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Ernest "Ernie" Halvorsen and Cindy Chiang are an Engaged team and the Official Winners of The Amazing Race 19.

The couple came into the race after undergoing extensive preparation and training, which immediately paid off as they found themselves racing in the lead more often than racing to avoid coming in last. Despite their differing approaches to the race, with Ernie being more laidback and relaxed and Cindy being more meticulous and a perfectionist, the two worked well together, earning a spot in the final three. They ran an intelligent final leg, often utilizing their taxi driver's phone to their advantage, allowing them to catch up with and eventually pass Jeremy & Sandy on their way to victory.

Profile[]

Retrieved from CBS.com[1]

Ernie[]

Age: 29
Hometown: Chicago
Connection to your teammate: Engaged
Current occupation: Project Manager
Describe what you do: I project manage new printing press installations for commercial and sheetfed printers in North America. I bring the sold contract to life by integrating project team members from design, manufacturing and installation, all while being the single point of contact for my customer.
How will these skills help you win The Race? I frequently delegate tasks and have the ability to optimize work by utilizing a person's skill sets. The majority of my job is dealing with time-critical, problem-solving tasks that require urgent responses and decisions.
Three words to describe you: Loyal, comical and energetic.
Favorite hobbies: Traveling, no glove 16" softball, graphic design and origami.
  What famous person reminds you of yourself? Ty Pennington
What famous person reminds you of your teammate? Lucy Liu
What is the accomplishment you are most proud of? I moved to Germany by myself and lived for a year without ever traveling outside of the U.S. prior and without having any knowledge of the local language. I even joined a German baseball team and made some lifelong friendships.
What scares you most about traveling? Lawless regions where foreigners are not highly regarded. 
What excites you most about traveling? Interacting with people and cultures different from my own. Also, getting to experience different sights, smells and tastes that you cannot reproduce outside of the specific country.
  Biggest challenge you and your teammate will face on The Race together: I have a roundabout way of explaining my point and my direction can be vague.
Pet peeve about your teammate: Planning – Cindy loves to plan every aspect of our lives and sometimes it can be overwhelming.
What country and place would you most like to visit and why? DPRK/North Korea because so much is unknown about it. I've seen videos of the LAS5 AriRang, which is a great gymnastics and performance display by more than 100,000 North Koreans. I feel this would be an incredible culture shock that I want to see and understand.
What do you hope to accomplish by running The Race (other then winning one million bucks)? I want to share this once in a lifetime experience of The Race with my fiancé. If we do win, we will have a nice footing to start our social business venture that will be intertwined with the needs that we see around the world.

Cindy[]

Age: 30
Hometown: Chicago
Connection to your teammate: Engaged
Current occupation: Brand Manager
Describe what you do: I lead a cross-functional brand team. This includes everything from brand strategy, new products, team development, financial management to sales and marketing.
How will these skills help you win The Race? Through my corporate job, I have been faced with challenging adversity, taking calculated risks and making quick informed decisions. My job is also highly competitive and you must have a strong desire to win with solid performance. All of these skills are vital to winning The Race and I'm confident I can bring it to win it.
Three words to describe you: Determined, dedicated and passionate.
Favorite hobbies: Exercising, cooking, and planning. I like to plan anything and everything.
What famous person reminds you of yourself? I'm told that I'm a replica of Lucy Liu, but I would like to be similar to Lauren Conrad from "The Hills." She is very entrepreneurial, highly accomplished, likeable and friendly.
What famous person reminds you of your teammate? Zach Morris from "Saved By The Bell." Ernie loves to be the center of the action and he's a big jokester.
What is the accomplishment you are most proud of? I was crowned Homecoming Queen at my undergraduate university.
What scares you most about traveling? Lack of control – I'm gluten-free and it can often be a challenge to find suitable foods in new locations, especially places where there's a language barrier.
What excites you most about traveling? I love meeting local people and understanding more about their culture and daily rituals. I find it fascinating that we are all humans, but have very different ways of living a happy life.
Biggest challenge you and your teammate will face on The Race together: Ernie needs to be more direct with me. He is so easy going that he goes along with what I want, but I don't know if that's really what he wants.
Pet peeve about your teammate: He's a really happy-go-lucky person with a positive attitude and outlook on life, but for some crazy reason he always gives me some round-about answer to any of my questions.
What country and place would you most like to visit and why? India! I love the rich culture and history of India. I would love to see the Taj Mahal, explore the 'triangle' and see the white sandy beaches of Goa.
What do you hope to accomplish by running The Race (other then winning one million bucks)? I hope we will learn a lot about each other through this process. Our goal is to become entrepreneurs together and The Race will give us a solid opportunity to test our working relationship and see if we can actually work together.

The Amazing Race 19[]

Race History[]

Ernie & Cindy's Race History
Episode Leg Destination(s) Detour Choice
(underlined)
Roadblock
Performer
Placement Notes
1 1 United States → Taiwan No Detour Cindy 1 of 11
2 2 Taiwan → Indonesia Shake Your Money Maker / Be a Ticket Taker Cindy 4 of 11 [1]
3 3 Indonesia Rice Field / Grass Fed Ernie 5 of 9
4 4 Indonesia → Thailand Coral Reconstruction / Beach Preparation Ernie 5 of 8
5 5 Thailand No Detour Cindy 3 of 8 [2]
Ernie
6 6 Thailand → Malawi All Sewn Up / Not Grown Up Ernie 5 of 7
7 7 Malawi Dugout / Lugout Cindy 2 of 7ϵ [3]
8 8 Malawi → Denmark All Hopped Up / All Churned Out Ernie 1 of 6
9 9 Denmark → Germany → Belgium Bodybuilding Posedown / Unknown Cindy 2 of 5 [4]
10 10 Belgium Water / Waffle Ernie 3 of 5
11 11 Belgium → Netherlands → Panama Filet / Sole Cindy 2 of 4
12 12 Panama → United States No Detour Ernie 1 of 3
Average 2.83
Legend:
     The team finished in first place
     The team finished in last place and was eliminated from the race
     The team finished in last place in a non-elimination leg
     The team that won The Amazing Race
     The team that crossed the Finish Line second
     The team that crossed the Finish Line third
ϵ The team used the Express Pass somewhere during the leg
The team used the U-Turn
Recipient of the U-Turn
The team that used the second slot of the "Double U-Turn"
Recipient of a second U-Turn due to the "Double U-Turn" twist
H This team was penalized with a "Hazard"

Notes:
1: Ernie & Cindy initially arrived 1st, but were forced to return to the 'Aisyiyah Orphanage, as they failed to donate all of their money to the orphanage, before they could check in. This dropped them to 4th place.
2: Leg 5 had two Roadblocks and no Detour. The team member who sat out the first Roadblock was required to perform the second one.
3: Ernie & Cindy used the Express Pass to bypass the Dugout Detour in Leg 7.
4: Leg 9 contained a Detour, however since all teams chose the same task, it was edited to be a miscellaneous task on air. It is unknown what the other side of the Detour was.

Post-Race[]

Ernie Cindy Family

Ernie & Cindy with their sons

  • Ernie & Cindy's first child, Maverick Zhang Halvorsen, was born on October 22, 2014.[4] Their second child, Ernest Zhang Halvorsen, was born on July 19, 2016.[5] Their third child, August, was born in January 2021.
  • Ernie & Cindy appeared in the season finale of The Amazing Race 29, giving out clues to teams at the Wrigley Rooftops in their hometown of Chicago.

Trivia[]

  • Ernie & Cindy are the first team to use the Express Pass and ultimately go on to win the race.
  • One of 56 teams to never check in last at a Pit Stop and the Finish Line in their career.

External links[]

Interviews[]

  • Joyce Eng at TV Guide Online (12/12/2011): "We Made No Mistakes in the Final"
  • Dahvi Shira at People.com (12/12/2011): "We Feel Elated and Relieved"
  • Drusilla Moorhouse at E! Online (12/12/2011): "The Amazing Race Winners Talk Cabbie Controversy and What They Plan to Do With All That Money"
  • Elizabeth Kwiatkowski at Reality TV World (12/12/2011): "Exclusive - Ernie Halvorsen and Cindy Chiang talk The Amazing Race"
  • Digital Spy (12/12/2011): "We did everything right this leg"
  • Gina Scarpa at Reality Wanted (12/13/2011): "Exclusive Interview with Winners Ernie Halvorsen and Cindy Chiang"
  • Daniel Fienberg at HitFix.com (12/14/2011): "This season's champs discuss their winning run and plans for the million"
  • Reg Seeton at The Deadbolt (December 2011): "The Amazing Race Victory with Ernie and Cindy"
  • Rob Cesternino at RHAP (10/15/2012): "Inside the Amazing Race with Season 19 Winners Ernie & Cindy"

Social Media Profiles[]


References[]

The Amazing Race 19 Teams
S19 AmaniMarcus
 Andy & Tommy
Pro Snowboarders
S19 AndyTommy
 Bill & Cathi
Grandparents
S19 BillCathi
 Ernie & Cindy
Engaged
S19 ErnieCindy
S19 EthanJenna
S19 JeremySandy
S19 JustinJennifer
 Kaylani & Lisa
Former Vegas Showgirls
S19 KaylaniLisa
 Laurence & Zac
Father/Son Adventurers
S19 LaurenceZac
S19 LizMarie
 Ron & Bill
Domestic Partners
S19 RonBill
The Amazing Race Winners
United States
(flagship)
 Rob & Brennan
Best Friends/Lawyers
S1 RobBrennan
 Chris & Alex
Lifelong Friends
S2 ChrisAlex
 Flo & Zach
Friends
S3 FloZach
S4 ReichenChip
 Chip & Kim
Married Parents
S5 ChipKim
 Freddy & Kendra
Engaged Models
S6 FreddyKendra
S7 UchennaJoyce
 Linz Family
Siblings
S8 LinzFamily
 BJ & Tyler
Best Friends
S9 BJTyler
S10 TylerJames
S11 EricDanielle
 TK & Rachel
Newly Dating
S12 TKRachel
 Nick & Starr
Brother/Sister
S13 NickStarr
 Tammy & Victor
Siblings/Lawyers
S14 TammyVictor
S15 MeghanCheyne
 Dan & Jordan
Brothers
S16 DanJordan
 Nat & Kat
Doctors
S17 NatKat
 Kisha & Jen
Sisters
S18 KishaJen
 Ernie & Cindy
Engaged
S19 ErnieCindy
 Rachel & Dave
Army Wife & Combat Pilot
S20 RachelDave
 Josh & Brent
Goat Farmers
S21 JoshBrent
 Bates & Anthony
Hockey Brothers
S22 BatesAnthony
 Jason & Amy
Dating
S23 JasonAmy
 Dave & Connor
Father/Son
S24 DaveConnor
 Amy & Maya
Food Scientists
S25 AmyMaya
 Laura & Tyler
Blind Dating
S26 LauraTyler
 Kelsey & Joey
Dating News Anchors
S27 KelseyJoey
 Dana & Matt
Engaged
S28 DanaMatt
 Brooke & Scott
#TeamBrooke andScott
S29 BrookeScott
S30 CodyJessica
 Colin & Christie
Life Partners
S31 ColinChristie
 Will & James
Dating
S32 WillJames
 Kim & Penn
Internet Personalities
S33 KimPenn
 Derek & Claire
Reality Romance
S34 DerekClaire
 Greg & John
Brothers/Computer Scientists
S35 GregJohn
Asia
 Joe Jer & Zabrina
Co-Workers
ASS1 JoeJerZabrina
 Adrian & Collin
Gym Buddies
ASS2 AdrianCollin
 Vince & Sam
Best Buddies
ASS3 VinceSam
 Parul & Maggie
Beauty Queens
ASS5 ParulMaggie
Australia
AUS1 TylerNathan
 Daniel & Ryan
Intensive Care Nurses
AUS3 DanielRyan
 Tim & Rod
Newlyweds
AUS4 TimRod
 Heath & Toni
Memory Makers
AUS6 HeathToni
 Alli & Angie
Mother/Daughter
AUS7 AlliAngie
 Darren & Tristan
Uncle/Nephew
AUS7 DarrenTristan
 Emma & Hayley
Sisters
AUS7 EmmaHayley
Brazil
BRS1 PatríciaSane
Canada
 Tim & Tim
Father & Son
CAS1 TimTim
 Mickey & Pete
Best Friends
CAS2 MickeyPete
 Gino & Jesse
Brothers
CAS3 GinoJesse
CAS4 StephKristen
 Sam & Paul
Dating Couple
CAS5 SamPaul
 Courtney & Adam
Engaged First Responders
CAS6 CourtneyAdam
CAS7 AnthonyJames
 Catherine & Craig
Best Friends
CAS8 CatherineCraig
 Ty & Kat
Dating
CAS9 TyKat
China
CNS1 ZhongHanliangJackie
 Geng & Xin
Friends
CNS2 HanGengWuXin
CNS4 JiaJingwenXiuJiekai
China Rush
 Charlie & Rachel
Flirtatious Friends
CRS1 CharlieRachel
 Lily & Jan
Dating Couple
CRS2 LilyJan
France
 Anthony & Sonja
Cyber Friends
FRS1 AnthonySonja
Israel
 Shay & Guy
Business Partners
ILS1 ShayGuy
 Bar & Inna
Painter & Saleswoman
ILS2 BarInna
 Talia & Koby
Newlyweds
ILS3 TaliaKoby
 Shay & Shani
Friends
ILS4 ShayShani
 Amit & Raz
Father/Son
ILS5 AmitRaz
ILS6 EvelinTohar
 Tia & Fay
Models
ILS7 TiaFay
 Yael & Yosiel
Cousins
ILS8 YaelYosiel
Latin America
LAS1 TamaraMatías
LAS2 CarlosMauricio
LAS4 DanielCésar
 Giovanni & Juan Carlos
Brothers-in-Law
LAS6 GiovanniJuanCarlos
Norway
 Morten & Truls
Brothers
NOS1 MortenTruls
 Omar & Bilal
Brothers
NOS2 OmarBilal
The Philippines
 LJ & CJ
Celebrity Best Friends
PHS1 LJCJ
 Matt & Phoebe
Dating Couple
PHS2 MattPhoebe
Ukraine
 Valeria & Bohdana
Beauty Queens
UAS1 ValeriaBohdana
Vietnam
 Hương Giang & Criss
Singer/Athlete
VNS3 HươngGiangCriss
 Ngọc Anh & Nhật Anh
Diving Coaches
VNS4 NgọcAnhNhậtAnh
 Lincoln & Tiến Đạt
Hotel Manager/Rapper
VNS5 LincolnTiếnĐạt
LeHangHHenNie
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