Christian "Jaan" Balkheimer, also well-known by his nickname Super Mario Ninja, is a German association trainer, Ninja gym owner (owning the Ninja Gym Free.Ground Academy), and also a competitive Ninja athlete/coach, who participated in every regular Ninja Warrior Germany season, Team Ninja Warrior Germany 1 & 2 and Ninja Warrior Germany All-Stars 1 & 2. In Ninja Warrior Germany, Christian Balkheimer is well-known as one of the seven people who have a perfect regular season attendance record (the others are Christian Kirstges, Daniel Schmidt, Gary Hines, Marvin Mitterhuber, Moritz Hans and Sladjan Djulabic), and is therefore one of the most experienced athletes of the show. Apart from that, his good allround athleticism combined with his high knowledge about several International Ninja shows are the main reasons as to why he is always considered as one of the most skillful and entertaining athletes in both the regular seasons and the shows spin-offs, as well as one of the main staples of the show. And while he unfortunately never managed to get past the First Stage in the Ninja Warrior Germany competitions in which he competed (despite his high potential and skill), he is to be considered as an extremely successful & relevant part of the German Ninja Sport community (mainly due to his memorable performances on the show) and since Ninja Warrior Germany 6, he was always coming closer and closer to a potential First Stage clear.
Outside of Germany, Christian Balkheimer has also demonstrated his athletic prowess in Ninja Warrior Switzerland, in which he performed well by making it all the way to the third to last obstacle of the season's First Stage (the Pole Grasper) before failing it, granting him the 11th place of the season overall.
And apart from his entire International Ninja show career, Balkheimer is one of the most important figures for the Ninja Sport in Germany, since he actively promotes the sport by supporting, organising, presenting and commentating several different competitions throughout the country. In addition, he owns his very popular home-made Ninja Gym Free.Ground Academy (constructed in his homes barn) in which he replicated many ninja obstacles and trained/coached a lot of people for the Ninja sport, which has given him the reputation of a great role model for many people inside of the German Ninja community. And while he is one of the most important organizers in the German NinjaSport, Balkheimer also achieved significant success in a lot of the sports comeptitions, as he not only finished in 5th overall in the Men Division Ranking of the 2022 German NinjaSport season with 3400 points, but also in the Men Division Ranking of the 2023 German NinjaSport season with 1549 points. Balkheimer is also co-founder and secondary board member of the largest Ninja Sports club in Germany, the IG Ninja-Sport n.e.V.
History[]
Ninja Show Series[]
Ninja Warrior Germany 1[]
Ninja Warrior Germany 2[]
Team Ninja Warrior Germany 1[]
Ninja Warrior Germany 3[]
Team Ninja Warrior Germany 2[]
Ninja Warrior Germany 4[]
Ninja Warrior Germany 5[]
Ninja Warrior Germany All-Stars 1[]
Ninja Warrior Germany 6[]
Ninja Warrior Germany 7[]
Ninja Warrior Germany All-Stars 2[]
Ninja Warrior Germany 8[]
Ninja Warrior Germany 9[]
Ninja Warrior Germany 10[]
Results:[]
Ninja Show Series[]
Ninja Warrior Germany[]
Regular Competitions[]
| Season | Result | Notes | Placement | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Round | Season | |||
| 1 | Failed Wind Chimes (First Stage) |
Fell off the fifth pole. | 17th | |
| 2 | Failed Prism Tilt (Semi-finals) |
45th | ||
| 3 | Failed Rolling Thunder (Semi-finals Qualification 3) |
9th | ||
| 4 | Failed Rolling Escargot (Preliminary Round 1) |
32nd | ||
| 5 | Failed Lightning Bolts (First Stage) |
Failed the transition from the second bar at the end of the second cradle to the third bar. Failed to hold onto the bar. |
40th | |
| 6 | Failed Ferris Wheel (First Stage) |
Time Out. Timed Out at the second wheel. |
33rd | |
| 7 | Failed Swing Arm (First Stage) |
Failed the transition to the ring. | 27th | |
| 8 | Failed Pole Grasper (First Stage) |
Failed the transition from the first (6th/7th pole) to the second (8th/9th pole) set of poles. Tried to lachè to the right one of the poles but came up short of the pole. |
8th | |
| 9 | Failed Grim Sweeper (First Stage) |
Failed the transition from the second to the third blade. Tried to grab the blade with his right hand, but missed and slipped off shortly after. |
29th | |
| 10 | TBA | TBA | ||
Spin-Offs[]
Team Ninja Warrior Germany[]
| Season | Result | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Team: 3-Force (Christian Balkheimer, Daniel Gerber, Tabitha Eckfeld) | ||
| 1 | Round 2 - K.O.-Round (Preliminary Round 3) |
Lost vs. Team Gravity. |
| Team: Retro Kids (Christian Balkheimer, Alex Grunwald*, Daniel Gerber, Cindy Wagner) | ||
| 2 | Round 3 - Finals Qualification (Preliminary Round24) |
*He had to be replaced by the alternate Alex Grunwald, since he had to withdraw from the competition due to a shoulder injury. Lost vs. Team Cliffhanger. |
Ninja Warrior Germany All-Stars[]
| Season | Result | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Round 2 - Second Duel-Round (Preliminary Round 4) |
Lost vs. Alex Grunwald. |
| 2 | Round 1 - First Duel-Round (Finals) |
Lost vs. Benjamin Schmidt-Markurt. |
Ninja Warrior Switzerland[]
Regular Competitions[]
| Season | Result | Notes | Placement | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Round | Season | |||
| 1 | Failed Pole Grasper (First Stage) |
11th | ||
Trivia[]
- Christian Balkeimer is a huge fan of Super Mario video games, hence the nickname Super Mario Ninja after he started his Ninja Warrior career.
- In addition, his Ninja Gym Free.Ground Academy has many Super Mario-themed asthetics.
- He is an accomplished sportsman who has practiced many different sports in the last few years, including: Ninja, Parkour, Trampolining, Climbing, Snowboarding, Skateboarding, Cliff Diving, Paintball, Wakeboarding & Surfing.
- He is the first person to have hosted a ninja competition outside the show Ninja Warrior Germany.
- He is the first person to have built a replica of the Salmon Ladder, having constructed it in his own Ninja Gym, Free.Ground Academy.
- The gym also currently consists of Germany's only known replica of the Rolling Escargot, which Balkheimer himself has named "Christian's Wheel".
- His favourite Ninja Warrior obstacles are: Mega Wall, Salmon Ladder, Balance obstacles and laché obstacles.
- His least favourite Ninja Warrior obstacles are: "Cliff" (Cliffhanger) obstacles.
- On his YouTube channel, Christian Balkheimer has produced the following Ninja-related formats:
- "Ninja News" (5 videos, currently inactive), in which he (as the name implies) presented Ninja Warrior & Ninja Sport news from all around the world with special guests and segments.
- "Ninja Warrior Tutorials" (4 videos, currently inactive), in which he did tutorials for important Ninja obstacles & skills.
- "NINJA BATTLE" (13 videos, currently inactive), in which he did Ninja battles against various well-known Ninja Warrior Germany athletes, such as Moritz Hans, René Casselly & Oliver Edelmann, on a stage & rules set up by Balkheimer.
- Christian Balkheimer participated in the Ninja Warrior Germany: Celebrity Special 3, dressed up as the T-Rex, outside of the competition that affected the leaderboard.
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