Watch Isaac Caldiero become the first American to ever win ‘American Ninja Warrior’
James Dator has been covering a wide range of sports for SB Nation for over a decade, with a special focus on the NFL.
It took seven years, but finally an American has conquered Mt. Midoriyama. Isaac Caldiero from Ft. Collins, Colorado has competed for the last three seasons without being able to make it past Stage 2. Now the rock climbing busboy is $1 million richer.
Caldiero’s Stage 3 run was nothing short of breathtaking. Take a look at how he handled the Hang Climb.
The upper body strength required to hang on to these ledges is other-worldly.
Two of his friends failed at the very last obstacle: Four terrifying jumps where precision was everything.
After all this was over he had one last task: The summit of Mt. Midoriyama -- a seemingly-endless rope climb with a 30 second time limit.
There are two sides to this story. The second is Geoff Britten (pictured on the right), the man who completed all the same events as Caldiero RIGHT before him. Unfortunately there can only be one winner, and Isaac’s time on the summit climb edged out his competitor.
Congratulations Isaac Caldiero and let’s give plenty of love to Geoff Britten -- you were every bit the same Ninja Warrior and it’s a shame you don’t get some of the spoils.
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