Australian Ninja Warrior

Welcome back to Ninja Island

and the show that, last year, took the whole country by storm.

They came from all across the country -

everyday Australian men and women

taking on the toughest obstacle course in the world.

Oh, yeah!

I've never seen anyone do that better.

Go, you good thing!

They inspired a nation.

People would never believe

that someone that's had a broken back could actually do that.

We were ambushed.

Some bullet fragments went through my face.

I'm here to prove anything is possible.

And they created history.

I can't believe it!

Andrea! She is the first woman up the Warped Wall.

In 2018, our heroes are back and they have a score to settle.

Mt Midoriyama. Mt Midoriyama.

Mt Midoriyama, I'm comin' for you.

I'm very determined to do better than last year.

I'm wakin' up at 4am in the morning to train.

The last 365 days, I've been training for redemption.

After missing that Warped Wall,

I definitely feel a lot of pressure to get up that thing.

I've come up with something that I think will really give me the edge.

I've actually built Mt Midoriyama.

This time, I'm getting to the top.

Mt Midoriyama!

But they're joined by a new crop of ninjas,

each determined that they will be the first to conquer the course.

I've got what it takes to get to the end.

Ordinary people...

I'm a hard-working mum.

I'm a primary school teacher.

I'm 64 years young.

..willing to push harder...

You do more with one leg than most people with two legs ever achieve.

..and reach higher.

It's what I'm made for.

They're all focused on just one goal -

to beat the world's toughest obstacle course.

And I just want to be that one person that does it.

Australian Ninja Warrior is back.

And Ninja Island comes alive.

Come on!

Yes!

Who will write the next chapter?

You can't have doubts. You've just gotta go hard.

That is phenomenal!

Yes!

What was that?

It's ninja against the course.

Dig really deep.

I hate losing and this course is not gonna defeat me.

The challenge is there to be met.

Can she do it? She does!

Who can be Australia's first Ninja Warrior?

The original and the best obstacle course in the world returns

and, with it,

some of the everyday athletes that have become national heroes.

Back tonight, DJ Ben Polson, Olivia Vivian

and the one and only Tarzaniel.

With a year to prepare,

now's the chance to prove they've got what it takes this time.

Not only that, we have a whole new bunch of ninjas

who sat on the lounge last year and said, "I can do that."

Everyday athletes who think they've got what it takes.

This year, we've made the course even bigger and tougher.

Our athletes have been rated amongst the best in the world

but, remember, only two ninjas in eight seasons of the US show

have ever conquered Mt Midoriyama.

This year, our prize jackpots to $200,000

but our ninjas are going to have to conquer tonight's obstacles

for a chance at the finals.

Let's take a look.

To earn a shot at Mt Midoriyama,

our ninjas will ultimately have to complete 38 obstacles.

There are six in tonight's first qualifying heat

and all competitors, male and female, take on exactly the same course.

First up, the traditional start, the Quintuple Steps,

five angled platforms a metre and a half apart.

Touch the water and you're out.

The T-Slide to Punching Bag tests hand-eye coordination.

Ninjas grab the T-bar and slide down to the punching bag,

timing their dismount to reach the platform.

The Bridge of Blades is back but the blades are set off axis,

making this a much tougher obstacle than last year.

Next up is Ball Swing to Cargo Net.

Athletes must traverse across all three balls to the cargo net,

then climb down to safety.

Then we really ramp it up with the Flying Shelf Grab.

Ninjas must take a massive 2.2-metre leap of faith

to grab each shelf with only their fingertips.

And finally, everyone's nemesis, the Warped Wall.

All 4.2 metres of it.

Ninjas have three attempts to reach the top and complete the course.

It's the top 20 who go the furthest and fastest tonight

that will make it through to the semi-finals.

Well, Freddie is course-side for a close-up view of all the action.

The atmosphere down here is electric.

You can feel the tension in the air.

Ninja Warrior is back and I for one can't wait.

OK.

Let's bring out our first competitor for 2018.

This guy is a firefighter and an adventure junkie.

He's a lifesaver, ironman, marathon runner

and now he's training camels for a 40-day desert crossing.

From Perth, it's Steve Choate.

I'd describe myself

as an ordinary person who likes to do out-of-the-ordinary things.

Righto. Have a look.

So, I went to the Antarctic a couple of years ago

and competed in a 42km marathon.

It was negative 20 degrees.

And it was my first marathon.

There's Steve finishing.

Winner!

Yeah, as parents, we're extremely proud.

Steve doesn't sit still, you know?

He does look for adventure

and I think that's what motivates him in life.

The next adventure is to cross the Great Sandy Desert -

a total of 1,200km over 40 days.

There's a fair bit involved in training five wild camels.

You know, they are 500kg and they bite, they kick

and do want to pull away from you.

I'm very determined to finish everything that I start,

so, if I get to Mt Midoriyama, I'll leave everything on that rope.

Well, Ninja Warrior is officially back.

We have a ninja stepping up to the plate

and doesn't he look the part, Steve.

Six foot on the old scale.

88kg.

There's mum and dad, the whole family on the sideline.

Buckle up. Here we go.

Quintuple Steps.

Here we go, Freddie.

Steve Choate trains camels to cross the desert.

He's a camel trainer.

Not sure that's gonna help him tonight on the Ninja Warrior course.

Hang on a minute - you don't know that, Freddie.

This is a brand-new obstacle now, the T-Slide to Punching Bag.

Here we go.

We didn't see anything this tough until the semis last year.

Steve Choate is through!

Good work!

Bridge of Blades now.

It is different this year.

It's tilted over so you can only step on one side.

Smashed it.

We learnt a lesson last year, Bec,

not to go making bold predictions, but here I go.

Steve Choate is going up the Warped Wall.

Have a look at the bloke. Big call, Ben.

Let's see how he goes on the Balls to Cargo Net.

Onto the balls.

Steve!

In the water.

The slightest mishap causes the biggest catastrophe for Steve Choate.

Steve, no!

Poor old Steve.

He looked so good but he just got this all wrong.

Now, see the straight arm.

That means all the work is being done by his hand.

Then he twists off the platform

so his grip on the second ball is even worse.

It just goes to show one mistake on this course and you're gone.

I know you've done some pretty impressive things in your time.

You've run across Antarctica, you train camels.

How does the Ninja Warrior course compare to all of that?

Mate, that is...

I think it's a bit harder than it looks.

It looks hard, don't worry about that.

It's amazing.

Something so small knocks you out

but what a crowd, what a really good night and awesome to be here.

Our first newcomer has had a crack at the course.

Let's see how someone with Ninja experience goes.

You'll remember her from Season 1.

She broke her back in a car crash.

This super-mum claims Ninja Warrior has changed her life.

Lisa Parkes.

My hope for being on the show is to be an inspiration.

It was, in fact, a drunk driver

who smashed into Lisa, told she would never walk again

and here she is

about to take on the toughest obstacle course in the world.

I was inundated with phone calls and messages.

Disabled people calling me and asking me about different exercises.

Hello. Hi.

And so I wanted to reach out and help paraplegic and quadriplegic clients.

It's really nice to speak to somebody

who's been told that you're paralysed and you're never gonna walk again.

Whoo-hoo! Do a little hip dance.

Lisa's got this strength inside her.

I just think that she's super-human.

I mean, you grow from every failure in life,

with Ninja Warrior, especially.

You can fail, you can get up, you can try again