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00:00are back and it's the last of our heats here at base camp in Gormanstown County
00:04Mead. Heat 3, bring it on!
00:11Over eight grueling weeks our families will go head-to-head in a series of
00:16events designed to push them to their limits. From the tough terrain of an army
00:22training camp, through the sticky swamps of hell and back, and the deep icy waters
00:28of Draw Deport. It will all come down to these ramps in our grand final in
00:32spectacular Avondale in County Wicklow, where one family will rise to the top
00:37and grab that 15,000 euro cash prize and the title of Ireland's fittest family
00:432025.
00:53Tonight it's the third heat of this year's competition.
00:57In the first heat, newbie coach GAA star Michael Dara McCauley left Anna Geary for
01:03dust as he got both his families through, leaving Anna with only one family going forward.
01:09However, you only need one to win.
01:12In Heat 2, rugby star Andrew Trimble took on former Ireland teammate Dunica O'Callaghan and came out on top.
01:19I'm delighted, you know, it's 2-0, Trimble O'Callaghan.
01:23Securing places for his two families, leaving Dunica with just one.
01:27You can't afford a mistake and I'm having too many at the moment.
01:30This week, it's the turn of four-time fittest family winner Davy Fitz, who will go head-to-head with
01:36Paralympic swimming champion, Ellen Keane.
01:39Having retired from high-performance sport.
01:44Keane's looking good. Is she going to hold on for the victory?
01:47Yes, she does.
01:48This is a great next step for me because I have all this knowledge.
01:55When we see her representing Ireland, you know she always gives it her all.
01:59Well, she's going to need to bring her all now, taking on Davy.
02:02And knowing how competitive she is, we're probably going to have a bit of head-to-head fire here and that's good.
02:08I think we're a bit like chalk and cheese.
02:10I like to be cool, calm and collected and communicate well, whereas it appears Davy doesn't do that.
02:15He just likes to scream and shout and throw his toys out at the pram.
02:19She'll expect a lot of noise and that's our thing.
02:22And I think that's where Davy will fall down.
02:24I don't really mind. Whatever Ellen thinks about me, that's fine.
02:27If I had any tip for Ellen, I would say, don't listen to our words Davy says.
02:33Each coach has two families in tonight's competition.
02:36Davy has the Smits from Louth and the McDonners from Mayo.
02:40Ellen has the Stuarts from Dublin and the Barnivals from Tipperary.
02:45From ocean to ocean, sea to sea, I'm something that you've got to see.
02:49Davy, here we go again. Another series of Ireland for this family.
02:53Yeah, I can't wait. Season 13, we're off. Ready to go.
02:56Yeah, ready to rock. We've got some new coaches as well this year.
02:58And actually, has anybody seen Ellen?
03:01She's a bit like we're nearly ready to go.
03:03Catch me on the beach, especially on an island.
03:05I'll go away. Nice to see you.
03:08Yeah. A bit late.
03:09I'm all right on time. Did you swim here?
03:12Of course I did. Hi. How did you guys get here?
03:15Welcome to Ireland for this family. You are so welcome to be here.
03:18We're delighted to have you joining the gang, even if you are putting the rest of us to shame.
03:22How are you feeling about today?
03:23Oh, I'm so excited. Ready to go. Yeah.
03:26This is great. You're here.
03:27But this is serious because you've got some unbelievable families
03:31and you have to coach them to greatness up against Davy Fitz, who has won Ireland for this family four times.
03:38That's right.
03:39Well, Davy's been making TV shows. I've been winning medals, so I'm ready to go.
03:42I am already very excited to see how this all works.
03:46But go meet your families. Best of luck and I'll see you at the first event, all right?
03:50Tonight, all families will compete in two events, Box to the Top and Hall or Nothing.
04:03Box to the Top will have two heats, both with one family from each coach going head-to-head.
04:08The losing family will be given a 20-second time penalty for the second event.
04:12The two families with the best adjusted times in Hall or Nothing will go straight through to the quarter-finals.
04:18The slowest families will battle it out in our army eliminator for the remaining place in the quarter-finals.
04:27First up, we have Davy and the Smiths from Louth.
04:30We constantly watch the show as a family. It's a big opportunity for us to go in here and show everyone what we're made of.
04:35If you're all a competitive, Prashan is out to win.
04:37He is the one that will pull you along and give you the most motivation.
04:41I think Adam's the biggest sore loser. It doesn't like when someone gets the better of him.
04:44Throw a tantrum when something doesn't go his way.
04:46My ex, our secret weapon.
04:48He is the one that will probably be pulling me over our walls and stuff like that. He was very encouraging.
04:53My mum, there's a hell of a lot for us.
04:54I just want to get it started now. Let's get going.
04:58Next up, it's Ellen and the Stuarts from Dublin.
05:01So I was the one who entered the family. We've always watched the series, look forward to it on a Sunday night, so I figured why not.
05:08Law is a very good organiser, a bit of a perfectionist.
05:11My motivation is to have a great family experience together.
05:14Owen is very sporty, very competitive and constantly looking for the next challenge.
05:19I grew up playing sport all the time, probably playing too many sports.
05:22Alicia is super duper competitive.
05:24She's fast and I'd say she'll be able to get up like the wall and the ramp.
05:29Liam is a natural sports man. He's very good at GA, hurling. He just enjoys it.
05:34Yeah, he'd definitely like go for it and put it all in.
05:36We won't give up. We'll do our best. We'll keep going and we've got good team sport.
05:41Yay!
05:49Now in our first head-to-head event, our families are going to have to get this box all the way to the top over there with just a few sandbikes thrown in.
05:57How where could it actually be?
05:59Tonight, members of the Irish Defence Forces will demonstrate this test of strength, strategy and stamina.
06:05One person from each family starts the race standing on an army kit box in the sea.
06:10On the sound of the horn, they must jump off the box, pick it up and run with it to their remaining family members.
06:17With the family are four 15 kilogram sandbags.
06:20Between them, they must carry the sandbags and the box through the rest of the course.
06:25Next, it's a 200 metres run broken up by crawl through two army camo nets.
06:29Once through them, it's a run up a hill and onto a platform.
06:32The sandbags have to be placed inside the box and the lid closed.
06:36When all the family members are on the platform, they go down a ladder and up a wall.
06:40Finally, it's a run up a steep bank.
06:42When all four family members are standing at the top of the bank, they win the race.
06:46The losing family will carry a 20 second time penalty into the next event.
06:50So, I have the Smith family today. Cathy, definitely the driving force behind this family. Incredible lady. Fit and good shape.
07:06I feel very nervous, but excited. It's a big challenge.
07:11The boys, all three of them will be well suited to it. Adam definitely will be great with the running end of things.
07:17I'm feeling good. A little bit nervous, but I'm sure everyone's feeling like that.
07:21I don't think the course is that bad. We know what each other's weaknesses are and our strengths, so we know what to help each other with.
07:27So, with the Stuarts, the baby of the family is going to go first, so that's Liam.
07:32He seems really up for it, and I think it's really nice that the youngest of the family is going.
07:36Yeah, I'm excited to be the one that starts it, and I think we're going to get through first.
07:40I mean, I was thinking in my head, maybe I'll do it, but then he said he would, so I didn't argue.
07:46It's really exciting to take part with the family. The kids are used to competing, obviously, individually.
07:51But we've never really played on a team together, and usually when we do, it ends not so well.
07:58Hey guys, best of luck.
07:59And ready to go with their feet on solid ground are the Smith family.
08:03Mark, Mum, Cathy and Sean against Ellen's Stuarts.
08:07Elisha, Dad Owen and Blah.
08:10Starting the race in the cold Irish Sea are Adam Smith in purple, and the youngest of the Stuarts, Liam.
08:15He's just 15, he's wearing dark blue.
08:183, 2, 1.
08:19Paul O'Donovan gets boxed to the top, underway.
08:22And there is the box, this is an army kit box, and the two lads have got to run across Gormonston Beach.
08:29Good man, good man.
08:30With that box, and up to the rest of their family.
08:3319-year-old Adam Smith is out in front wearing purple.
08:37The terrain is difficult here, it's tricky.
08:40Liam Stewart isn't too far behind.
08:43So that kit box is empty at the moment.
08:46Get it to your family, come on, get it to your family.
08:48They've got the sandbags, and there's the rest of the Smith family.
08:51From County Loud, they didn't have that far to travel here today.
08:54A bit of a bigger journey for the Stewart family.
08:56There's Dad Owen out in front, and he's got two of those sandbags.
09:00You got it?
09:01Come on, Cathy!
09:02Come on!
09:03You've got to bring it up!
09:04So Davey getting stuck in with the Smith family already.
09:06You're hearing him.
09:07Come on!
09:08Have him in, stand up!
09:11Get in!
09:13Get down!
09:14So now they're up to the camo net.
09:16And if anything goes here, as long as all four of them go through with the army kit box,
09:21they can help each other, lift the net up.
09:23Ellen Keane, one of Ireland's greatest ever Paralympic athletes.
09:30Keep your head down, come on!
09:31Get in, get in, get in!
09:32So they're nearly away from the first net.
09:35It's kind of a little disjointed at the moment, but that's to be expected.
09:39Go, go, go!
09:41Both families would have been nervous before the start of Box to the Top.
09:45Go, go, go!
09:46Just getting stuck into the competition.
09:48There's Cathy Smith.
09:49She's not carrying any sandbags at the moment.
09:51Probably won't until they get up to the platform.
09:54Come on, girls!
09:55You can't leave the lad behind!
09:56So Owen and Liam Stewart have been left behind a little.
09:59The four members of the Smith family are all together, so that gives them an advantage.
10:03So remember, these sandbags have to go inside the army kit box.
10:07That's Glaw and Alicia Stewart.
10:09And the box is empty at the moment.
10:10It'll be full very shortly with the help of Liam and Owen.
10:13Up, up, up, up, up, up, up!
10:15The bags have to go in.
10:16They close the lid, and then they can move on.
10:18Oh, wait, wait, wait!
10:19So as you can see there, there is a slight advantage for the Smith family from County
10:22Lowes.
10:23Get up, lad!
10:24Katey, get up!
10:25Cappy being helped up to the top.
10:26And Ellen is trying to really push her Stewart family right at the death.
10:31But the Smiths have got one up to the top of that platform as they get away from the wall.
10:36The Stewart's starting to close now.
10:38But it's advantage.
10:39The Smith family, and they've got three up there.
10:42up there and there is the fourth member of the smith family up they are the winners of this
10:47event the stewart will now carry a 20 second time penalty into the second event
10:54i lost my shoes
10:59my shoes came off i got caught in the mud i was like oh good job guys where did you get caught
11:06in the mud oh jesus girl well done i doesn't have them no it didn't go to plan
11:16hey it was very hard and i'm and i'm wrecked ellen didn't go your way in the first event
11:21with stewart's not for lack of trying because you were pretty phenomenal but what do you think
11:26you could have changed i think you guys just got caught up in it you didn't stick to the game plan
11:31of kind of sticking together but that's okay and i think you'll learn from this and as long as you've
11:35learned from it it's not a mistake yeah yeah you can't dwell on it i think we're just going to go
11:39in with a clean slate and do our best again very proud of us all worked well for good pieces of
11:45it but there's bits there that can be worked on feel great yeah went according to plan davy gave
11:50us a plan and we stuck to it we won which is important it's only the first race like you
11:54you never get carried away about the first one but there is a few smaller tweaks we have to do
11:59we could have gone harder at the very end that's my honest opinion so with davy taking gold on the
12:05first race will he manage to make it a clean sweep or will ellen catch him on the final lap
12:10let's find out there's no second chances here okay davy's next family are some familiar faces the
12:17mcdonough's from mayo this is our second attempt at this we were in the show in 2020 how much longer can
12:23she last no it's over we'll say we didn't have the finish we wanted leah is very strong and she's very
12:29very determined i don't want to jinx us this year because that didn't go too well for us last time but
12:34i would be confident in us as a family if you remember this year daniel he's probably the fittest
12:39out of all of us our strength as a family would be we're very good endurance and we will try hard
12:43pat's fitted to fiddle like age is a state of mind if you keep yourself right and uh you stay fit the
12:49ability is in pushing yourself matthew is just so naturally athletic he's very very strong i'd hope uh
12:56this year that we do get a better shot at it we're flying the flag for the west of ireland i suppose
12:59we're the only family in it so we'll give it a go i feel like the mcdonald's are definitely gonna go
13:04for a knockout this year ellen's second family are the barnivals from tipperary so when i told my family
13:09we got onto the show i kind of had to wean them onto it just so the shock wasn't too much but i think
13:16we'll make a really good team i think we have a lot of strengths um individually jamie is probably will
13:21probably have the most stamina just doesn't stop so i'm definitely the weakest link when it comes to jamie
13:27well we're all competitive in different ways but nobody likes to lose but patty doesn't mind
13:33neve neve is very competitive like she has our iron medals for badminton she horse rides
13:39she used to play camogie everything she does she does it to her best of her ability i think i'm
13:43probably the most competitive did patty say me yeah
13:49hayley definitely is a team leader captain she's the owner of the family she's just all around
13:54perfect for this kind of situation to be honest i think we can win it i think we can win it um i'm
14:00not going to say we will win it but anything can happen so you have to fake it till you make it
14:10so i have the mcdonald's from mia i've had him before and unfortunately we went out in the first round
14:15it was that year was tough because you were gone after one event at least today they have two or three
14:21events no matter what the story is we were on the show a few years ago a bit of ptsd from being
14:26back here and everything but no i'm supposed to get going today we get a second bite at the at the at
14:31the cherry so to speak so you don't want to be going into the next trial with any disadvantage and a
14:3520-second penalty is a lot big penalties so you'd want to you don't want to get this point under your
14:40belt on earth oh we'd like to be winning it we don't want to be doing a second or a third run whatever
14:44it is to redeem ourselves you know so the barnabils are my other family they seem like a really strong
14:53family they're really tight-knit the mom and the daughter work together and the dad and the son
14:57work together so they'll be really good at communicating we're used to taking parking
15:00events you know we're used to spending so much time together we relax each other we advise each other and
15:06hayley had us tormented to do it for years the most competitive is hayley more especially the most
15:11competitive person is hayley i'm pretty competitive i did put us up for this um anyone who knows me
15:17from sport i'm i'm pretty vocal i think seeing the course makes me feel better but it's tough it looks
15:24very very tough wet groggy i'm being put in the water first so it's not really looking up hopeful for me
15:29so at their starting position it's davies mcdonough's in orange dad past leah and daniel versus ellen's
15:36barneville's hayley dad paddy and mom neve starting the race out in the irish sea jamie barneville
15:42and matthew mcdonough away we go it's second time around for the mcdonough family in orange
15:53matthew mcdonough starting the race for his family jamie barneville getting it underway for his family
16:00they're from tipperary wearing light blue and there's a little bit of a lead for jamie at the
16:05moment over matthew mcdonough they're back to the rest of their families but it's tight now
16:10and away we go the army kit box there's a couple of sandbags gone in there for the barneville family
16:16and also for the mcdonough's and this is leah mcdonough out in front not carrying any sandbags
16:23matthew is behind her he's got one come on so this is a flying start by the mcdonough's they're up to
16:28the camo net the first of two closely followed by two of the barneville family
16:37and the lads at the back jamie and paddy have that army kick box so ellen's certainly more vocal in
16:45this race than she was in the first remember the family finishing second carried a 20 second time
16:53penalty into event two and you got a shot there of just how big the lead is it's not cute but it is a
16:57lead for the mcdonough family the smiths trying to close the gap so davy was the mcdonough's coach
17:06when they were on the program before so he'll know them well their strengths
17:13and here they come the mcdonough's have a really good lead at the moment so
17:21if he's losing the voice already here come the barneville's though not too far behind they can close
17:26this gap all the bags have to go into the box they're in lid closed and the mcdonough's have been
17:31impressive here and the barnabiles are up against it losing a little bit of time the bags all go into
17:37the hit box and leah mcdonough we saw her up at the top and she pushes on to the top of the hill
17:45so davy pushing them and pushing them and they are very nearly there and the barnabiles are in
17:53trouble losing time at that wall and this has been really good by the mcdonough family from mayo
18:02they win and the barnabiles have to finish it out they will carry the 22nd time penalty into the next
18:08race oh i'm disappointed now to be honest um more irritated and now you're finished
18:18where i went wrong was at the very beginning of the boxes putting the sandbags into them and ellen
18:23had said to put one less told them not to put three bags in the box because it was going to be too heavy
18:28we told the boys to be able to lift the tree so we'll definitely listen completely the next time do
18:33you know what i think this is the making of you guys because i can see how annoyed hayley is she
18:38is fuming steam is coming out of her ears she is ready to go she's ready to go it's not what you've
18:44done it's what you're going to do next is the thing i'm puzzling actually honest like it's so good to
18:48get the first one out over done with to get the win like mcdonough's how does it feel knowing that you
18:53know you ran like the clappers you did absolutely everything and davy's still coming to your critique and
18:57every little bit feels good it's taking a little bit of pressure off for the next event and the next
19:01challenge so that gives us a little bit of confidence but it's not done yet
19:08matthew get out
19:12go go go you're nearly there come on
19:15welcome back to ireland's fittest family now before the break davie struck gold not once
19:33but twice in box to the top but things didn't go quite so swimmingly for newbie coach ellen keen however
19:40there is still one more crucial event to go they'll go through trenches over mounds and straight
19:48into a row about who's hauling what it's teamwork it's tactics and it's a family argument waiting to
19:55happen this is haul or nothing this new event is a test of pure dogged determination and stamina
20:03four family members start on a straw bale in the middle of the trench square and have to run 50
20:09meters to another bale topped with 25 ammo boxes carrying no more than two at a time the family
20:15members have to shuttle all the boxes down and out of the trench before running another 50 meters with
20:21them and stacking them on the fittest family logo once all 25 boxes are in place it's a run down and back
20:27out of another trench and a sprint to a final straw bale once all four members of the family are
20:33standing on the bale the clock stops in haul or nothing first up for this new time trial haul or
20:41nothing are ellen's barneville's who will be fighting against the clock and that 20 second time penalty
20:47we're just going to go out and do as much as we can to try and beat the 22nd penalty we don't know what
20:52to expect but we have a plan ellen has a plan in place so we're going to stick to that so see the
20:56momentum that's what you want uh we're determined that it's going to go well but i kind of forgot
21:00about the 20 seconds i'm not thinking it's going to be easy but i feel more prepped for it that we've
21:06got one under our belt shaved them 20 seconds off fairly fast so very confident good luck ready to go
21:13for the barnabilles hayley jamie paddy and neve three two one paulo donovan gets the barnabilles underway
21:24remember they are carrying a 20 second time penalty from the first event so there are 25 of these ammo
21:33boxes on top of that veil and they can carry no more than two at a time so they've got to go down that
21:39steep drop into the trench the strategy they've worked out with their coach ellen keen important
21:46here but they're just stacking them on the other side of the trench come on remember those 20 seconds
21:53a bit of heavy lifting to be done and even hayley lifting them off the top of the veil and paddy and
21:59jamie just arranging them on the far side of the trench so the barnabilles will set the time to beat
22:07and they very nearly have those ammo boxes moved to the other side of the trench now they've just
22:15got to run them down to the fittest family platform and stack them down there
22:22so here's the first four with paddy and jamie barneville
22:25so 21 to go as you can see with four delivered time at 1 30. who knows whether that's good or not
22:35we'll find out though when you get to the end so ellen a nice calm presence for her family
22:4415 to go now
22:45so paddy delivers another one here come that's hayley and her mum neve is just behind her so neve
22:56just carried one so 10 will become eight very shortly there it is and just over two minutes
23:06so this is really starting to burn the legs of the barneville family really demanding just
23:12shuttling from one side of the field to the other oh look at that neve barneville dropped one of the
23:19boxes so that will still have to be collected so they've now got four left three left but there's
23:27one still out on the course and i think paddy is going to collect that now no he's run by it jamie
23:31actually has gone down to get it so they are very nearly there they will set the time for the rest to
23:39try and beat remember though they've got to add 20 so the boxes have all been stacked they're down
23:43into the trench out again and now a sprint down to the final bail and they've got to drag themselves
23:49up to the top they're really tired at the moment the barneville family there is the finish line the
23:55finishing bail up they go and they stop the clock at two minutes and 57 seconds with the 20 second time
24:02penalty it's 3 17. i think it went well we're happy with it because we all work together
24:12ellen's happy we're happy so couldn't have any better i think it's gonna be very tight i think the 20
24:16seconds this morning could do us i'd say no but i don't know if we did we did our best like so i think
24:21you might have found your voice i found my voice i found it and i'm about to lose it but you used her
24:29well in fairness to you well hayley told me she wanted tough love so that's exactly what i gave her
24:33with the penalty i suppose i am okay with going into the eliminator i've kind of come to peace with
24:38it um but saying that i suppose i've always wanted to do the wall so careful what you wish for
24:45next up for hole or nothing are davy and the smiths i think we're in a good position we had a good
24:50result earlier on today so uh we've seen the course there and i think we're confident enough yeah
24:55then you both you do the best you can you should be coming back you honestly should be doing one more
25:00than her davy gave us a strategy which is top secret so can't tell anyone can't tell anyone stick to
25:08what you said pretty much yeah second to go are davy smiths sean adam kathy and mark three two one
25:20the barnevilles did haul or nothing in three minutes and 17 seconds they had a 20 second time
25:27penalty there's no such issue for the smith family from county loud come on get them over quick
25:33they've got to move those 25 ammo boxes off the bail from one side of the trench to the other and then
25:40stack them down on the fitness family platform this is this feels like a quick start so i know there's
25:47such a long way to go but they're pushing already and davy will push them
25:55davy wants those boxes to get on the move no more than two at a time so there's the first two
26:02out of the 25 and we are just approaching one minute gone
26:06so four in total have been stacked 21 to go kathy is out of the trench and now they are really moving
26:23davy his voice getting louder there's more tension in it
26:26davy working very closely and focusing on kathy smith here sean adam and mark doing their stuff the
26:38smiths were impressive in the first race weren't they and they're backing it up here 317 was the
26:44barnabill's time 11 boxes to go now nine and seven so kathy has two now
26:55and the lads she won't have to make another run back because her three sons seem to have this
27:00covered with the remaining boxes so now look at this time not even two minutes done kathy just
27:05taking a bit of a breather as the lads arrive with the remaining ammo boxes there's the very last one
27:11so now the push to the finish come on from the start this felt quick that they were really going
27:19at quite a clip and now they have to go back and just give kathy a dig out there was a fall there
27:25from kathy smith uh she's okay though and moving again and look at that time the smith family are
27:31sending out a bit of a message they were very impressive in the first event and they're going
27:35to back that up here comfortably getting inside the time of the barnabills and setting the new fastest
27:41time the smith family two minutes and 35 seconds that was really really good well that felt quick
27:50oh shaking absolutely shaking yeah that was a tough one really tough i haven't heard you
27:55that high pitch in a while do you think you're a little bit tough on kathyne i asked her beforehand
27:59what she wanted fair so she said that's what she wanted so that's right beyond davy my mom she's unreal
28:05i know she was dreading a bit coming and she was nervous all week but now she's here she's been flying
28:10like she's like that probably the main role in her team like i don't think there was too much more in
28:14it for us that was really good no there's nothing we could have done differently nothing at all
28:21next up are ellen and the stewards now they lost the first event so they'll also be fighting against
28:27the clock and that 22nd time penalty the biggest difficulty that the stewards are going to face is
28:33probably the strength in them i'm a little nervous because i'm not one for lifting heavy weights it
28:40looks really hard it looks like it's going to be a killer it's just brute strength and stamina guys this
28:46is why you entered bit of a challenge bit of family bonding yeah the 20 seconds will make a big difference
28:53i think it'll be hard to make it up because it's it's quite short here are ellen's stewart blah elisha
29:00owen and liam three two one so the smith family set the new fastest time of two minutes and 35 seconds
29:10the problem for the stewart family here is that 20 second time penalty but let's see how they go
29:17so that's owen stewart out in front you've seen the other family stack the boxes on the far side of
29:22the trench but this is different look at owen tearing away there with those two boxes they can
29:26only move two at a time and they are doing this differently we've not seen this before so ellen had
29:32one go at this earlier on with the barnevilles and liam delivers two more so we'll see if this works it is
29:39different so they are just moving two at a time across from one side of the trench the other a slip from
29:47liam stewart is okay though so just approaching a minute will this work it's a bit of a gamble but
29:55sometimes the gamble pays off good job you've got a nice and they need to make up time with the 22nd time
30:03penalty against them so they have 17 left now it's 15 out of the 25 nice everybody working hard working
30:13together bt okay yeah ellen is nice and calm paula donovan just checking everything is above board
30:23so a minute and a half
30:262 35 is the fastest time set by the smith family
30:31and now the stewarts from dublin need to push a little harder everything is burning 11 to go shortly
30:39that will be nine with 15 year old liam delivering two more okay that's a nice small one so nine to go
30:49so elisha working hard there's flaw with the last box off that straw bale
30:55over two minutes now very nearly there and flaw takes two there's one left down at the bottom
31:08and it's uh elisha who's going to go and collect that so they're not going to beat 235 remember 20
31:16seconds will be added on at the end so they've got the final three boxes on the platform and now it's
31:23the sprint to the finish the final bail and leap over into that trench and they have been impressive
31:32they've been very very good it was a different strategy devised by ellen keen two up at the top
31:37of the bale flaw up there as well and owen also and their time is two minutes and 51 plus 20 it's 3 11.
31:53i feel better now that it's over i thought my heart was going to come out of my chest it was such
31:58hard work running with those boxes i don't think i've ever seen a smile come off
32:03a time trial like this you seem delighted i am delighted i'm so proud of them yeah i think we
32:08did well uh i don't think we could have gone any faster yeah i think it went as well as it could
32:12have i think uh we stuck to the plan and yeah i think we've got our momentum back last up for hole
32:19or nothing are davy and the mcdonough's with the win under their belt they're in a strong position i'm
32:25really hoping now the 22nd advantage will help us like it is a massive advantage to have yes and no it
32:31stands well if you implement your game plan correctly we need to get this tight before we go
32:36now if you mess about and you don't stick to the game plan the 20 seconds won't won't uh make a huge
32:42amount of difference to be quite honest have you got me now davy's put most of the plan together to be
32:47honest myself and daniel will go into the ditch lee and dad will hand us the boxes and then the four of
32:53us will run them out as fast as we can all right last to go it's debut mcdonough's matthew leah pat
33:00and daniel let's go that's let's go one no time penalty to deal with here for the mcdonough family
33:09from county mayo second time to appear in the competition and they're starting to move those ammo
33:17boxes already so davy had one go at this earlier on that's it let's go let's go let's go and it's
33:24similar strategy just moved the boxes off the bale and from one side of the trench to the other and then
33:30they will shuffle them back and forth so you see pat there he's dad to matthew and leah he's also
33:38grandfather to daniel fantastic to see a granddad and his grandson taking part competing together in
33:44ireland's fittest family so the mcdonough's the last to go in hall or nothing if they can beat the
33:54stewart's time of 3 11 which was the second fastest time up to now they will avoid the eliminator so keep
34:01that in mind three minutes 11 seconds this looks quick it's a brisk pace from the mcdonough's
34:07come on come on come on it has to be fast and davy will push he sure will all the way to the finish
34:18so they won their first event the mcdonough's
34:21come on we need to go faster quickly quickly quickly go go go and leah has got those two boxes
34:27they're a big boxing family so they have been urged to pass out or to pass so look at that seven
34:38boxes remaining here's more so leah is going to sit out the rest of this save the energy for the final
34:44sprint three minutes 11 seconds is the stewart's time and that is what the mcdonough's need to beat
34:53to avoid the eliminator two minutes gone this is impressive this is really really good there's the
35:01last of the boxes coming now final two dropped by matthew and off they go one more steep in trying to go
35:09down out of the trench and away they go right now they're laying down a marker it will be two wins out
35:18of two pat needs some help from matthew to get to the final bail no he doesn't he says i've got this
35:23and he has got this and they've got it and can pat get to the top to stop the clock they drag him up
35:28there on top of that bail two minutes and 33 seconds wow oh they gave it their all but i don't know was
35:36it enough well i knew it was going to be physically demanding my god i wasn't prepared for that feeling
35:41fairly tired now after it but feeling good pat absolutely spent leah spent the two lads everything
35:47they could give so fair play to them well done when we're in the heat of battle if you want me to
35:52find you two or three seconds i'll find it i couldn't ask for any more
36:04hi families well done on some unbelievable performances today but it is now time for me
36:11to reveal the first family who are going through to the quarterfinals of ireland's fittest family
36:19and i can now reveal the first family who are going through to the quarterfinals are
36:31davy and the mcdonald's congratulations
36:33we felt we owed davy one since our first visit to the show i'm delighted with it yeah i thought we've
36:40done very well as a team that leaves three more families the next family who are heading through
36:47to the quarterfinals and avoiding tonight's eliminator are
36:54congratulations to davy and the smiths
36:57the adrenaline's kind of pumping all the way through and uh happy to come out to win yeah
37:03so proud of them so proud of them boys we only hope to get better as the show goes on which means
37:09the barnival's and the stewart's you are heading to tonight's eliminator it's ellen versus ellen
37:16this is going to be interesting so confident yeah
37:21ah come here thanks for having a tough one well i'm i'm gonna win or i'm gonna lose
37:26and some votes gonna happen you know i'm streaming fabulous any day you can get out and get them
37:32through and not doing an eliminator is a good day but i don't know i don't trust davy fit
37:41use momentum come on lean forward
37:46welcome back to ireland's fittest family now before the break davy managed to get both his
37:59families through to the quarterfinal and is probably halfway down the m7 at this point
38:04meaning that ellen keen is going to be facing stiff competition in tonight's eliminator herself
38:10ellen keen your very first day on ireland's fitness family how's it been it's been really
38:19good now it's been long and i'm tired so i can only imagine how the families feel but i've honestly had
38:24the best time here davy fitz he was the og that you were with today did you learn much from him i think
38:31i did but i don't know if it worked out well i don't know if he was playing not mind games with me or
38:35not um because i am in the eliminator so uh yeah i learned a lot from him but i think i got in like
38:41the davy bulk because i've been shouting at my families and i was slagging him off for shouting at
38:47his families before and here i am kind of like a steep learning curve but a steep learning ramp
38:53instead would you say uh yeah ireland's fitness family ramp i'm i've gone up it or down it i don't
38:57know i don't even know what's going on well speaking of going up it the barnival's are gonna have to
39:02try their best to get up there first what kind of tactics are you looking for in the eliminator
39:05do you know what they learned so much from the time trial are they working together as a team
39:10and relying on each other as a whole and that's definitely what they're going to need to do here
39:14so i trust that the learning experience they had there in the time trial will bring them through
39:19this eliminator okay well you better go and see how they are the very best to look right we'll chat to
39:24you afterwards that is ellen and the barnival's and now it is time to meet the coach of the
39:31stewart family ellen keen how are you hi laura a long time no see i know it's been a while you've
39:38got the stewart family in the eliminator tonight against the barnival's with ellen keen how are you
39:44fixed do you know what it's it's gonna be tough it really is but like the stewards have just kind of
39:49shown to me how strong a family they are and i was completely in awe of their time trial they really
39:56work together as a team they communicated a lot better which i was really proud of so again like
40:01i'm really hoping they're going to use that here in the eliminator okay well best of luck i will see
40:06you at the end of the ramp all right go go get them i'll be both happy and sad yeah i know it's kind
40:11of one or the other good luck ellen tonight's eliminator will be relentless first our families must
40:19flip a heavy truck tire for 50 meters down the runway until it's completely past the fittest family
40:25barrels next it's a climb over a 2.6 meters high container and up and over three round straw bales
40:33after that they have to carry a 50 kilogram army training log to a pallet with eight sandbags they
40:39have to carry those to another pallet before tackling our eight foot or 2.4 meters high wall
40:45once over that it's a run off our famous ramp the first family with four people standing at the top
40:51wins the race and a place in the quarterfinals
40:59both ellen's families have given it their all today but it's not over yet because it's time for
41:04the eliminator and they're gonna have to leg it up this ramp like they left the immersion on and the
41:08off switches at the top good luck ellen and good luck ellen so i have both my families in the
41:15eliminator it's not ideal i would have liked to have gone up against davie like one last time today um
41:22but there's not really a challenge for me now i i just have to be switzerland i just have to be neutral
41:27oh baby baby how was i suppose she now has two families india that i met her it's very hard
41:40to pick one above the other you can't looking into the height of some of the obstacles it's
41:45really uh going to be a challenge i'm not confident about that ramp
41:49just imagine right if you're running and you look at where the ff is and you commit to doing
42:00that you're only going to run so far up right 90 percent of the ones that fail are looking into
42:05that middle bit because think about it you're looking there you're not running whereas if you
42:10commit to the run and run and run looking up to the top you'll get the top because you you're
42:15running going upward yeah so davie obviously had two very strong families and they did a great job
42:21but i don't know i don't trust davie fitz there's always something up his sleeve really really nervous
42:26it looks tough from beginning to end just uh exhausting we're hopeful you know yeah we're hopeful
42:33we're going to do our best for replacing the quarterfinals it's our eliminator the barnevilles
42:41from tipperary in light blue against the stewards in dark blue from dublin remember why you started
42:47it okay you want to finish with a smile three and it's ellen against ellen paulo donovan our referee
42:54gets them underway and they're starting with this truck tire they've got to move it 100 meters it is
43:01very difficult to keep it on course and online and it's a demanding start right at the beginning of
43:09the eliminator they're on the runway here in gourmandston
43:16it is a very awkward piece of rubber to move there's a slight lead for the barnevilles
43:23and that lead is good and they've moved all of the truck tire over all of the finish line
43:28so they have the lead the barneville family from tipperary they're up to the container
43:32it's 2.6 meters high and this is all about teamwork and calmness here come the stewards
43:41in dark blue use each other come on so that is owen stewart first up and here's the rest of the
43:49gang so the barnables well they're two up there but they've slowed down a little they've had an issue
43:55just getting the third member of their family up to the top i think it was hayley who's now there
44:00so now they're neck and neck all four up to the top of the container jump down and they've got these
44:06bales to get over not straightforward at all hayley barnable first through
44:15and two away for the stewarts now two away for the barnevilles and three and they are neck and neck and
44:21now that's paddy barnable having a go himself and did really well he's just going back to check on
44:25the rest of his family they're okay this is an army training log and it weighs 50 kilograms and they've
44:34got to move with it as fast as they can the stewards have the lead now opening up a bit of a lead that's
44:39a good lead now isn't it so they have forced themselves to the front the stewart family sandbags to be moved
44:49to the right to the right to the right off that platform they can take as many as they want
44:56but there's eight of them doing really well still the stewarts lead all of the sandbags delivered
45:04to that platform and now they're up to the wall it's eight foot high 2.4 meters
45:13here come the barnevilles they're not out of this by any manner of means two up at the top of the wall
45:19for the stewarts now the barnevilles have got one up there this has been a difficult experience for
45:26ellen keen she has navigated it very well offering plenty of support for both families and now you
45:32heard davy's advice for ellen and that advice has been taken by elisha stewart she was looking at the
45:37top of the ramp as she ran up there so the stewarts at dark blue have got one up to the top of the
45:41ramp but the barnevilles are losing time at the wall elisha stewart is up there for this very strong ga
45:48family so they have an advantage the barnevilles have not been brilliant at that wall but that can
45:53all change at this ramp so now owen stewart has a go and that is really good from jamie barneville so
46:01one up for them but three up almost for the stewarts now it is three up paddy barneville tries to make
46:06it two and the stewart's trying to get blah up there but she can't she's gone down so a fail there that
46:11opens the door for the barnevilles paddy barneville trying to be dragged to the top by jamie and paddy's
46:16come back down blow on the other side can win it now can they get her up there for the fourth and
46:21final member of their family almost two for the barnevilles but the stewarts have won it they've
46:27won a flaw standing up there they're all standing and that is some performance by the stewart family
46:32from dublin they look like they really enjoyed that they're through to the quarterfinals
46:35come on paddy grab him colin the eliminator is definitely harder than it looks you knew it was
46:45hard but it's it's really hard give it a go ah we're yeah we're not i suppose we're not happy to be
46:54going i suppose as early as we we hope we wouldn't be i suppose but so proud yeah so proud and who knows
47:00who knows who knows we might get them back they might want to come back we might want to come back
47:03for you know you've came enough to go again yeah when i saw alicia just going at it and getting
47:13herself a new once she got the hands on that she she wouldn't let go and she'd get up and then when
47:18all the others went up i thought i was pretty calm then i was actually you know what they have me
47:22come on stewart's get up off that rampy swear you just did an eliminator or something
47:27well done well done congrats well done hasn't set in yet no has not set in that you've just won
47:36the eliminator that has to feel just unbelievable it was brilliant yeah because like it would have
47:41been disappointing to go empty-handed the first time we've been here it's a long day to go home
47:44nothing would have been tough so we had a great feeling that that didn't happen and that we're
47:49successful it's kind of taken over now making plans for how we're going to get
47:52through things like i'm going to have a shower first and Liam's going to have a shower mom's
47:54going to have a bath she's going to have a shower it's like everything's turned into Ireland's
47:58fittest family everything we do we'll have to snap out of it and just relax i think ah you guys just
48:04had that extra little pep in your staff that i think was missing you took all those lessons that
48:09you learned from the past two challenges and just applied them here so they weren't mistakes they got
48:14you through today they're going to get you through to the quarterfinals and get you through that day and then on
48:18through the semis and then she'll be winning and if you actually think about it it's good practice
48:24to get the ramp in now because that's what actually wins the final so you know yeah you know you don't
48:29want to jinx it too much but for now you can celebrate that you are going through to the quarterfinals of
48:35Ireland's fittest families what a way to end our heats here at our base camp in gormanstown in county
48:43meath join us next week where we'll be at our quarterfinals and things are about to get dirty
48:52next week it's into the bog for the first three of our quarter finalist families
48:57you owe me big time with newbies michael dara mccauley take your time take your time take a
49:04breath it's not we have loads of time to play with and andrew trimble yeah get into it into a crawl
49:09colleen sharon here going to battle with veteran coach davy fitz we've three teams racing against
49:15each other i'm kind of looking forward to the carnage of what's going to happen
49:30so
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