Spencer Stone and Alek Skarlatos, dubbed “Train Heroes”, will compete in the 33rd season of the Amazing Race.
11 teams compete for a million dollars on their journey around the world in the Amazing Race program. MTV
It was August 2015 when the American friends Spencer Stone23, and Alek Skarlatos, 22, were backpacking around Europe. Stone was an Air Force soldier, Skarlatos was a National Guardsman who had just returned from a deployment in Afghanistan.
However, the train journey from Amsterdam via Brussels to Paris changed the direction of the whole trip. A 25-year-old Moroccan man had boarded with an assault rifle, a pistol and 270 rounds of ammunition in his backpack. In the corridor of the train he began his attack.
Four and a half years later, Stone and Skarlatos participated The Amazing Race -for the 33rd season of the reality television series. The first episodes of the season are shown today for the first time on Finnish television.
Alek Skarlatos and Spencer Stone made headlines in 2015 as “train heroes”. MTV
In the opening episode, Stone and Skarlatos reminisce about a dark train journey.
– We turned around and saw a shirtless man with an assault rifle in his hand, Skarlatos describes the situation.
– I decided to run towards him and he pointed his gun at me. He pulled the trigger, the gun didn’t go off, Stone says.
Stone says that he wrestled the man to the ground and got hit in the face with the gun himself.
– At that moment, I was thinking of nothing but helping my friend, Skarlatos recalls.
Friendly fighters against the attacker. Finally, they got him in a choke hold and the attacker lost consciousness.
No one was killed in the attack. There were four injured, including the attacker.
Stone shows his fellow contestants a trace of the situation. The long scars on his neck show where the terrorist cut him with a carpet knife.
Soon after the incident, Stone, Skarlatos and others who fought against the attacker rose to fame as heroes. The friends met the President of the United States Barack Obama’s and received the President of France From François Hollande the insignia of the Legion of Honor. The men wrote a book about their experience, on the basis of which a movie was also released.
As usual, the Amazing Race is hosted by Phil Keoghan. MTV
The filming of the Amazing Race season, which starts today on Finnish television, took an extraordinary 20 months. Filming started already in February 2020, but filming had to be stopped after the fourth stage due to the corona pandemic situation. The season premiered in the United States in January 2022.
In the first episode, eleven teams start the competition from London. As usual, a motley group of participants has gathered for the competition. You can also see them competing for the million dollar main pot Love Island -couple, a man convicted of murder and a newlywed couple who became an internet sensation with their wedding dance video.
Amazing Race today on MTV3 at 20:00 & Katsomo. See all TV programs and broadcast times in Telku’s TV guide.