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 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[]
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[]
Australian Ninja Warrior 5's Dragon Back
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.
Australian Ninja Warrior 6's Dragon's Back
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[]
Ninja Warrior Germany 6's Dragonback (Drachenrรผcken)
In Ninja Warrior Germany 6, the Dragonback, literally translated as Drachenrรผcken, appeared as the fourth and penultimate obstacle in the Second Stage of that season. In this appearance, there was no trampoline or lachรฉ bars as a medium to reach the bar, meaning that the competitors had to do a standing jump to the bar. The design of this Dragonback was also aesthetically different, with the top parts of the tracks being coloured in a silver-grey shade and with both the lower parts and the facial structures of the head of the dragon being 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 and energy waster for those who ended up clearinh the Dragonback, especially for Artur Schreiber, who lost so much time on this obstacle that he later timed out at the Spider Trap.
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[]
Ninja Israel 4's Dragonback
On Ninja Warrior Israel 4, the Dragonback, locally called ืืืจืงืื (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 lachรฉ 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
In Ninja Warrior France 7, the Dragonback, locally called Le Dragon Gรฉant (literally The Giant Dragon) 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. Apart from that however, the obstacle was radically different compared to all the other iterations of the Dragonback:
- Only one bar is given that must be used throughout the obstacle.
- This Dragonback featured monkey bars at the second half (the downwards section) of each track,
- The first downward section had three monkey bars, while the second had four, and there was another monkey bar at the dragon's nose,
- After competitors hopped the bar of the respective track 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,
- The trampoline was replaced by a rope and a lachรฉ bar as a medium to reach the first bar.
The obstacle was fairly brutal, as it resulted in most competitors showing signs of struggle, eliminating four competitors who attempted it, with all four of them 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% |