Amanda & Kris

S18
S14

Team Profile

Born:

December 3, 1984 (age 39) (Amanda)
January 12, 1984 (age 40) (Kris)

Hometown:

San Diego, California (Season 14)
Prismo Beach, California (Unfinished Business)

Relation:

Dating (Season 14)
Engaged (Unfinished Business)

Occupation:

Student; College Admissions at a Private College (Amanda)
Sales Representative; Insurance Agent (Kris)

Legs Competed:

4

Legs Won:

0

Placement:

8th

Average Position:

4.50

Roadblock
Count:

Amanda: 1
Kris: 3

Countries
Raced:

Legs Competed:

2

Legs Won:

0

Placement:

11th

Average Position:

6.50

Roadblock
Count:

Amanda: 1
Kris: 0

Countries
Raced:

For Amanda & Chris from The Amazing Race 4, see Amanda & Chris.

Amanda Blackledge and Kristopher "Kris" Klicka are a Dating team on The Amazing Race 14 and an Engaged team on The Amazing Race: Unfinished Business.

Amanda & Kris emerged as physical threats on The Amazing Race 14, finishing in the top half of the pack in the first three legs. However, in the fourth leg, they were relegated with four other teams on the second flight to Siberia. In a bid to help their allies Jaime & Cara and seeing Amanda & Kris as physical threats, Margie & Luke targeted them with a Blind U-Turn, sealing their fate and eliminating them in 8th place.

Returning for Unfinished Business, Amanda & Kris were immediately hit by a sense of déjà vu after receiving an Automatic U-Turn for finishing the starting line task last. Although a fortuitous incident involving the flight most of the other teams were on allowed them to race ahead of the pack in the first leg, they immediately squandered their lead in the second leg when they could not decipher a clue leading them to where they needed to sign up for a chartered flight. Prior to this, they were beaten by Gary & Mallory for the Express Pass, which could have helped them overcome the Automatic U-Turn. These relegated them to the second flight which, combined with their Automatic U-Turn, was enough to ensure that they were the first team eliminated.

Profile[]

Retrieved from CBS.com

Amanda Blackledge (23); Kris Klicka (24)
Hometown: San Diego, Calif.
Occupation: Amanda (Student); Kris (Sales Representative)
Relationship: Dating

This young couple who met more than three years ago hopes to spend the rest of their lives together, but before taking their relationship to the next level they are looking forward to sharing this experience together. Their favorite shared memory is falling in love with each other over bonfires at the beach accompanied by wine and s'mores. They plan on creating many more memories together on the Race and are hoping to fall in love all over again.

Amanda is a communications student at Cal State San Marcos, but is working at a tanning salon until she graduates. She describes herself as outgoing, talkative and generous. When asked what her biggest pet peeve about her teammate is Amanda says that Kris occasionally doesn't seem interested when she is talking to him.

Kris, who was once almost attacked by a bear in Alaska, enjoys hunting, fishing and snow boarding. He currently works as a sales representative for a communications company. He has not had the opportunity to travel much outside of the United States and looks forward to the Race as a chance to explore other cultures and compete against the game's best. He hopes the other Teams are as hungry to win as he is.

Amanda and Kris both have a tendency to be stubborn when it comes to a disagreement, but they realize they must be more open to ideas and solutions from one another in order to propel their team into winning the one million dollars. They feel this is a perfect opportunity to work on their shortcomings and any other communication issues they have. Amanda and Kris have so much in common that they complete each others sentences. One shared characteristic is the ability to make friends wherever they go, which can come in handy when racing around the globe.^[1]

Amanda[]

Age: 25
Hometown: Redwood City, Calif. but currently residing in Pismo Beach, Calif.
Connection to your Teammate: Fiance
Current Occupation: College Admissions at a private college in Pismo Beach, Laurus College
Previous Season/Result: Season 14/8th place
Biggest mistake you made in your previous season: We were naive and trusted too many other teams. We forgot that we were racing for one million dollars.
Most memorable moment from your first Race: The cheese hill! The task to carry cheese down the hill in Switzerland that was covered in animal poop was one of the most challenging tasks. It was funny watching it on TV and seeing how funny we all looked. The hill was far steeper than it looked on TV.
Favorite place you visited on your first season: Switzerland! It was the most beautiful place I have ever seen.
Why do you want to run the Race again? Kris and I want a second chance. We were doing so well until the woodpile in Krasnoyarsk, Russia. We fell behind and then were u-turned, which we were unable to recover from.
How have you changed since the last time you competed? Our relationship has grown stronger since the last Race. We proved not only to ourselves, but to the world that we balance each other out and make for a great team.
What are you passionate about? My fiance, my family, my pets and my friends.
People would be surprised to learn: As soon as I graduated from college, I moved in with Kris in Pismo Beach and I missed my graduation ceremony.
Biggest challenge you and your teammate will face on the Race together: It might sound funny since Kris and I both have a B.A. in Communications, but we tend to struggle with communicating with one another in tense situations.
What do you hope to accomplish by running the Race again (other than winning one million dollars): I hope to travel to as many different places as possible and see the world with my new fiance.
Pet peeve about your teammate: Sometimes he second guesses my judgment. He needs to remember we are both natural leaders and I have much to bring to the table as well.
What would you do if you won the million dollars? Purchase our first house together and I am sure some of the money would also go towards our wedding.
Any strategic changes you will make heading into this Race: Not trusting anyone, yet willing to make "alliances" to get ahead.

Kris[]

Age: 26
Hometown: San Diego, Calif. but currently residing in Pismo Beach, Calif.
Connection to your Teammate: Fiance
Current Occupation: Insurance Agent
Previous Season/Result: Season 14/8th place
Biggest mistake you made in your previous season: Amanda and I are social people and last time around we put too much trust in teams we thought were friends. This is a Race for one million dollars and this time around, we are not going to hold back for anything.
Most memorable moment from your first Race: It is hard to pick just one, but if I have to, I would say when I got to drive on the Autobahn in Germany. That was definitely on my bucket list.
Favorite place you visited on your first season: Probably Switzerland. All the old architecture and cobble stone streets seemed like something out of a book.
Why do you want to run the Race again? Since we got u-turned in Siberia and eliminated as a result of not being able to recover from it, I constantly think about what would have happened and how far we would have gone if we weren't u-turned. I know we can win this!
How have you changed since the last time you competed? I am now engaged!
People would be surprised to learn: I had a hard time finding a job in San Diego after getting back from our first time on the Race. I ended up taking a job offer in central California and leaving behind all my friends and family. It was a hard move to make to say the least.
Biggest challenge you and your teammate will face on the Race together: We are both strong-minded, natural leaders and both like to be in control. This time around I need to not second guess things she says as much and hand over the reigns.
What do you hope to accomplish by running the Race again (other than winning one million dollars): I want to experience new cultures and places with the one person that means more to me than anything to me.
Pet peeve about your teammate: Amanda doesn't like to be wrong and sometimes it is very hard to get through to her.
What would you do if you won the million dollars? I would put some of it towards a house, some for our wedding and invest whatever is left over.

Any strategic changes you will make heading into this Race: I will not trust a soul, but try to be very discrete about it. This time around, I want to fly under the radar to not put targets on our backs, but at the same time, do whatever it takes to get ahead. We are not going to hold back for anything or anyone.^[2]

The Amazing Race 14[]

Race History[]

Amanda & Kris's Race History
Episode	Leg	Destination(s)	Detour Choice (underlined)	Roadblock Performer	Placement	Notes
1	1	United States → Switzerland	No Detour	Kris	5 of 11
2	2	Switzerland → Germany → Austria	Balancing Dolly / Austrian Folly	Kris	3 of 10
3	3	Austria → Romania	Gypsy Moves / Vampire Remains	Amanda	2 of 9
4	4	Romania → Russia	Stack / Construct	Kris	8 of 8⊃
				Average	4.50
Legend: The team finished in first place The team finished in last place and was eliminated from the race The team finished in last place in a non-elimination leg The team that won The Amazing Race The team that crossed the Finish Line second The team that crossed the Finish Line third ⊂ The team used the U-Turn ⊃ Recipient of the U-Turn

The Amazing Race: Unfinished Business[]

Race History[]

Amanda & Kris's Race History
Episode	Leg	Destination(s)	Detour Choice (underlined)	Roadblock Performer	Placement	Notes
1	1	United States → Australia	No Detour	Amanda	2 of 11	^[1]
2	2	Australia	Spirit World / Natural World	No Roadblock	11 of 11∪	^[2]
				Average	6.50
Legend: The team finished in first place The team finished in last place and was eliminated from the race The team finished in last place in a non-elimination leg The team that won The Amazing Race The team that crossed the Finish Line second The team that crossed the Finish Line third ϵ The team used the Express Pass somewhere during the leg ⊂ The team used the U-Turn ⊃ Recipient of the U-Turn ⋐ The team that used the second slot of the "Double U-Turn" ⋑ Recipient of a second U-Turn due to the "Double U-Turn" twist ∪ This team was penalized with an automatic "U-Turn"
Notes: 1: Amanda & Kris were penalized with an automatic U-Turn for coming in last at the Starting Line task. 2: Amanda & Kris's automatic U-Turn penalty was incurred in Leg 2, as Leg 1 had no Detour.

Post-Race[]

Kris proposed to Amanda in July 2010 before they were asked to compete on The Amazing Race: Unfinished Business.^[3]
Amanda & Kris got married on August 18, 2012.^[4] The Amazing Race 14 and Unfinished Business castmates Jaime & Cara, Kisha & Jen, and Margie & Luke were in attendance at their wedding.
- They have since had two children.^[5]

Trivia[]

Amanda & Kris were recruited to compete on The Amazing Race while at a nightclub in San Diego. The casting agent approached Kris first and, believing that she was scouting him for The Real World, rudely said no. Kris only realized the casting agent wanted him for The Amazing Race when Kris overheard her talking to Amanda about their encounter. Amanda claims that they were the only team recruited for their season.^[6]

Franchise Records[]

Amanda & Kris are the first team to be Blind U-Turned.
First team to be penalized with an automatic U-Turn.
First team to be eliminated by the U-turn twice in their career, followed by Jet & Cord.
In The Amazing Race: Unfinished Business, they were the first team with the same name as a previous team to be eliminated in the same position. (Amanda & Chris were also eliminated in 11th place in The Amazing Race 4.)
Fewest legs traveled by a team of returning racers, with six legs traveled over the course of their two seasons.
First returning racers team to be eliminated without winning a leg on either season that they competed on.

US Records[]

Highest racing average for a team that were the first team eliminated, 6.50 in Unfinished Business.

Other[]

Amanda & Kris are the youngest team competed in both seasons (tied with Joey & Meghan and Becca & Floyd).

External links[]

Interviews[]

Season 14[]

John Bracchitta at Reality TV World (03/09/2009): "Exclusive: Amanda Blackledge and Kris Klicka talk 'The Amazing Race'"
Joyce Eng at TVGuide (03/09/2009): "Amazing Race's Amanda and Kris: We Got U-Turned Because We Were "the Ultimate Threat""
Oscar Dahl at BuddyTV (03/09/2009): "Exclusive Interview: Kris and Amanda, from 'The Amazing Race 14'"
Staff at People (03/10/2009): "The Amazing Race: Amanda & Kris Talk About U-Turn"

Unfinished Business[]

Joyce Eng at TV Guide (02/28/2011): "Amazing Race's Amanda and Kris: We Don't Blame the U-Turn for Our Elimination"
Staff at Reality TV World (03/01/2011): "Exclusive: Amanda Blackledge and Kris Klicka talk 'The Amazing Race'"
Carla Patton at BuddyTV (03/01/2011): "Kris and Amanda of 'The Amazing Race: Unfinished Business' on Wedding Plans, Kangaroo Suits"