Family, friends cheer Fayette native on The Amazing Race
Submitted photo
Kristi Leskinen (right) and her teammate Jen Hudak open their next clue on “The Amazing Race.” Teams raced through Prague, Czech Republic, on the latest episode, which aired Wednesday.
About 50 people joined Fayette County Judge Steve P. Leskinen and his family to watch Kristi Leskinen and her teammate Jen Hudak win the latest episode of "The Amazing Race" in Prague, Czech Republic Wednesday.
Kristi Leskinen (left) and her teammate Jen Hudak navigate through the Czech Republic on the latest episode of "The Amazing Race," which aired Wednesday.
Submitted
Kristi Leskinen (right) and Jen Hudak race to deliver a keg of beer to the Fidelio party boat in Prague, Czech Republic on the latest episode, which aired Wednesday.
Alyssa Choiniere | Herald-Standard
Fayette County Judge Steve P. Leskinen keeps a watchful eye over his grandson, Henrik Voithofer, at “The Amazing Race” watch party at the Hilton Garden Inn in South Union Township, Wednesday.
A Uniontown native and her teammate won a second leg of “The Amazing Race” as her family and friends cheered her on from a watch party in South Union Township.
Kristi Leskinen and her teammate, Jen Hudak, known on the CBS show as Team Extreme for their professional skiing success, have raced the competition through Iceland, Belgium, Morocco, France and the Czech Republic, finishing in the top 3 on all six legs. On Wednesday’s episode, “The Claws are Out,” they crushed the competition stacking and delivering beer and destroying their teammates in a Kafkaesque challenge.
“Now, I’m not going to give you any hints, but Kristi did tell me this would be a good episode to watch,” said Kristi’s father, Fayette County Judge Steve P. Leskinen to a group of about 50 people who joined the family to watch the episode at the Hilton Garden Inn. He wore a pink shirt in honor of Team Extreme and asked his guests to do the same.
The team finished about 40 minutes ahead of the second place team, Kristi said on a Skype call from Whistler at the end of the show. Kristi was a pioneer of her sport for women, pushing U.S. Open committees to allow women to compete until they changed their rules. Kristi said she wants to prove women can do anything, and the team got a fresh wind of motivation when the two other all-female teams were eliminated. Team Extreme was picked as the winner by host Phil Keoghan.
“He was impressed by their athletic and intellectual abilities, and of course I agree,” her father said during a previous interview. “I happen to believe that Kristi and Jen are the best team.”
Family members and friends signed a board displaying the group’s top four favorite teams. Unsurprisingly, her brothers and other family members picked Team Extreme as the top team.
The full meeting room burst into applause and cheers when the show started. “Here we go!” someone shouted.
Kristi and Jen sped through the first challenge — to stack beer kegs at the Staropramen Brewery, find the only full keg, tap it and pour the the perfect mug of beer. They had a brief hangup achieving the perfect pour. Judge Leskinen let out an audible groan when the team was sent back for having less than two fingers of foam. The next pour was deemed perfection, and they completed the challenge with a keg delivery to the Fidelio party boat.
“I like beer and football,” Kristi said as the team moved into second place.
Judge Leskinen took a brief respite during a commercial break to wrangle and snuggle his 15-month-old grandson, Henrik Voithofer, who was donning a bib that said “My auntie is awesome.” Kristi is known to her nieces and nephews as “Auntie Kiss-Me,” he said.
The team was in the lead arriving at their next challenge, inspired by Prague native and author Franz Kafka. Jen took on the challenge to discern words from recordings on eight phones as hundreds rang in a cacophony. The challenge was meant to be nightmarish and oppressive, much like Kafka’s fictional world. The scrambled words were turned into a sentence, “The meaning of life is that it stops.”
Kristi said she is grateful for her time on the show as long as it lasts.
“We want to enjoy every moment,” she said on the episode.
Leskinen’s eyes sparkled as Jen finished the challenge first, realizing the team would likely win the leg. He beamed at the excited group as Team Extreme made it first to the end, spurring a fresh wave of cheers and applause.
The teams will race through Zimbabwe on a special double episode, which airs Wednesday from 9 to 11 p.m. on CBS.