Beauty queens Maggie Wilson-Consunji and Parul Quitola Shah have won the fifth “The Amazing Race of Asia,” a made-for-television event that brought contestants to six countries and 12 cities.
Consunji and Shah brought home $100,000 (roughly P5 million) for winning the 12,000-kilometer race shown on AXN Asia.
“We did it! We did it!” exclaimed Maggie after she and Parul were declared winners Thursday.
Second place went to Malaysian beauty queens Chloe Chen and Lee Yvonne while another Filipino pair, national rugby player Eric Tai and his wife Rona, came in third place.
The three pairs were the last teams standing from the original field of 11 teams from six countries and took part in the last two legs in Indonesia.
“It feels amazing. It’s like we can relax now. We are just so, so happy we can help Parul’s family now with our winnings,” Maggie said. Parul’s father is recovering from a stroke.
“It was such a relief to win because the money can help my family, especially my dad who suffered a stroke,” Parul said. “He taught me to never give up in life and I did this to prove that no matter what life throws at you, never give up.”
Wilson and Parul struggled in the early part of the race before stepping on the gas in the second half. They formed a strategic alliance with compatriots Eric and Rona to take out other strong contenders.
Wilson and Parul placed second in the penultimate leg and claimed first place in the final leg to edge their Malaysian rivals.
“We played the game really well and climbed the ladder ever so slowly. We didn’t want to come in first in any of the legs because we didn’t want to have a target on our backs,” Maggie said. “We would have thought that two beauty queens would win! I’m pretty sure we’ll be talking about this moment for decades.”
Parul was crowned Binibining Pilipinas Tourism in 2014 while Maggie was 2007 Binibining Pilipinas World.
It was a heartbreaking loss for the Malaysian pair who figured prominently in the race with one first place and four second place finishes.
It marked the second time the Philippines won the race.
In 2011, Richard Hardin, a former PBA player, and Richard Herrera, a model, topped the fourth edition before the race went into a six-year hiatus.
The race kicked off in Jakarta on October 13 and ended in Bali on December 15.
Aside from Indonesia, the other countries include Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, Singapore, and the Philippines.
In the Philippines, the race went to as far as Vigan City, Ilocos Sur.
(With reports from CNN Philippines, GMA News, and Rappler)
