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Iketani Naoki (池谷 直樹) is a former competitive gymnast, sports talent, former leader of the now defunct Muscle Musical show, current producer of the Samurai Orchestra show, and former holder of the World Record in the Monster Box at 23 boxes. He is from Yodogawa District, Osaka. He married the day before he competed in SASUKE 8.

SASUKE[]

He made his debut in SASUKE 2, but he shocked many failing the second obstacle of the First Stage, the Burasagari Maruta. He might have competed in SASUKE 3 because the announcer said he timed up on the first stage on his last appearance. This can be shown in his First Stage run during G4's broadcast of SASUKE 4. However, G4 is known for being incorrect at times.

He came back stronger in SASUKE 4, passing the First Stage easily, with 14.2 seconds left on the clock. Then he defeated the Second Stage, with a narrow window of 2.8 seconds left remaining. On the Third Stage, he was able to make it all the way to the final obstacle, the Pipe Slider, but he could not hold the bar in order to make a jump. Eventually, his grip gave way and he fell into the water. In SASUKE 5 he started well, however at the new Soritatsu Kabe he struggled and he ultimately timed out there.

After a two-tournament hiatus, he returned in SASUKE 8, a tournament characterized by the heavy rain, when he surprisingly failed the Rolling Maruta. In SASUKE 9 he finally cleared the First Stage again with 2.8 seconds left, but in the Second Stage he lost too much time on the Spider Walk and timed out after clearing the Gyakusō Conveyor.

In SASUKE 10, he was one of only five competitors to clear the First Stage, doing so with just 2.7 seconds left. Then he took his revenge on the Second Stage by passing it with 7.8 seconds left. In the Third Stage, he cleared the first three obstacles with little trouble, but he ultimately failed the Cliffhanger, when his grip gave way on the transition to the second ledge.

In SASUKE 11 he once again cleared the First Stage with an impressive 19.4 seconds left, the fastest time. In the Second Stage, he lost his balance on the Balance Tank, but he was amazingly able to hold on and clear the stage, with 10.8 seconds remaining. On the Third Stage, history repeated itself when he failed again on the Cliffhanger, slipping off near the end of the first ledge.

In SASUKE 12 he started off strong, however he was held up at the Soritatsu Kabe, taking three attempts to clear it. With time running low he attempted to hurry, but ended up timing out on the Rope Climb. He took his revenge on the Soritatsu Kabe in SASUKE 13 and he passed the first two stages easily, however in the Third Stage he struggled to maintain his posture on the Body Prop and failed, the same would happen again in SASUKE 14.

In SASUKE 15 he timed out on the Soritatsu Kabe, after struggling on it because of the extreme heat that characterized that day. He managed to pass the first two stages with time to spare in SASUKE 16 , but his Body Prop curse continue, as he failed immediately after starting the obstacle.

Shin-SASUKE[]

After a three tournament hiatus, he returned in SASUKE 20, competing for the first time with his brother, Iketani Yukio. However, after slipping many times on the Spider Walk portion of the Jumping Spider, he ultimately failed there. Iketani took his revenge on the Jumping Spider in SASUKE 21, and he made all the way to the Flying Chute, before overshooting the obstacle and falling into the water

In SASUKE 22 he wore his highest number ever, #97, but he timed out on the Soritatsu Kabe on a digest performance. He returned in SASUKE 24, again with his brother. He nearly failed the Jumping Spider, but managed to save himself and repeats the same performance he did in his previous appearance.

Kanzen Renewal[]

He once again returned in SASUKE 26 and while he had to take an extra swing on the Half-Pipe Attack he cleared the First Stage for the first time since SASUKE 16, doing so with only 4.3 seconds left, being one of only four Japanese competitors to do so. But on the Second Stage he fell early on the Double Salmon Ladder, on the transition between the two ladders when the bar landed lopsided and became uneven, making him unable to transition properly. He was able to clear the First Stage again in SASUKE 27, but he will fail the Double Salmon Ladder for a second time, only making it about halfway up the first ladder.

SASUKE RISING[]

Expected to do well in SASUKE 28, he shocked many when he fell on the Rolling Escargot. He did not compete in SASUKE 31, but was present to support fellow Samurai Orchestra member Kikuchi Masayuki, who failed the Cross Slider in the Second Stage.

He returned in SASUKE 33 but in an utter disappointment, he failed while transitioning from the Quad Steps to the Rolling Hill. His foot touched the out of bounds mat as he landed on the uphill portion before slipping and jumping into the water.

He returned in SASUKE 37 and was digested. After a miraculous save on the Rolling Hill where he triggered the rolling logs with his foot barely avoiding the water, he wasted a lot of time struggling to grasp the Wing Slider and slipped off the walls immediately after the obstacle started.


SASUKE Re:BORN[]

He applied for SASUKE 39, but was rejected. However, he still supported fellow competitor Mutou Tomohiro on the sidelines. Mutou would go on to make it to the redesigned Sidewinder in the Third Stage.

He returned again in SASUKE 40 and was once more digested, but he was shown to have failed the Silk Slider.

Trivia[]

  • Iketani has been one of the most consistent competitors in SASUKE history, making it to the Third Stage 6 times.
  • Besides SASUKE, Iketani is most prominent in Monster9's Pro Sportsman No. 1 series, which pits athletes from different sports against each other to decide who is "Sportsman No. 1". He has won Genojin (Celebrity) tournament 3 times and Pro Sportsman No. 1 once, in 2005. He specializes in the Monster Box event and broadcasts often feature Iketani attempting to break the world record for highest jump in it.
  • Iketani was the first Sportsman competitor made his return in Sports Danshi Grand Prix since the third tournament, before his rival Kane Kosugi.
  • During his 8th Celebrity Sportsman No. 1 appearance, a situation occurred in the Beach Flags event, as Iketani had grabbed Nishiyama Koji's arm from behind and pushed him out of the way allowing him to grab the flag. After a quick deliberation, Iketani's act of grabbing Nishiyama's arm was considered foul and he was disqualified from the event. However, because of this, Nishiyama's left shoulder had dislocated, removing him as well from the event and tournament entirely. With the two competitors out from the event, the finals was then cancelled and Shōei was given the win of the event.
  • Iketani is one of ESCAPE competitors held from Mt. Midoriyama as Kinniku Banzuke event.
  • Iketani along with fellow Muscle Musical member Nakata Daisuke is present in Road To VIKING competition from Tokyo Bay. However, he never competing in actual VIKING tournaments, whist to several of his Muscle Musical costars did.
  • In his first 12 appearances, he only wore 3 different numbers, #61, #81, and #90.
  • His older brother, former Olympian Iketani Yukio, has entered four tournaments. Ninja Warrior sometimes says that Naoki is a former Olympian, but this is false.
  • From SASUKE 14 until 25, Iketani held the record for the most attempts at the Third Stage out of any non-All-Star, after reaching the Third Stage for the fifth time, beating Kane Kosugi's four, then a subsequent sixth time in SASUKE 16. Takahashi Kenji matched this record in SASUKE 25, and Okuyama Yoshiyuki in SASUKE 27, however this was then surpassed by Takahashi in SASUKE 29 (he now holds the record at 8 attempts).
  • Similar to Yamamoto Shingo from SASUKE 11 onwards; every time Iketani reached the Third Stage, he would fail at an earlier position than before:
    • In SASUKE 4, he failed at the Pipe Slider, then the first transition of the Cliffhanger in SASUKE 10, and again in 11 but this time still on the first ledge. Then, in his most recent three Third Stage appearances, he failed the Body Prop, each time earlier than before; in his last Third Stage attempt in SASUKE 16, he failed the obstacle within seconds of mounting it.
    • He remains the only competitor to attempt the Third Stage three or more times and never surpass/match his previous performance.

Results[]

SASUKE # Result Notes
2 90 Failed Burasagari Maruta (First Stage)
4 81 Failed Pipe Slider (Third Stage)
5 81 Failed Soritatsu Kabe (First Stage) Time Out.
8 61 Failed Rolling Maruta (First Stage)
9 81 Failed Wall Lifting (Second Stage) Time Out. First Wall. His time ran out when he finished the Gyakuso Conveyor.
10 961 Failed Cliff Hanger (Third Stage)
11 61 Failed Cliff Hanger (Third Stage)
12 81 Failed Rope Climb (First Stage) Time Out.
13 90 Failed Body Prop (Third Stage)
14 81 Failed Body Prop (Third Stage)
15 90 Failed Soritatsu Kabe (First Stage) Time Out.
16 90 Failed Body Prop (Third Stage)
20 1983 Failed Jumping Spider (First Stage)
21 93 Failed Flying Chute (First Stage)
22 97 Failed Soritatsu Kabe (First Stage) Time Out.
24 90 Failed Soritatsu Kabe (First Stage) Time Out.
26 87 Failed Double Salmon Ladder (Second Stage)
27 93 Failed Double Salmon Ladder (Second Stage) Both runs digested, G4 showed his Second Stage run.
28 76 Failed Rolling Escargot (First Stage)
33 41 Failed Quad Steps (First Stage) Transition to Rolling Hill. Shown on Navi.
37 61 Failed Wing Slider (First Stage) Digest.
40 3946 Failed Silk Slider (First Stage) Digest.

Gallery[]

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