(Photo credit: Almeida, Matthew, Bell Media)
A father-son duo from Thunderchild First Nation is in the running for a $250,000 prize on the newest season of Amazing Race Canada.
41-year-old Michael Linklater is an ex-professional basketball player who has won multiple championships playing 3×3 basketball and has played for Team Canada, Team Saskatoon, and the Saskatchewan Rattlers. He currently works as a motivational speaker for Indigenous communities.
19-year-old Amari also has a love for basketball and is currently playing college basketball for NAIT in Edmonton.
“What made us want to be partners is that my dad and I have been competing together in basketball for a number of years now, and we’ve been traveling and playing in men’s tournaments and competing together, so that’s something we really thrive at is working with one another, so we figured it would be a good opportunity to compete,” explained Amari.
Tens of thousands of people across Canada apply to be on the show every year, and Michial and Amari said that when they made their video submission to be on the show, they were completely themselves.
“When we got that call back, it didn’t feel real; it was a lot of excitement, and we’re very grateful for it, but it didn’t really feel like it was real until it was actually happening,” said Amari.
There are 11 teams in the race, and Michael and Amari are the only contestants from Saskatchewan this season.
“What our team stands for is representing young families; for me to be a young parent and Amari to be a young man who’s really thriving is something that we want to show and that parent-child relationship, and for us to be able to show people a healthy lifestyle that we both demonstrate on a daily basis and for that to come through, hopefully that inspires others wanting to take that journey themselves,” said Michael.
Along with the cash prize, this year’s winners will also get two 2024 Chevrolet Equinox EV RS vehicles and a round-the-world trip for two.
Season ten kicks off on July 2 at 7 p.m. on CTV, and the race will begin at Niagara Falls, the same location where Season 1 began in 2013.