Natalie and Nadiya Anderson, twin sisters and 2008 graduates of the Gabelli School of Business, are on a global adventure as one of 11 teams competing in The Amazing Race.
The TV show pits each two-member team against the others in a series of challenges—both mental and physical—on a grueling monthlong trek around the world. Teams are gradually eliminated from the competition as the show progresses, and the first team to reach the final destination will win $1 million.
The twins, who were born in Queens and raised in Sri Lanka, won the second leg of the race, shown in the episode “Long Hair, Don’t Care.” The episode, which aired on Oct. 7 on CBS, began in Shanghai, China, where Nadiya sported a maroon 2007 Fordham football Patriot League Champions T-shirt. After traveling from China to Surabaya, Indonesia, the twins completed several challenges—including racing bulls on Madura Island, making balloon toys for kids while riding a stationary pedicab, and transporting and displaying fish at a market—to take the lead in the race.
Nadiya and Natalie showed even more school spirit in the Oct. 28 episode. Nadiya wore her Fordham football shirt again and Natalie donned a gray T-shirt with maroon Fordham lettering for the whole episode, which featured The Amazing Race teams completing challenges at different sites in Bangladesh. The twins finished the day in third place.
“Right now we’re the only girl-girl team left. Every other team either has some powerhouse man or two men and we’re not only hanging with them, we’re beating them, which feels amazing,” Nadiya said in the episode.
“So we’re not going anywhere,” added Natalie.
The Amazing Race airs Sundays on CBS at 8 p.m. EST.
— Rachel Buttner
