, CaliforniaEliminated 1st
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28Dating On & OffSanta Cruz, CaliforniaEliminated 2nd
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27Dating On & OffSan Francisco, CaliforniaEliminated 2nd
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60DatingSan Francisco, CaliforniaEliminated 3rd
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59DatingSan Francisco, CaliforniaEliminated 3rd
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26FriendsSherman Oaks, CaliforniaEliminated 4th
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30FriendsLos Angeles, CaliforniaEliminated 4th
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41EngagedSalem, MassachusettsEliminated 5th
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33EngagedPeabody, MassachusettsEliminated 5th
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22Newly DatingNashville, TennesseeEliminated 6th
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26Newly DatingNashville, TennesseeEliminated 6th
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26Professional Poker PlayersArcadia, CaliforniaEliminated 7th
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25Professional Poker PlayersLos Angeles, CaliforniaEliminated 7th
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47Father & SonLaurel, MontanaEliminated 8th
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22Father & SonBozeman, MontanaEliminated 8th
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32Harlem GlobetrottersBrinkley, ArkansasEliminated 9th
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28Harlem GlobetrottersNew Orleans, LouisianaEliminated 9th
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27MarriedNashville, TennesseeThird place
27MarriedNashville, TennesseeThird place
23BrothersLiberty, MissouriRunners-up
21BrothersLiberty, MissouriRunners-up
23DatingSan Diego, CaliforniaWinners
23DatingSan Diego, CaliforniaWinners

;Future appearances
Zev & Justin and Flight Time & Big Easy raced again in The Amazing Race: Unfinished Business. Flight Time & Big Easy were also chosen to compete in the second All-Stars edition.
In 2010, Flight Time & Big Easy each competed on Are You Smarter than a 5th Grader?. Tiffany Michelle later competed on season 3 of Food Network's Worst Cooks in America. Brian Kleinschmidt appeared on season 7 of ABC's Shark Tank to secure funding for a potty training product called "EZPeeZ", but was unable to secure a deal. On May 25, 2016, Flight Time & Big Easy appeared on an Amazing Race-themed primetime special of The Price Is Right. In 2019, Maria Ho appeared as an imposter on To Tell the Truth. In 2020, Brian hosted the HGTV show 100 Day Dream Home with his wife Mika. Flight Time & Big Easy also appeared on 100 Day Dream Home in 2021. In 2021, Brian competed on the HGTV show Rock the Block.

Results

The following teams are listed with their placements in each leg. Placements are listed in finishing order.
  • A placement with a dagger indicates that the team was eliminated.
  • An placement with a double-dagger indicates that the team was the last to arrive at a Pit Stop in a non-elimination leg, and had to perform a Speed Bump task in the following leg.
  • A indicates that the team won the Fast Forward.
;Notes

Race summary

Leg 1 (United States → Japan)

;Locations
  • Los Angeles, California
  • Los Angeles → Tokyo, Japan
  • Tokyo
  • Tokyo
  • Tokyo
;Episode summary
  • At the Los Angeles River, beneath the Sixth Street Viaduct, teams had to search through 1,000 license plates for one of 11 Japanese license plates from Shinagawa and then present it to Phil in exchange for tickets on one of two flights to Tokyo, Japan. The first six teams to find the correct plate received tickets on an American Airlines flight that left thirty minutes before the United Airlines flight that carried the other five teams. The last team at the starting line without a license plate – Eric & Lisa – was eliminated. Once there, teams had to travel to the base of the Tokyo Tower.
  • In this season's first Roadblock, one team member had to participate in a Japanese-style game show called Sushi Roulette. Once all of the teams arrived at the Roadblock, the host spun a wheel with eleven plates of sushi, two of which were "wasabi bombs": temaki-style sushi filled with hot wasabi. If the racer received a wasabi bomb, they had two minutes to eat it in order to receive their next clue. If they failed to finish it within the allotted time, they had to play again until they received a new wasabi bomb and could complete the task. Racers who received plain sushi had to eat the sushi, but continue to play until they received a wasabi bomb.
  • After the Roadblock, teams received a colored flag and had to lead a group of twenty Japanese tourists wearing the same colored visors as their flag via the scramble crossing in Shibuya to the Pit Stop at the Konnō Hachimangū Shrine. Teams could not check in unless all twenty members of their group were present at the mat. If even one member of their group were not present, teams had to go back to find them before being allowed to check in.
;Additional notes
  • At the Tokyo Tower Studios, teams spent the night in a green room before proceeding to the Roadblock. This aspect was unaired.
  • While Eric & Lisa were eliminated at the starting line, no team was eliminated at the Pit Stop, as this was deemed a non-elimination leg.