Matildas Chloe Logarzo and Emily Gielnik are eliminated from The Amazing Race Australia after a costly mistake in Namibia.
In the seventh leg of The Amazing Race Australia: Celebrity Edition, aired on Sunday night (29 September), football stars Chloe Logarzo and Emily Gielnik were the latest team to face elimination.
The Matildas teammates, competing to raise awareness for the National Breast Cancer Foundation, found themselves out of the competition after a critical error during the race through Namibia.
The leg began with teams arriving in the Namib Desert, where they faced a Detour – a choice between two gruelling challenges. Teams had to either climb an enormous sand dune on foot or drive 12 kilometres through the challenging terrain.
After completing this task, they travelled to Pelican Point, a peninsula renowned for its large seal population. Here, teams were required to kayak out to four buoys and memorise facts about marine life.
Chloe and Emily initially managed to maintain a strong lead. However, a crucial mistake occurred as they left Pelican Point. While collecting their belongings, Emily accidentally took Chloe’s bumbag, leaving her own behind. They did not realise the error until they were already en route to the next location. According to race rules, teams cannot complete a leg without all their possessions, forcing them to retrace their steps and costing them valuable time.
The next phase of the leg saw teams travel to Mondesa, where they learned how to make Otjize, a traditional Himba paste made from fat and ochre. Following this, teams received a shopping list in Damara-Nama, a local language. They had to work with locals to translate the list and gather the required items before heading to the Pit Stop.
Unfortunately, the time lost due to the missing bag left Chloe and Emily too far behind, and they became the latest team eliminated from the race.
Despite their disappointment, both athletes remained positive about their contribution to raising awareness for their charity. Chloe shared the personal motivation behind their involvement.
“I have two incredible women in my life who have both overcome breast cancer, my mother-in-law and my Nonna. If we think about the journey we’ve had in our football career, the statistics are that one or two out of every single locker room will have breast cancer or go through that experience.”
Reflecting on their experience, Emily acknowledged the intensity of the race and the pressure they felt to succeed.
“I found the fear of failure the most challenging, the anxiety around coming first every race day. Failure, for me, was not an option. I wanted to win at all costs…
that was one of the most difficult things we had to deal with from a competitive aspect.
No matter how competitive you are, sometimes things just aren’t going to go your way, even if you do want to win so badly,” she said.
Chloe added her perspective, noting the shift in their mindset as the race progressed.
“We are extremely competitive, and we did come into this race wanting to be two females to win The Amazing Race Australia for the first time, but the beautiful thing is, along the way we got distracted…
and we got humbled a lot in South Africa. For a split second, we didn’t care about what was happening in the race and enjoyed the beautiful moments we had,” she reflected.
Emily echoed these sentiments, emphasising the importance of their cause.
“Although we didn’t win for our charity, I think the overall message and goal was so that more awareness is raised.
As sad as it was to not win that money for the charity, we hope we’ve done justice by at least raising more awareness.”
