A couple from the tiny town of Royston on Vancouver Island have advanced to the finale of The Amazing Race Canada season 9.
Tyler Turner, 35, is a professional athlete. He won two medals B次元官网网址� gold and bronze B次元官网网址� at the Paralympic winter games in 2022. His teammate Kayleen VanderRee, 31, is a commercial scuba diver and a blogger of travel and sailing. The dating couple is mobile, but base themselves in the Comox Valley.
Black Press Media reached out to Tyler and Kayleen to learn what they make of their TV show experience, and their plans for the future.
Q: What will you do with the money if you win?
Tyler: The money, $250,000 would absolutely change our lives. We have two very lifestyle-oriented jobs which donB次元官网网址檛 make us rich.
We would love to buy our own property to live in the area, and a couple of cars would be amazing. Currently, our car is falling apart, so that would be a really nice bonus as well.
Q: What are you guys up to now?
Tyler: Back to normal life. ItB次元官网网址檚 been a really great summer getting to spend time together before we go our separate ways, as it always happens every winter. I leave here Oct. 1 and thatB次元官网网址檚 the start of my chaotic fall and winter.
I train and race the world cup circuit in Europe. KayleenB次元官网网址檚 got a great new job with Coast Restoration Society.
Kayleen: Yeah, IB次元官网网址檓 doing derelict vessel clean up. So itB次元官网网址檚 been really rewarding to start doing that. I just got back from a 45-day passage back from Mexico, sailing our boat home. No land in sight, right? ItB次元官网网址檚 been a bit of a whirlwind, but back to work now. ItB次元官网网址檚 nice to get a routine going again.
Q: Biggest fear going into the show?
Kayleen: I think my biggest fear was just not being able to complete a task when it was a roadblock, and disappointing Tyler (laughs). WeB次元官网网址檙e always working together, but thereB次元官网网址檚 some tasks in the race that you just canB次元官网网址檛 work together. You donB次元官网网址檛 want to let your team down.
Q: When did you feel most proud of your partner during the race?
Tyler: There were so many times when Kayleen stepped up. She brought skills from her wheelhouse, like in the diving challenge. She was also totally comfortable in the rock climbing challenge. It was the moments like that where she stepped up and kept us alive.
Kayleen: I know TylerB次元官网网址檚 so good at anything physical, but with his brain injury from the skydiving accident, the mental stuff is the hardest for him. In Toronto, at the alien challenge, he pushed through memorizing this insane alien language. He was so frustrated, but just kept pushing through and ended up getting it. IB次元官网网址檓 most proud of him for persevering through that insanely hard challenge.
Q: What lesson are you taking away from the experience?
Tyler: Maybe my intensity is a little too high. IB次元官网网址檓 OK with that, because thatB次元官网网址檚 just how I like to live. I like pushing the limits with my snowboard racing and Paralympics. But when youB次元官网网址檙e together as a team, it was a little hard on Kayleen.
Kayleen: Also you learned you could run.
Tyler: Yeah! I havenB次元官网网址檛 done that since the accident and maybe IB次元官网网址檒l never do it again. But put $250,000 on the line with some adrenaline and lack of sleep, and weB次元官网网址檒l push through anything.
Q: WhatB次元官网网址檚 next?
Tyler: WeB次元官网网址檙e trying to put some roots down for ourselves and have a spot thatB次元官网网址檚 ours.
Kayleen: Most of our 20s, we both lived very nomadic lives. I lived on a sailboat for a long time. Tyler lived in a van. Now we live in Royston in an RV.
Tyler: WeB次元官网网址檇 love to buy our own property. Royston, Cumberland, Merville or Black Creek, anywhere in these rural areas so we could start building a home.
Q: You would be happiest in Comox Valley?
Kayleen: I grew up in the Valley and this is where my heart is. ItB次元官网网址檚 part of everything we love.
Tyler: Yeah, we love it here. Proximity to the ocean, the mountains. Everything about the Valley works for us. ItB次元官网网址檚 where our friends are. ItB次元官网网址檚 really what we call home.
Tyler Turner and Kayleen VanderRee will vy against two other teams for the grand prize of $250,000, a couple trucks and a trip around the world.
The season 9 finale of The Amazing Race Canada will air at 9 p.m., Sept. 19 on CTV.
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