Tonight, in honor of the Fourth of July holiday, there will be no new episode of American Ninja Warrior. Next week, however, on July 11, the Los Angeles Finals will take place.
Last season, we witnessed the first ever American Ninja Warrior champion, Isaac Caldiero, complete the 75-foot rope climb just seconds faster than Geoff Britten. Now, we’ll see if there’s anyone in America that can challenge his impressive time.
So, how exactly does American Ninja Warrior work? How do they determine the winner? Competitors must tackle a series of obstacles in both city qualifying and city finals rounds. Those who are able to complete the challenging course in the city finals advance to the National Finals in Las Vegas, where they go face-to-face with a four-stage course called Mt. Midoriyama, in the hopes of winning the $1 million grand prize.
Last year, both Geoff Britten and Isaac Caldiero finished the Finals course– in fact, Geoff was the first person to ever finish all six obstacle courses. But just after hitting that buzzer, Caldiero climbed the rope at a faster time. Since Caldiero climbed the rope faster, he was named the champion and received the $ 1 million. Britten, meanwhile, went home empty-handed– no money and no bragging rights.
Last year, Britten told the Huffington Post, “I never went on the show for money. If the prize had been $5,000, I still would have done it. It’s clear in the rules that whoever finishes in the fastest time wins the prize, but I feel like [Caldiero and I] are co-champions since we’re the only ones to complete the course.”
Will there be an athlete out there who can challenge Britten and Caldiero’s time? Watch the Los Angeles Finals, July 11, at 8 pm ET/PT, to find out.