Sharik and Linton Atkinson were excited to compete on The Amazing Race 34, but Sharik soon felt the pressure of the challenges and wanted to quit. The father-daughter duo are long-time fans of The Amazing Race and were excited to compete. The team started strong but soon fell to the bottom because of the stress from the megaleg. This stress carried over onto the next leg of the race in Jordan, thus making it challenging to finish.
Parade interviewed Sharik and Linton and discussed Sharik's reason for wanting to quit The Amazing Race 34. Before the megaleg, Linton was in charge of completing the roadblocks since that was their strategy. Sharik believed her anxiety would affect her ability to do roadblocks, so she wanted to choose when she took them carefully. When it was time for the megaleg, it was Sharik's first roadblock, and she wanted to prove to her father that she was a good partner. The megaleg was a long stressful day for many teams, but Sharik revealed how her struggle with mental illnesses played a part in the race for her.
How Sharik's Ability To Compete On The Amazing Race Was Affected By Mental Illness
The chiseling roadblock proved challenging to many competitors on the show, including The Amazing Race's Dom Jones and Rich Kuo, who struggled during the megaleg. Sharik was frustrated because they were the fourth team to arrive at the roadblock but the eighth to finish. She revealed, "And I think that day, my mental illnesses just got the best of me. It was really hard to continue feeling like I failed this person that was relying on me so much. I just shut down. I got overwhelmed." The stress of the long day from the megaleg and the chiseling roadblock drained Sharik physically and mentally, thus resulting in her mindset of wanting to quit.
Sharik knew competing was a long-time dream of her fathers and decided to continue racing against the other The Amazing Race 34 teams. However, after the massive challenge of the megaleg, Sharik did not have time to heal mentally from the stress. She recalled, "I feel like mentally, I was going through a lot of impostor syndrome during the Jordan leg. I saw all these teams with a good attitude, and I felt a little isolated. Because of my various mental illnesses, I just felt like no one understood except for my dad." The other issue they faced in Jordan was that it was a straight shot compared to other legs in terms of race travel. There was little chance to get ahead of other teams, and the stress of the megaleg continued to weigh on their team.
Many contestants feel the stress of The Amazing Race in one challenge or another. Aastha Lal and Nina Duong struggled with The Amazing Race 34 Scramble twist in the first episode. In addition, every leg ending in an elimination also weighs on the mind of contestants since there is little room for error. Sharik and Linton were not the first team to fall to the pressures of The Amazing Race 34, and they will likely not be the last. Still, the father-daughter duo are proud of what they accomplished on the show and are glad they could experience it together.
The Amazing Race airs Wednesdays at 10 p.m. EST on CBS.
Source: Parade