What the pair of wrestlers and best friends have to say about supporting each other through season 10
The final episode of Amazing Race Canada aired Sept. 10, crowning the pair of Albertan winners: Taylor MacPherson and Katie Mulkay. Their season 10 victory makes them the second all-women team to win the Amazing Race Canada. The last episode was filmed in Edmonton, Mulkay’s hometown.
The day after their win aired, the energetic duo sat down with the Griff for an interview. Right out of the gate, we wanted to know what prompted these two best friends to buckle up and tackle the monster of a televised, nationwide race.
When McPherson had originally seen the application for the race, she didn’t even know applying was possible. The Calgarian brought a proposal to Mulkay, her wrestling teammate and friend.
McPherson says, “I messaged Katie and said, ‘Hey, let’s apply for this and see where it takes us’…sure enough, she, being the trooper she is, she’s like, ‘Yeah… let’s do it.’”
From that moment on, the best friends were off to the races, literally.
“It’s not every day that you get to travel across your country, or just travel in general with your best friend.”
Taylor McPherson, Calgarian winner of Amazing Race Canada Season 10.
“It’s not every day that you get to travel across your country, or just travel in general with your best friend,” says McPherson. Their favourite moments were spent travelling across Canada. Mulkay says, “You don’t have to go past the borders to see these amazing, beautiful places. We have it right here.”
Each challenge of the race brought the friends closer together. “You know, you’re spending 24/7 with this person, and you better hope you like them,” says Mulkay, “We really supported each other through thick and thin.”
For the ninth episode, teams went to Miramichi, New Brunswick, a first trip to the province for both women. “That was so awesome,” says Mulkay. The episode offered a glimpse into Mulkay’s personal connection to her heritage. She says, “The final challenge to get to the finale was to learn my language, Mi’kmaq. So, it was so cool.”
The last episode filmed in Edmonton brought the women under the High Level Bridge, where they endured a steep climb and daring leap of faith along the trussings. At a racetrack, they joined an F3 pit crew to change a tire, an intricate endeavour, physically and mentally.
“We really want to prove to girls and young girls in any sport, but also in our sport of wrestling that you could do anything you set your mind to.”
Katie Mulkay, Edmontonian winner of Amazing Race Canada Season 10
Sometimes, the team would look at each other in disbelief and ask, “What are we doing right now?’ They understood the race wouldn’t last long, so it was important to stay present.
“…life’s too short,” said Mulkay. “I had a friend who passed away and she was a huge part of our story and felt like we had a third person racing with us.” She felt they ran a race her late friend would be proud of.
Throughout the race, Mulkay and McPherson exemplified their team motto: “Strong is beautiful.”
“We really want to prove to girls and young girls in any sport, but also in our sport of wrestling that you could do anything you set your mind to,” says Mulkay, “we want to encourage people to do things that they’re uncomfortable with and really push the limits.”
Would the winners do it all over again? Their answer was a confident, all-around yes.
Photos from the last episode on CTV
Amazingly written article!