Sonia O'Sullivan was the first coach to lose a team in the new series of Ireland's Fittest Family, which returned to our screens with a bang tonight.
The beloved show is back for season 11 with a brand new presenter, a new coach and more hair-raising challenges.
Laura Fox made her debut as presenter, cheering families on from the sidelines and walking them, and us, through the gruelling challenges in front of them.
As well as that, legendary athlete Sonia O'Sullivan made her first appearance on the show, joining returning coaches Nina Carberry, Davy Fitzgerald and Donncha O'Callaghan to push the families to their limits and over the finish line for the coveted title and €15,000.
Competing this week were Donncha's Bonnar family from Waterford, Davy's Heaney family from Tyrone, Nina’s O’Regan family from Kerry, and Sonia’s Noonan family from Meath. First up, they took on The Lake, where they batlted it out in a new task, Saved by the Bell.
Racing on paddleboards, the families have to retrieve a series of weights from the bottom of the lake before nominating one member to climb up a rope suspended from a crane and ring a bell.
Next, they have their stamina tested by an event re-vamped for Series 11 – High and Dry. Two members of each family must take to the skies and hang on to two gymnastic rings, suspended from a crane high above the icy waters of The Lake, while the other two run shuttles across slippery pontoons floating on the water. The most runs completed wins.
In their second challenge, Daryl and Caitriona Noonan were tasked with running lengths of floating pontoons while brothers Sean and Cormac held onto rings above the water. After a strong start, Daryl said his legs gave out quickly. "I definitely overtrained in the lead up to this", he said afterward.
In the end, it came down to the Noonans and the Bonnars in the punishing Water Eliminator, which saw the Bonnar's go through to the next round of the competition at another brand new location: The Farm.
After a tremendous show of endurance and family support, the Noonans finished out the course with Sonia's encouragement, with their coach saying afterward: "We all think it's about winning, but sometimes it's not. Sometimes you have to get out there, take part and do the best that you can, together".
Watch Ireland's Fittest Family on RTÉ One and RTÉ Player on Sunday 6:30pm.
