Hourglass Drop is an obstacle, firstly introduced as the fifth obstacle in Venice Beach on American Ninja Warrior 7.
The obstacle was essentially a redesign of the Unstable Bridge, with a mini trampoline in the middle of the boards. It is arguably the hardest qualifier obstacle in American Ninja Warrior history.
Competitors must traverse across an 8-foot (2.44-meter) long hourglass-shaped board. Then, they must drop onto a trampoline 10 feet (3.048 meters) down, and grab the second board, which was a wavy S-shaped board. Both boards were supported by a metal structure at each end, which would force the board to lop-side to either left or right, similar to the Unstable Bridge's second board. Competitors are not allowed to skip the second board or stay on the trampoline.
In its debut during Venice Beach qualifiers, competitors not only found it hard to get a good bounce from the mini trampoline but were even disqualified for not grabbing the second board or grabbing the support structure. It eliminated 29 out of 36 competitors who attempted it, including David Campbell, Brian Kretsch, Dustin Rocho, Jessie Graff, Ben Melick, Sam Goldstein, Nick Hanson, Jackson Meyer, Theo Agu, Ryan Robinson, Arnold Hernandez, Michael Burkett-Crist, and Travis Weinand. The seven competitors who completed the obstacle later became the only finishers, setting a record for the lowest number of finishers during city qualifiers in American Ninja Warrior history at that time (before being beaten by V Formation during American Ninja Warrior 13's First Qualifying episode with five clears).
Hourglass Drop was just as hard during Venice Beach finals, as among the 23 competitors who attempted the obstacle, only ten of them could complete it. Because of this, the five fastest competitors who failed on this obstacle were able to earn the spots in Las Vegas national finals. As such, this became only the second time where competitors who didn't reach the back half of the city finals course after Warped Wall still advanced to Las Vegas national finals, after Northeast region finals in American Ninja Warrior 4. Several top competitors who failed on this obstacle during Venice Beach qualifiers, like David Campbell, Dustin Rocho, Ben Melick, and Jessie Graff, did complete the obstacle during the Venice Beach finals. In a twist however, Alan Connealy, who completed this obstacle during Venice Beach qualifiers, failed on this obstacle during Venice Beach finals, and his failure eventually made him finish in 16th place, one spot short from Las Vegas national finals.
Other Season Appearances[]
American Ninja Warrior 8[]
Hourglass Drop made its second appearance in American Ninja Warrior 8, as the eighth obstacle during Indianapolis finals. However, the hourglass board was ironically removed, leaving the trampoline and the wavy board, now split in two halves. Therefore, competitors had to drop from the waiting bar after Salmon Ladder, landing on the trampoline, attempt to grab the first board, and then transferred to the second board, in a similar fashion to Unstable Bridge, and then make a dismount to the landing platform to advance.
Naturally, the difficulty in this version of the Hourglass Drop came from the drop to the trampoline and the transition from the first board to the second board. The drop was higher than the Hourglass Drop in Venice Beach at 11 feet (3.35 meters), which could create higher force for competitors to bounce 10.5 feet (3.2 meters) up to reach the first board.
Hourglass Drop was still the toughest obstacle during Indianapolis finals, taking out several competitors like Matt Wilder, Andrew Yori, Tyler Yamauchi, Eric Middleton, Tyler Smith, Ben Jackson, Andrew Rowland and Dan Banura, but a total of eight competitors could get past it. With eight out of 16 competitors being able to complete it, Hourglass Drop during American Ninja Warrior 8's Indianapolis finals had a decent 50% knockout rate.
Later the same season, a modified version of this obstacle called Wave Runner appeared as the third obstacle in Stage Two, immediately after Down Up Salmon Ladder and replacing Unstable Bridge from the past four American Ninja Warrior seasons, except there was no trampoline and the second board was replaced with a pyramid-shaped one.
American Ninja Warrior 9[]
Hourglass Drop returned in American Ninja Warrior 9 during San Antonio finals, once again as the eighth obstacle, with the similar specification from Indianapolis finals in the previous season, except with the addition of one waiting bar after Salmon Ladder for a total of two waiting bars, and the boards were shorter.
During San Antonio finals, the obstacle was just as deadly as ever, taking out 18 out of 24 competitors who attempted it, including Abel Gonzalez, Barclay Stockett, Cass Clawson, Grant Clinton, Kevin Klein, Kenny Niemitalo, Tremayne Dortch, David Yarter, Nate Burkhalter, Brandon Pannell, Jody Avila, Josh Salinas, Damir Okanovic, Matt Holt, Jonathan Parr, Jared Bandy, Kye Ackel, and Jonathan Horton. Only six competitors could complete the obstacle, one of which was Nicholas Coolridge, who also completed the original version of the Hourglass Drop during American Ninja Warrior 7's Venice Beach qualifiers and finals.
A unique and risky completion of this obstacle occurred during San Antonio finals, when Thomas Stillings made an early dismount by skipping the second board entirely, and was allowed to continue his run, unlike on Wave Runner, where competitors would be disqualified if they skipped the second board entirely, as was shown during Flip Rodriguez's run on American Ninja Warrior 8. Although Stillings almost lost his balance at the dismount, he was able to hang on and save himself from disqualification.
Other Appearances[]
Australian Ninja Warrior[]
In Australian Ninja Warrior 2, Hourglass Drop appeared as the eighth obstacle during the semifinals, which was similar to the one used in American Ninja Warrior 7.
However, unlike in American Ninja Warrior 7, instead of grabbing the second board after bouncing from the trampoline, competitors must grab several objects, which were different between each semifinal:
- In Semifinal 1, the second board was replaced with a lachรฉ bar and three ropes. Therefore, after bouncing from the trampoline, competitors must grab a lachรฉ bar, then traverse the ropes to reach the landing platform. Because of those modifications, the obstacle was called Hourglass to Tramp to Rope.
- In Semifinal 2, the second board was replaced with a rope and a long pipe placed in a downward-angle. Therefore, after bouncing from the trampoline, competitors must grab a rope, then traverse the pipe to reach the landing platform. Because of those modifications, the obstacle was called Hourglass to Tramp to Pole Clinger.
- In Semifinal 3, the second board was replaced with a lachรฉ bar and three bungee cords. Therefore, after bouncing from the trampoline, competitors must grab a lachรฉ bar, then traverse the bungee cords to reach the landing platform. Because of those modifications, the obstacle was called Hourglass to Tramp to Bungee.
- In Semifinal 4, the second board was replaced with a cargo net and a rope at the landing platform. Therefore, after bouncing from the trampoline, competitors must grab the cargo net, then traverse it to reach the landing platform. Because of those modifications, the obstacle was called Hourglass to Tramp to Cargo Net.
Ninja Warrior Germany[]
In Ninja Warrior Germany 3, the Hourglass Drop, locally called Hangelwellen (literally Hanging Waves) appeared as the fourth and penultimate obstacle in the Second Stage, which was almost similar to the version in American Ninja Warrior 7, except that the boards was same as the boards used for the Wave Runner. The boards were placed right next to each other, meaning competitors just needed to get enough height at the bounce. The obstacle was preceded by the Double Salmon Ladder, with there only being a lachรฉ bar between those two obstacles. The obstacle was brutal, as it eliminated five out of 10 competitors who attempted it, with four competitors getting disqualified for jumping to the landing platform without grabbing the second board.
Then, in Ninja Warrior Germany: Four Nations Special, the Hourglass Drop reappeared once again as the penultimate obstacle in the Second Stage, which was the same as the one used in Ninja Warrior Germany 3. This time, the obstacle was preceded by the Criss Cross Salmon Ladder. The obstacle was once again very brutal, as it eliminated five out of six competitors who attempted it, with Alexander Wurm being the only one of those six competitors to complete this obstacle and subsequently the entire Second Stage.
Later, in Ninja Warrior Germany 4, the Hourglass Drop appeared as the fourth and penultimate obstacle in the third Semi-finals Qualification. This time, the obstacle was modified, the first board was in the shape of the first board o fWave Runner from ANW8, the second board was shaped like the first board used in American Ninja Warrior 7's Hourglass Drop, except that the lachรฉ bar was placed after and slightly below the first board. This modification made the obstacle unbelievably difficult, as it eliminated all 10 competitors who attempted it, with Gary Hines coming the closest to clear the obstacle, but unfortunately falling at the second board, leaving the last obstacle of that course, the Spider Trap, untouched and marking the first time in Ninja Warrior Germany that a Semi-finals Qualification course would have a zero percent clear rate.
Big Air Grab[]
On American Ninja Warrior: All Stars Special 2, a variation of the Hourglass Drop, named the Big Air Grab, appeared as an event within the Skills Competition of the special.
The obstacle consisted of a supersized version of the Hourglass Drop, with a much larger height between the giant trampoline and the hourglass-shaped board (starting at 14 feet/4.27 meters), requiring competitors to build a much bigger bounce from the trampoline to reach and grab the board. The hourglass-shaped board is also directly attached to the scaffolding instead of having a tilting beam running through the board, making it significantly more stable.
The competition worked in an elimination fashion. Each competitor was given just one attempt to clear the obstacle in required height. If they completed it, they moved on the next round (with the board being placed higher in the next round). If not, they were eliminated from the competition. The competition continued until only one competitor cleared the required height in any round or the remaining competitors in any round failed to clear the required height.
The highest height cleared on the obstacle is 16.5 feet (5.03 meters), performed by Nicholas Coolridge, who grabbed the board with one hand.
Competitors' Success Rate[]
- All results based on the NBC/RTL broadcast and external information found.
American Ninja Warrior[]
ANW | Clears | Attempts | Percentage |
---|---|---|---|
ANW7 (qualifiers) | 7 | 36 | 19.44% |
ANW7 (finals) | 10 | 23 | 43.48% |
ANW8 | 8 | 16 | 50% |
ANW9 | 6 | 24 | 25% |
Total | 31 | 99 | 31.31% |
Ninja Warrior Germany[]
NWG | Clears | Attempts | Percentage |
---|---|---|---|
NWG3 | 5 | 10 | 50% |
NWG: FNS1 | 1 | 6 | 16.66% |
NWG4 | 0 | 10 | 0% |
Total | 6 | 26 | 23.07% |