Father-son team on ‘The Amazing Race’ includes Eagle Scout

He’s already earned Scouting’s highest honor, so racing donkeys in Italy, dancing in Malaysia and becoming a barber in Seville, Spain — all with a million bucks on the line — seems like a cake walk for Connor O’Leary.

Connor is the younger half of the “David & Connor” father-son team competing for $1 million on the Emmy-winning CBS reality series The Amazing Race. The 22-year-old earned the Eagle Scout Award in 2005 as a member of the Great Salt Lake Council.

We’ll find out whether Connor and his dad can win it all in the show’s season finale, airing at 8 p.m. (7 p.m. Central) Sunday, May 18, on CBS.

Connor has impressed viewers this season as he and his dad traveled 35,000 miles to far-off destinations including China, Sri Lanka, Italy, Switzerland and the United Kingdom.

That kind of travel schedule takes a lot of perseverance, but Connor and David are built from the toughest stuff around. Both are cancer survivors. David was diagnosed with prostate cancer, and Connor had testicular cancer.

Thankfully, both are now cancer-free. As this Deseret News article from last year explains, the ordeal brought them closer together.

“We’ve done a tremendous amount together and know each other really well. We know each other’s strengths and weaknesses,” David told the newspaper. “I’ve watched Connor do the hardest things imaginable … and frankly I know it would be me just trying to keep up.”

Scouting shout-out

In last night’s episode (titled “Hei Ho Heidi Ho,” watch it here), Connor proclaimed he’s an Eagle Scout and that a shotgun-shooting challenge wouldn’t trouble him too much because he earned the Shotgun Shooting merit badge as a Scout.

I won’t spoil the outcome, but let’s just say he didn’t disappoint.

Connor’s is another fine example of an Eagle Scout continuing to impress long after his time as a youth in the program is over.

Be sure to cheer on Connor and his dad during the season finale on Sunday.

Other Scouts on TV

Coming soon: Scouting Around, a new TV show from Boys’ Life magazine

‘Are You Tougher Than a Boy Scout?’ now available on iTunes

 

 


About Bryan Wendell 3282 Articles
Bryan Wendell, an Eagle Scout, is the founder of Bryan on Scouting and a contributing writer.