Oldham pair come top in BBC race challenge, then donate half their winnings to poor children

Jamiul Choudhury is pictured alongside his uncle, Emon. Picture courtesy of BBC/Studio Lambert

BBC TV’s Race Across The World recently gripped viewers as they followed the fortunes of five British pairs travelling around South America on a miniscule budget.  

And an Oldham-based graduate of the University of Huddersfield emerged triumphant, by the slenderest of margins, before showing how the race had affected him with an act of huge generosity.

Jamiul Choudhury, who graduated in architecture in 2015, won the race alongside his uncle, Emon, after an epic 54-day journey from Mexico City to the south of Argentina.  

But the local pair were so moved by the plight of street children in the Brazilian city of Sao Paulo that they have donated half of their £20,000 winning fee to South American charities helping children living rough.

Contestants were given a budget of £1,400 – roughly their air fare – for the 15,000-mile challenge, equating to around £26 per day.  

Technology and bank cards were forbidden as Jamiul and Emon attempted to be the first to get from the Mexican capital to Ushuaia in Argentina, the world’s southernmost city.

On the way, Jamiul and his uncle took jobs on a yacht, in stables and as fishermen to help pay for their travel and even gave a taxi driver their iPods when they couldn’t pay a fare in Argentina.

And yet after travelling through 17 countries, including three under states of emergency, Jamiul and Emon won by just 20 seconds.  

They overtook Rob and Jen Lambra-Stokes in the final stages, ditching their backpacks before scrambling up the slopes of the hill that marked the end of 15,000-mile race with the finale watched by an audience of 3.3 million.

“It was a life-changing experience,” said 25-year-old Jamiul.  

“I don't think there’s a price that could be put on everything that we experienced.  

"I guess it shows you that there’s a bigger world out there and it puts into perspective how minuscule we are in the wider world.”

Jamiul and Emon decided to donate half of their winners’ prize after the dramatic finale to the second series of the BBC2 show, with the University of Huddersfield graduate adding, “I feel like a bigger winner if we do this.”

The second series of Race Across the World featuring Jamiul and Emon,is available to view on demand via BBC iPlayer until July 8.

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