American Ninja Warrior: USA vs. The World

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Overview

The teams faced off on each stage in turn, with each stage hosting its own round of five one-on-one matches and no competitor allowed to run the same stage twice. The first national team to win three matches out of five earned the point(s) for that stage. Stage One was worth one point, while Stage Two was worth two points and Stage Three was worth three. In the event of a 3-3 tie after the first three stages, the tiebreaker would be a one-off showdown where each country would pick one team member for a race to the top of the Final Stage.

Results

Final Score: Americans: 6, Japan: 0.

The winners of the special were the Americans over Japan.

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Results

Joe Moravsky beat Brent Steffenson's record (from ANW 4) for the fastest time in Stage 1, beating Steffenson's time of 1:14.53 with a time of 1:12.72. However, Tim Shieff beat Moravsky's time in a subsequent heat by finishing in 1:02.70 - the fastest time ever on Stage 1 in ANW history.

Travis Rosen achieved the fastest time by an American on Stage 2 with 1:48.00, but Sean McColl finished with a time of 1:46.51, the fastest of the season. All three Americans (Travis Rosen, Elet Hall, and Brian Arnold) completed Stage 2, with Sean McColl also completing it for Team Europe.

Yusuke Morimoto made ANW history by becoming the first athlete to ever finish Stage 3 with a time of 5:38.91. Stefano Ghisolfi also completed Stage 3 in the same heat, beating Morimoto's time finishing in 4:46.89. Ryo Matachi followed by becoming the third athlete to complete Stage 3 with a time of 5:04.67. In the last run of Stage 3, Brian Arnold became the second American athlete to complete the stage (after Kane Kosugi did it in Sasuke 8) with a time of 4:39.90, the fastest time of the four finishers. Arnold's finish moved USA into a tie with Team Europe, forcing a deciding tie-break on Stage 4.

For the first time in ANW history, the athletes competed on Stage 4. Travis Rosen was selected as the first competitor on ANW to attempt the final stage and he made it all the way up Midoriyama's 90-foot tower with a 77-foot rope with a time of 0:35.77. However, Sean McColl beat Rosen's time by 3/10th of a second (0:00.31), winning the competition for Team Europe as they became the World Champions of ANW. Rosen missed on his first attempt at hitting the buzzer at the end of the rope climb.

Final Score: Europe: 10, USA: 9, Japan: 0

The winners of the special were the Europeans, winning over America and Japan.

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Note: *Britten was unable to compete due to flu-like symptoms with a fever of 103 and was replaced by alternate Joe Moravsky who was standing by.

Results

On Stage 1, Drew Drechsel gets the fastest time of the season with a time of 1:18.61, beating Tim Shieff's time of 1:25.33.

On Stage 2, Sean McColl edged out both Drew Drechsel's time of 1:34.46, and Joe Moravsky's time of 1:23.69, beating them with a speedy time of 1:19.86, the fastest of the ANW season.

On Stage 3, in the last heat, Yusuke Morimoto was the only member of Team Japan to finish this stage with a time of 6:29.38. However, Sean McColl got a faster time with 5:42.25, putting Team Europe in the lead. Isaac Caldiero was the last to compete and needed the 3-point win in order to put Team USA on top. Caldiero brought his team to victory with an impressive time of 4:28.84, the fastest of the season.

Final Score: USA: 10, Europe:8, Japan: 0

The winners of the special were the Americans, winning over Europe and Japan.

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Results

Jessie Graff became the first woman in ANW history, and to compete and successfully finish, Stage 2 in Las Vegas. This was the POM Wonderful "Run of the Night".^[6][7] She was also the first woman representing the United States in the USA vs. The World competition.^[7] Josh Levin and Drew Drechsel both completed Stage 3, putting them on a list of only a handful of athletes to do so.

Final Score: Team USA: 10, Team Europe: 7, Team Latin America: 1.

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Names in italics represent a named Team Captain.

Team USA members wore blue T-shirts and shorts. Competitors included 3-time USA vs. The World veterans Joe Moravsky, the "Last Ninja Standing" in season 9, and Drew Drechsel, who had the fastest time in Stage One that season. Also on Team USA were the two other competitors besides Moravsky to make it to Stage Three in season 9, Sean Bryan and Najee Richardson, both competing for the first time on USA vs. The World.^[8]

Team Europe members wore green T-shirts and shorts. Competitors included Sean McColl, who returned for his 4th USA vs. The World appearance, and Alexander Mars, the "Last Ninja Standing" on Ninja Warrior Sweden, who returned for his 3rd appearance on the NBC special. Øssur Eiriksfoss, a Team Ninja Warrior Denmark record-holder, and Sergio Verdasco, who achieved "Total Victory" on Ninja Warrior Spain, were first-time competitors.^[9]

Team Latin America members wore yellow T-shirts and shorts. Competitors included freerunners Danee Marmolejo and Karl Fow, who returned for their second appearance, as well as professional rock climbers, Marco Jubes and Sebastian Prieto, who made their first appearance on the NBC special.^[10]

Team Asia competed for the first time, with members wearing red T-shirts and shorts. Competitors included Yusuke Morimoto, who returned for his 3rd appearance, and first under the Team Asia banner. He had twice competed for Team Japan in late 2014 and 2016. Another returning Team Japan member was Tomohiro Kawaguchi, who returned for his 2nd appearance. He had previously competed for Team Japan in 2016. A first-time appearance was also made by Yosua Zalukhu, the "Last Ninja Standing" on Ninja Warrior Indonesia, making it to Stage Four. Thuc Le also made his first USA vs. The World appearance, having achieved "Total Victory" on Ninja Warrior Vietnam.^[11]

Overview

There were two heats during Stage One and Two in which one athlete from each team would run. The runner who went the furthest the fastest won 3 points for their team, 2nd place won 2 points, and 3rd place won 1 point. Last place received 0 points. The 3 highest-scoring teams at the end of the two stages advanced to Stage Three, while the team with the least amount of points was eliminated. While there was a time limit for Stage One, there was no time limit for Stage Two.^[12]

The scoreboard was reset at the beginning of Stage Three, which also included two heats. The runner who went the furthest the fastest won their team 2 points, while 2nd place won their team 1 point. Last place received 0 points. The 2 highest-scoring teams at the end of Stage Three would move on to Stage Four, while the team with the least amount of points was eliminated.^[12]

Results

During Heat 1 of Stage One, Team USA was represented by Joe Moravsky, Team Europe by Ossur Eiriksfoss, Team Latin America by Karl Fow, and Team Asia by Thuc Le. Moravsky fell on the Domino Pipes, while Eiriksfoss fell on the Spider Jump, and Le fell on the Double Dipper. Fow was the only one to complete the course. Team Latin America won the heat. During Heat 2 of Stage One, Team USA was represented by Drew Drechsel, Team Europe by Sergio Verdasco, Team Latin America by Danee Marmolejo, and Team Asia by Tomohiro Kawaguchi. Drechsel, Verdasco, and Marmolejo all finished the course while Kawaguchi fell on the Domino Pipes. Team USA won the heat. At the end of both heats, the points totals were added.^[12]

During Heat 1 of Stage Two, Team USA was represented by Sean Bryan, Team Europe by Alexander Mars, Team Latin America by Marco Jubes, and Team Asia by Yusuke Morimoto. Bryan fell at Wingnut Alley, while Mars fell at the Wave Runner. Jubes and Morimoto both fell at the Swing Surfer. Team USA won the heat. During Heat 2 of Stage Two, Team USA was represented by Najee Richardson, Team Europe by Sean McColl, Team Latin America by Sebastian Prieto, and Team Asia by Yosua Zalukhu. Richardson and McColl both completed the course, while Prieto fell on the Criss Cross Salmon Ladder and Zalukhu on the Wave Runner. As McColl finished fastest, Team Europe won the heat. At the end of both heats, points totals from Stage One and Two were combined, with Team USA leading with 10 points, Team Europe with 6 points, and Team Latin America with 5 points. Team Asia had the least amount of points and was eliminated.^[12]

During Heat 1 of Stage Three, Team USA was represented by Drew Drechsel, Team Europe by Sergio Verdasco, and Team Latin America by Marco Rubes. Drechsel and Verdasco both fell on the Ultimate Cliffhanger, while Rubes fell on the first obstacle, the Floating Boards. Team Europe won the heat, as Verdasco made it to the Ultimate Cliffhanger faster than Team USA's Drechsel. During Heat 2 of Stage Three, Team USA was represented by Joe Moravsky, Team Europe by Alexander Mars, and Team Latin America by Sebastian Prieto. All 3 fell on the Ultimate Cliffhanger. However, Team USA won the heat as Moravsky made it to the obstacle faster than Team Europe's Mars. At the end of both heats, the points totals were combined, with Team USA and Team Europe tied with 3 points. Team Latin America had 0 points and was eliminated.^[12]

During Stage Four, Team USA was represented by Sean Bryan, while Team Europe was represented by Sean McColl. In an 80-foot rope climb race to the top of Mount Midoriyama, McColl edged out Bryan with a time of 25:93, just faster than Bryan's 26:79. Team Europe was then declared champions, earning their second USA vs. The World trophy. McColl's run was also named the "POM Wonderful Run of the Night".^[13]