Evan “The Rocket” Dollard (エヴァン・ドラード) is a youth instructor originally from the Chicago area and currently living in Los Angeles. He is best known for being the male winner on the first season of the 2008 revival of American Gladiators and was rewarded with becoming a gladiator for their second season, dubbed Rocket for his speed in "The Wall" event.
American Ninja Warrior[]
He first competed on American Ninja Warrior 2. Despite having limited experience on the show, he placed 11th in qualifying, and went on to place 8th in the semi-finals. During the boot-camp phase, he performed exceptionally, but was involved in a dramatic moment on the last day of Boot Camp, nominating himself in place of Patrick Cusic to attempt the Heavenly Ropes, despite Patrick being the most inconsistent on the team, which the latter cried and begged to not go on the ropes. However, he completed the challenge fast enough to become a finalist and attempt SASUKE 26, edging out Richard King.
He had a strong start in the competition, even becoming the first American to skip the swing on the Hazard Swing. However, he attempted to rush the Rolling Escargot and lost his footing on the third spin, sending him plummeting into the water. Ironically, fellow finalist Patrick Cusic failed the same obstacle, with the two men providing the worst results for the team that tournament placing 9th overall.
He returned to compete again on American Ninja Warrior 3. Despite his good performance last year, he put a sloppy performance in qualifying, making several mistakes such as almost slipping on the Quad Steps, briefly losing a shoe on the Jump Hang, and getting a bad bounce off the trampoline leading up the Jumping Bars, barely grasping the bar with his fingertips. However, he managed to pull through and become the third clear of the day, placing 21st overall and moving on to the semi-finals. But in the semi-finals, he shockingly failed the Salmon Ladder, an obstacle he had beaten the previous year, and did not move on placing 23rd overall. However, he was selected to be a tester for Boot Camp.
In American Ninja Warrior 4, he competed in the Southwest regionals, where he managed to be one of the top 30 in qualifying and got the fastest time in the Southwest Finals. He also completed Stage One with little trouble. On Stage Two, he fell on the Double Salmon Ladder.
He did not compete in American Ninja Warrior 5 due to him hosting the ANW ad, "Well-Trained Warrior".
He came back in American Ninja Warrior 6 as strong as ever, completing in Venice. He cleared the qualifying course, but missed the Las Vegas national finals by one spot when he failed Cannonball Alley, allowing David Campbell to knock him into 16th place. However, this was actually due to a clocking error, as Evan had actually cleared the Salmon Ladder faster than Ben Melick. As compensation, he was wildcarded, although it was short-lived as he failed the Silk Slider.
He returned to compete on American Ninja Warrior 7 in Houston. In qualifying, he went out on the Swinging Spikes when he failed to hold onto the fourth spike, but was fast enough to move on to the city finals. In the City Finals, he made it past the first four obstacles, but went on the Swinging Spikes again, making it one spike further before going out on the obstacle again, not making it back to the Las Vegas national finals
He has not competed since, and during season 8, Dollard was co-hosting the first season of Spartan: Ultimate Team Challenge. However, he made a brief cameo in the Oklahoma City qualifiers during an interview with Kristine Leahy to promote the show, as some of the elite ninjas like Lance Pekus and Grant McCartney are competing on the show as well.
X-Warrior[]
Evan also competed on China's X-Warrior, alongside Brian Orosco, Brian Bies, David Campbell and James McGrath. He lost his first 2 races by clearing slower than the Chinese competitor and lost his third by failing the Hang Climbing.
Team Ninja Record[]
| Season | Episode | Round | Heat | Opponent Team | Opponent | Result | Notes | Individual Record |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 3 (Qualifying) | Round One | 1 | Stratis Faction | Mike Bernardo | Loss | 0-1 | |
| 1 | 3 (Qualifying) | Round Two | 1 | ExpendaBulls | Alan Connealy | Win | 1-1 |
SASUKE Results[]
| SASUKE | # | Result | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 26 | 73 | Failed Rolling Escargot (First Stage) |
American Ninja Warrior Results[]
| ANW | # | Result | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4 | Failed Double Salmon Ladder (Stage Two) | Failed to reach the Last Rung. | |
| 6 | Failed Silk Slider (Stage One) | All Cut. |