Takahashi Kenji's Swap Salmon Ladder Disqualification

Takahashi Kenji's Swap Salmon Ladder Disqualification is a very controversial disqualification that occurred during SASUKE 30's Second Stage, where Takahashi Kenji was disqualified on Swap Salmon Ladder due to a malfunction on the obstacle.

Going into SASUKE 30, Takahashi had one amazing record, never failing the Second Stage in his SASUKE career. However, in this tournament, the Swap Salmon Ladder already caused problems for competitors prior to his run, as Yamamoto Hiroshige and Takeda Toshihiro were both disqualified on this obstacle, with the former landing uneven on one of the rungs, while the latter doing worse by dropping one level below, both were not allowed.

Disqualification
Takahashi was the twenty-second competitor to run the Second Stage in this tournament. He started strong, clearing the Cross Slider easily. The first jump on Swap Salmon Ladder possessed no problem, but while attempting the second jump, the left side of the third rung suddenly retracted, causing Takahashi to land slanted, which is not allowed on this version of Salmon Ladder, which is not the case with the previous versions and versions to follow. Subsequently, the rung popped back out one second later and Takahashi pushed the bar up to it, but despite the obstacle visually malfunctioning he was told by the producers to stop.

Clear that the obstacle malfunctioned, Takahashi was outraged and protested about the matter, but unfortunately, his protest was not acknowledged. Despite pressure from people on the set that he should run again, the judges and the producers denied that second run and he was eliminated.

In Future Tournaments
To avoid more protests and further disqualifications, Swap Salmon Ladder will be swapped in the following tournament by the combination of Salmon Ladder Nobori and Salmon Ladder Kudari. The rule of the bar being unable to land slanted on the rungs was also removed as well.

高橋賢次鯉魚換面事件