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ANW12 Dragonback

American Ninja Warrior 12's Dragonback

The Dragonback is an obstacle, firstly introduced as the ninth obstacle during the finals on American Ninja Warrior 12.

It consists of two sets of parabolic tracks. The first half of each of the track consists of stairs in which competitors must hop the bar across it (in a similar manner to the Stair Hopper), each with a stopper on its left-end to prevent from sliding back to the previous step. The second half of each of the track consists of a similar track from the Big Dipper, Double Dipper, and Dragon Glider in which competitors must slide the bar to reach bungee cords at the end of each track. This obstacle also features a rotating wall at the end before the landing platform, similar to the Sideways.

The obstacle was proven to be somewhat difficult, as it took out six competitors: including Flip Rodriguez, Cameron Baumgartner, Jamie Rahn, R.J. Roman, Amir Malik and Drew Drechsel, the latter who was not shown on the final broadcast due to his arrest earlier that year. It served as the cut-off for the Power Tower playoff, as one competitor who failed on the obstacle, Amir Malik, made the top 8 (since he got there faster than all other competitors who failed on it).

An interesting fail occurred during Cameron Baumgartner's run. He reached the end of the obstacle and hopped the bar over the dragon's head. However, he didn't let go of the bar, so the safety cord on the bar pulled him back over the water, immediately disqualifying him.

Other Season Appearances[]

American Ninja Warrior 14[]

ANW14 Dragonback

American Ninja Warrior 14's Dragonback

On American Ninja Warrior 14, the Dragonback appeared as the ninth obstacle during the first episode of the semifinals. This time, the obstacle was paired with the Spin Zone as part of the Split Decision.

Among the nine competitors who reached the Split Decision on the first semifinals episode, all but two competitors chose this obstacle, and three of them completed it: Jay Lewis, Josiah Pippel, and Luke Dillon. At the same time, Joe Moravsky, Anthony Eardley, Dave Cavanagh, and Matt D'Amico failed on this obstacle.

In the second semifinals episode, only three competitors reached the Split Decision: Josh Levin, Josiah Singleton, and Evan Andrews, with all of them choosing this obstacle over the Spin Zone, but only Evan Andrews completed it.

Other Appearances[]

Australian Ninja Warrior[]

DragonBack AuNW5

Australian Ninja Warrior 5's Dragon Back

Aunw5 dragon back

Travis Edwards attempting Dragon Back in Australian Ninja Warrior 5

The Dragonback (stylized as the Dragon Back) appeared as the fifth obstacle during the semifinals on Australian Ninja Warrior 5. It was revealed to be 5m long. This obstacle ended many runs, including Ben Polson and Daniel Mason. In both Semifinal 1 and Semifinal 2, every competitor who reached this obstacle advanced to the grand final.

Aunw6 dragons back

Australian Ninja Warrior 6's Dragon's Back

Aunw6 dragons back vivian

Olivia Vivian attempting Dragon's Back in Australian Ninja Warrior 6

The obstacle appeared again in Australian Ninja Warrior 6, where it appeared as the ninth and final obstacle in the Race for Advantage section of the semifinals (stylized as the Dragon's Back). This time, there was an added cargo net at the end of the obstacle, which competitors had to climb to reach the buzzer (similar to the Rope Ladder). And due to its position in the course, the obstacle was deadlier than the previous season, as only seven out of nineteen competitors who attempted the obstacle completed it across three semifinals, taking out notable competitors such as Bryson Klein, Ben Polson, Zak Stolz, and Mike Snow (who completed it on the previous season).

Ninja Warrior Germany[]

NWG 6-Second Stage-Obstacle-Dragonback

The Dragonback (Drachenrücken) in Ninja Warrior Germany 6

In Ninja Warrior Germany 6, the Dragonback, locally called Drachenrücken, appeared as the fourth and penultimate obstacle in the Second Stage of that season. In this appearance of the Dragonback, the obstacle itself was almost similar to the Dragonback iterations in other International Ninja Warrior shows, with the obstacle structure of this Dragonback only differing in that the surfaces of the stairs were completely even. In addition, there was no trampoline or laché bars as a medium to reach the bar, meaning that the participants who would attempt this obstacle had to jump to the bar. In terms of the design of this Dragonback, it had a different design, compared to the Dragonback iterations in other International Ninja Warrior shows, with the top parts of the tracks being coloured in a silver-grey shade and both the lower parts and the facial structures of the head of the dragon were coloured in red. The obstacle proved to be the Ninja Killer of that Second Stage, with half (or 13 competitors) of the 26 competitors who attempted this obstacle failing this obstacle. Aside from that, the obstacle proved to be a massive time/energy waster for those, who would later clear the Dragonback, especially for Artur Schreiber, who lost so much time on this obstacle that he later timed out at the Spider Trap.

NWG 6-Malte Komm-Dragonback Malfunction and Clear Moment

The Dragonback malfunction that occured during the Second Stage run of Malte Komm, and Malte Komm overcoming that particular malfunction and clearing the obstacle in Ninja Warrior Germany 6.

There was also an incident that occured during Malte Komm's Dragonback attempt, with one of the the safety wires that were connected to the bar getting stuck on the final upwards step of the right half of the second track, right as he was going on the downward section of the track. This meant that he had to cross a dismount distance to the landing platform that was further than actually intended. However despite this technical issue, Malte Komm managed to actually clear that dismount and would later clear the entire Second Stage. Interestingly, this incident mirrored that of Nagano Makoto and his attempt at the Slider Jump in SASUKE 23, with both attempts having the wire attached to the bar getting stuck somewhere else on the obstacle, leaving a farther dismount to the intended destination.

Ninja Israel[]

NWI4 Dragonback

Ninja Israel 4's Dragonback

On Ninja Warrior Israel 4, the Dragonback, locally called הדרקון (literally The Dragon) appeared as the fourth obstacle in Heat 2, Heat 8 and Heat 11. The design of the dragon track was very similar to the one used in Australian Ninja Warrior 5, and the trampoline was replaced by two horizontal laché bars as a medium to reach the bar. Like all versions of Dragonback, the obstacle was very brutal, as most competitors show struggled and falled at the second track.

Ninja Warrior France[]

Ninja Warrior France 7's Dragonback

Ninja Warrior France 7's Dragonback

Nwfr7 dragonback under

Ninja Warrior France 7's Dragonback (underview)

In Ninja Warrior France 7, the Dragonback, locally called Le Dragon Géant (literally The Giant Dragon in French) appeared as the fourth obstacle in Finals' Stage One. The design of the dragon shaped track was very similar to the design of the one used in Ninja Warrior Germany 6. However, compared to all the other iterations of the Dragonback, this Dragonback featured monkey bars at the second half (the downwards section) of each track (the first downward section had three monky bars, while the second had four, as well as another monkey bar at the dragon's nose), meaning that after the participants hopped the bar of the respective track (this was also another difference, since the other Dragonback iterations consisted of one bar that had to be transferred all the way from the start to the end, rather than two spereate bars) up a certain number of stairs of the first section, they could reach over to the monkey bars and would cross them to reach the second bar/the landing platform, rather than sliding the bar down the downwards sections. And last but not least, the trampoline was replaced by a rope and a laché bar as a medium to reach the first bar. As all versions of Dragonback, the obstacle was fairly brutal, as it resulted in most competitors showing signs of struggle and also eliminating 4 competitors who attempted it, with those falling at the second track.

In addition to that, the obstacle also almost caused Jean Tezenas du Montcel, the top competitor of this show, to fail that First Stage and subsequently lose his Joker. Jean accidentally pulled the second bar of the obstacle off the second track as he was trying to transfer from the monkey bars of the first track to the bar of the second track, but miraculously saved himself by putting the bar back evenly onto the second track.

Competitors' Success Rate[]

  • All results based on the NBC/RTL/TF1 broadcast and external information found.

American Ninja Warrior[]

ANW Clears Attempts Percentage
ANW12 7 13 53.84%
Total 7 13 53.84%

Ninja Warrior Germany[]

NWG Clears Attempts Percentage
NWG6 13 26 50%
Total 13 26 50%
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