The Amazing Race Season 39 Cast: All 13 Teams, Contestants and Relationships

The Amazing Race Season 39 cast has 13 teams of two and 26 racers. The lineup includes former professional soccer players Ali Krieger and Joanna Lohman, mother-daughter team Ann-Marie and Riley Tejcek, grandfather-grandson team Doug and Dylan Matter, siblings, married couples and longtime friends. Phil Keoghan returns as host. The season starts with a two-night premiere on September 30 and October 1, 2026 on CBS and streams on Paramount+.

The Amazing Race Season 39 cast: all 13 teams

Readers following CBS and strategy-based reality competition coverage can also explore Big Brother 2026 cast, The Traitors Season 6 cast and The Voice Season 30 coaches and contestants.

Ali Krieger and Joanna Lohman

Ali Krieger and Joanna Lohman are the most recognizable professional athletes in the Season 39 lineup. Both have high-level soccer experience, and Krieger is a two-time FIFA Women’s World Cup champion with the United States. Athleticism can help with endurance, but The Amazing Race regularly punishes teams that rely on speed without strong navigation and communication. Their most important advantage may be experience performing under pressure rather than pure fitness.

Ann-Marie and Riley Tejcek

Ann-Marie and Riley race as mother and daughter. Their backgrounds in healthcare leadership and the military suggest experience with structure and decision-making, but the Race often tests family communication differently from professional discipline. Their ability to disagree without losing time may matter more than any single task skill.

Anuar Tager and Andrea Tager Ballesca

Anuar and Andrea are another parent-child pair. CBS identifies Anuar as a developer and Andrea as a medical student. Teams with a generational gap can divide responsibilities effectively when they trust each other’s strengths, but travel pressure can also expose different risk tolerances and communication styles.

Cody Langlois and Jaime Tribo

Cody and Jaime are siblings. Cody works as a civil engineer and Jaime as a dietitian. Sibling teams usually enter with years of shared history, which can make communication fast but can also make old habits resurface under stress.

Conner Wilson and Garrett McGuire

Conner and Garrett are childhood friends. Conner works in media production and Garrett is an engineer. Their professional backgrounds may help with visual observation and problem solving, while their long friendship could reduce the time needed to interpret each other’s reactions.

Dafina and Saran Dunmore

Dafina and Saran are sisters and best friends. Their different professional experiences give them a broad skill mix, but Season 39 will still depend heavily on route choices, memory tasks and communication. The strongest sibling teams tend to know when to switch leadership rather than allowing one person to dominate every decision.

Daisha Wilks and Dalton Hamby

Daisha and Dalton are a dating couple who both work as videographers. Shared work experience may make them comfortable collaborating under deadlines, but the Race adds physical fatigue, travel confusion and public decision-making that normal creative work does not reproduce.

Doug and Dylan Matter

Doug and Dylan are the season’s grandfather-grandson team. Doug is a retired fire chief and Dylan is a college student. Their age difference is likely to make them one of the most distinctive pairings, but age alone does not predict Race performance. Task selection, navigation and calm communication can matter as much as running speed.

Erin Taylor and Javi Vintimilla

Erin and Javi are married. Javi’s work as a pilot makes travel a familiar professional environment, while Erin brings an HR background. That does not guarantee an advantage because Race travel deliberately removes much of the predictability and information available in normal aviation or business travel.

Jody Rebhun and Jenn Naso

Jody and Jenn are best friends and mothers. A history teacher and forensic scientist bring different forms of observation and analysis, which could be useful during clue-heavy tasks. Their challenge will be converting those strengths into quick decisions rather than overthinking when a leg demands speed.

Katie and Charlotte Schultz

Katie and Charlotte are sisters and both work as estheticians. Their close personal and professional familiarity gives them a clear teamwork base. As with the other sibling pairs, success will depend on whether that familiarity produces efficient communication or repeated arguments.

Michelle and Matthew Patterson

Michelle and Matthew are married parents with business and operations experience. Running a business often requires fast coordination and division of responsibilities, which can translate well to the Race when both partners agree on who should handle a particular task.

Zach and Nate Johnson

Zach and Nate are brothers who work in sales. Sales experience can mean comfort talking to strangers and adapting quickly, skills that sometimes matter when teams must ask for directions or communicate across language barriers. The Race, however, also demands patience and attention to written clues, so social confidence is only one part of the equation.

What is the new Express Pass twist?

Season 39 changes the Express Pass by putting one in the hands of every team at the starting line. CBS says all 13 teams receive a pass and must use it by the end of Leg 6. An Express Pass allows a team to skip a task, so the twist turns a rare advantage into a strategy problem for everyone. Use it too early and a harder challenge may appear later. Wait too long and a team could be eliminated before getting value from it.

Where does The Amazing Race Season 39 start?

Phil Keoghan starts the race in Vancouver, Canada. CBS says the teams then travel around the world through a season that covers multiple continents. The official premiere material should remain the primary source for route facts, because pre-season leaks and contestant social posts can reveal locations out of order.

When does Season 39 premiere?

The season launches with a special two-night event. Part one airs Wednesday, September 30 from 9:30-11:00 p.m. ET/PT. Part two airs Thursday, October 1 in the same time slot. The series then moves into its regular Wednesday schedule beginning October 7. Paramount Press Express says the season will stream on Paramount+, with live and on-demand access depending on subscription tier.

How much money do the winners get?

The first team to reach the final destination wins $1 million. CBS describes the format in the familiar way: teams complete mental and physical challenges at each destination, learn their next location after finishing required tasks, and risk elimination when they fall too far behind.