'World's Toughest Race: Eco-Challenge Fiji': Two injured war veterans participate as part of Team Unbroken
'World's Toughest Race: Eco-Challenge Fiji' might be one of the most punishing expeditions ever, however, this didn't serve as a deterrent for two committed war veterans from being part of this iconic race. Working their way through combat disabilities, wounds and internal struggles, Team Unbroken from the USA was a team of two civilians and two war veterans. The motto behind their participation was to remind themselves and others that they may be wounded, but they remain unbroken.
The team featured Gretchen Evans who was rendered deaf for life and Keith Knoop whose right leg was shattered completely. The team also featured Dr Anne Bailey and leading the Unbroken pack was Hal Riley who believed that every one of them was broken in certain areas of their lives but that didn't mean they were "functionally broken".
Gretchen served in the military for 27 long years. In 2005-2006 she was deployed in Afghanistan and while she was out visiting troops one day she was attacked by rockets. When she gained consciousness, she was in Germany and an army doctor held up a sign that read, "You're deaf." Her first instinct was to ask the doctor if this was temporary or was going to be a lifelong disability and the doctor confirmed it was the latter. That is when her military career crashed, however, Gretchen didn't believe in dwelling on the past tragedies, and by participating in this race she was proving that she had no regrets in life. Gretchen had mastered the craft of lip reading and she was relying on her other instincts to help her.
A little over a decade ago, Keith was lying on his hospital bed contemplating whether he would ever be able to walk again. In what was his second tour to Iraq in 2009, he was caught in an ambush and his right leg was completely torn apart by a roadside bomb. His femur was shattered and his hip, knee and ankle joint were massively affected while he also lost a lot of blood. He spent months in the hospital and took two whole years to make a complete recovery. When asked about the reason for him participating in the race, he said that he had two. One was to prove to himself that he is still the man he used to be and second was to honor his veteran friends who died in the line of duty.
Watch these spirited racers take on one of the most grueling voyages on 'World's Toughest Race: Eco-Challenge Fiji', all episodes of which are now streaming on Amazon Prime Video.