One of the world’s most popular reality TV series – The Amazing Race is in its 21st edition, and guess what?? There are two Sri Lankans racing!
The amazing race first came to the paradise island in January 2005 in the 6th edition. Contestants had to go to Galle Fort, Kandy and Sigiriya and do a range of activities such as climbing a coconut tree and plucking coconuts, going up Sigiriya, riding an elephant and also taking a rice bowl to a monk at ‘Dalada Maligawa’ (Temple of the Tooth) to get their clues!!
This year, 26 year old twin sisters Natalie and Nadiya Anderson have been chosen for the Amazing Race and are racing right now! They are also the first Sri Lankans to compete in an Amazing Race season.
Mevan Peiris of ThePapare.com caught up with them for an interesting chat!
TP: Tell us a bit about your childhood, how long you were in Sri Lanka and when you migrated?
Andersons: We were born in Queens NY and moved to Sri Lanka when we were 3 and lived till we were 13 years old before moving back to the states. My parents are both Sri Lankan. My dad is a Royalist, Anton Anderson and works at Scanwell Logistics. My mom, Bernadine Anderson owns/runs La Petite Fleur Montessori and Bridge2Peace which is a NGO.
TP: What are the sports you were interested in?
Andersons: In Sri Lanka we were both swimmers, we swam under David Bolling and continued swimming in the states. I (Natalie) was the captain of my High School swim team in Connecticut. We also played Rugby in high school and one summer played for CR&FC in Sri Lanka! We now do CrossFit.
We watch American Football, Basketball and Cricket, but Rugby is probably my favourite sport to play and watch.
TP: I know that long hours and heavy schedules in the gym is your style! In terms of keeping fit, what motivates you?
Andersons: Haha… well being an athlete never stops. Although we have graduated from school and don’t participate in any actual team sports now we still both love working out. CrossFit is an amazing workout. I love competing, pushing myself to the max and that’s what motivates me when I work out.
TP: Is it the first time you’re applying for the Amazing Race? What made you want to take part?
Andersons: YES.. it was our first time applying. Everybody has always told us that we should be on the show, our competitive nature and the fact that we are super athletic/strong made us pretty good candidates for the RACE.
Also the fact that we grew up in another country gives us a huge edge over the other applicants who have all grown up in the States. We applied because we wanted to prove to ourselves and to our friends that “brown” girls (South Asians) can hang with some of the most competitive and driven people in the states.
The only other team of South Indian descent was eliminated in the first leg in a previous season. We wanted to show America that Sri Lankan girls are bad a**!
TP: Why do you think you will have a winning chance in this?
Andersons: The fact that we are twins, we are also super competitive but at the same time don’t really get stressed out or get affected by being in a high pressure situation. We have a good attitude and we can also fight and get over it without holding any grudges!
We have travelled a lot, are good swimmers, and athletic. Being a female/female team we are strong and fast which made us even more confident. Also growing up in Sri Lanka give us this huge advantage over the other teams! We can speak Sinhala whenever we don’t want our other teams to know what we are talking about. The fact that people won’t know what to expect out of us gives us an opportunity to be overlooked then shock everybody by kicking a**!
TP: What are the benefits you see in participating in this for the both of you?
Andersons: It’s a once in a lifetime opportunity and getting picked over tens of thousands of applicants was pretty cool. Also being the first Sri Lankan-American team is pretty awesome! We want to make our parents proud as well as make Sri Lanka proud! It will also give us a chance to see how we really perform as a TEAM of two!
TP: What about awareness about Sri Lanka? We still get people thinking we’re part of India or something!!
Andersons: Ya, we still get “where’s Sri Lanka” and “what is Sri Lanka” but it’s getting better and all our friends know everything about Sri Lanka! Hopefully by the end of this season, enough people will Google Sri Lanka and inform themselves!
TP: What kind of profession are you guys in now? What are your future plans?
Andersons: I’m doing Physical Therapy and I hope to become an athletic trainer or physical therapist for a sports team. Nadiya works for my Mom’s Non-Profit Organisation in Sri Lanka – Bridge2Peace, she works between Sri Lanka and USA helping to organize fund-raisers and events.
TP: What are the main differences you see in Sri Lankan girls in terms of competitiveness?
Andersons: Sri Lankan women who play sports are pretty competitive, Swimming was a huge deal when we grew up, We swam at AIS and Moir and even when we played rugby in Sri Lanka I was really impressed how athletic and competitive Sri Lankan women were. I feel that the females who don’t play sports may lack that competitive edge.
TP: Our second Olympic silver medalist was female and we’ve had so many other successes in terms of women in sports.. But is there something lacking and anything girls here can do different?
YES! We as a country and a culture need to give female athletes the respect and the praise they deserve! Male athletes are put on a pedestal, they are almost worshiped. I remember when Susanthika was in the Olympics how proud it felt to be a Sri Lankan woman!
It was one of the moments I will remember for the rest of my life. Women in Sri Lanka need to ignore the stereotypes of what we are supposed to be and just go after what they want. It’s not easy being an athlete as a woman in Sri Lanka but that’s part of paving the way for future athletes. Susanthika was a trail blazer for Sri Lankan female athletes. She is one of my heroes, always will be!
TP: How can we support you?
Watch the show – I think it’s on AXN and cheer loud for us! Also we would appreciate if people can “like” our Facebook page
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Natalie-and-Nadiya-Anderson/277005465747373
ThePapare.com wishes Natalie and Nadiya, who are currently in sixth position, all the very best for the Amazing Race as well as their future!
