Iliann Cherif (イリアン・シェリフ) is a French Rock Climbing coach and a competitive climber who as of now participated in Ninja Warrior France 6-8 and in Ninja Warrior France: Clash of Nations. In Ninja Warrior France, Cherif has made a major name for himself and is not only considered as one of the most skillful names in the modern era of the show, but also as one of the best athletes in the overall history. And while he is mostly known for his excellent rapid & grip strength and speed, he is also notable for his consistency and his notable successes in his seasons, as he managed reach the Final Stage (Tour des Héros) in both of his first two appearances, the Third Stage in all of his three appearances and achieved Total Victory on his newcomer performance in Ninja Warrior France 6, being the third ever participant of Ninja Warrior France to do so and also producing one of the best ever newcomer performances in the history of National/International SASUKE/Ninja Warrior formats. But despite all this, Iliann did not win said season, with him unfortunately completing the 23-metre high Rope Climb slower than the only other competitor who achieved Total Victory in that season, Clément Gravier, which meant that he would neither receive the winner cash prize of 100,000 €, nor the title of the second winner of Ninja Warrior France. Following his first three regular seasons, Cherif also was one of the representatives for Team France of Ninja Warrior France: Clash of Nations, in which he became one of three members of the team to make it to the Final Stage and produced the fourth best result there.
Outside of his home country, Iliann Cherif also was one of the representatives for Team France of the SASUKE World Cup 1 and then even got to participate in SASUKE 42 in the same year.
And apart from his Ninja Warrior career, Iliann Cherif is also known to have participated in the Elite Male division of the 2024 World Ninja League (WNL) Championships.
SASUKE[]
SASUKE World Cup 1[]
On July 10th, 2024, Cherif would be invited to represent Team France on SASUKE World Cup 1. He was the first runner of Heat 4, and the pressure got to him when his team were ranked second-bottom of the table after three heats. However, he made a brilliant comeback under pressure and cleared the First Stage in 99.07 seconds. Team France eventually moved on to the Second Stage, and despite not chosen to compete, his team was unable to advance to the Third Stage when his fellow teammate, Charles Poujade, would fall midway through the Spider Climb during his race and imposed a 20-second time penalty for his team, resulting their elimination from the competition.
SASUKE 42[]
On November 18th, 2024, upon the release of the official SASUKE 42 competitor list, it would be confirmed that Iliann Cherif participated in that tournament, being the sole French representative and wearing #90. His runs on the First and Second Stage were both digested in the TBS broadcast and were only shown in full on the Paravi footage. On the First Stage, Cherif had a pretty rocky start as he stumbled across the Quad Steps and then came close to skimming the water with his feet on the transition to the Rolling Hill. Following that, he progressed more cautiously and managed to clear the next three obstacle, including the new Screwdriver, without any huge trouble. And unlike on the SASUKE World Cup 1, Cherif had no trouble on the final three obstacles of the stage and scaled the Soritatsu Kabe in one attempt before clearing the First Stage with 11.06 seconds left. On the Second Stage, despite the rainy weather conditions, Cherif would have little trouble on the first three obstacles, including the Rolling Log which eliminated his fellow international Olivia Vivian. After that, Cherif decided to skip the Spider Drop (he was one of seven to so in the tournament) and almost slipped and fell into the water upon landing on the obstacle's dismount platform due to the slippery conditions, having a second close call along the way. At the end of the day, he managed to get past the rest of the stage with little issues and cleared the Second Stage with 8.27 seconds left. On the Third Stage, his run was mid-cut, but he was able to get past the modified Swing Edge. After that, he would go on to become the first ever foreigner to clear the functional version of the Cliff Dimension, and also ended up being one of four people in total to do so in the tournament. His valiant rookie appearance on SASUKE would sadly come to an end at the 1st Yellow Zone of the Vertical Limit Burst, where he was unable to hold on to the rotating ledge and quickly fell. He placed fourth overall in that tournament and the best run ever on SASUKE by a French competitor.
Ninja Warrior France Results[]
| NWF | Result | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 6 | Total Victory (05.58 seconds left) |
Third competitor to achieve Total Victory in Ninja Warrior France. Completed the Final Stage (Tours des Héros) slower (with a time of 26.87 seconds) than Clément Gravier. 2nd best of the season. |
| 7 | Failed Rope Climb (Final Stage) | Time Out. Pressed the button of the Final Stage with a time of 28.21 seconds. 3rd best of the season. |
| 8 | Failed Final Frontier (Second Stage) | First part Digest and Second part Early-Digest. Fell at the third orbit. |
| 9 | Failed Rope Climb (Final Stage) | Time Out. Pressed the button of the Final Stage with a time of 31.89 seconds. 3rd best of the season. |
Ninja Warrior France: Clash of Nations[]
| Competition | Stage | Round | Run | Result | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | First Stage | 4 | 1 | Clear (00:40.00 left) | Attempted the Mega Wall, but failed to complete it on his first and only try. Earned 6 points for Team France. |
| Second Stage | - | 13 | Failed Salmon Roll (01:39.25) |
Earned 0 points for Team France. | |
| Third Stage | - | 12 | Clear (00:58.91) | 3rd best of the stage. | |
| Final Stage | - | 1 | Clear (00:26.53) | Completed the Final Stage with the 4th best clear time overall. Won the competition with his team. |
SASUKE Results[]
| SASUKE | # | Result | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 42 | 90 | Failed Vertical Limit Burst (Third Stage) | Mid-Cut. 1st Yellow Zone (transition to the rotating ledge). |
SASUKE World Cup[]
| Competition | Stage | Heat | Run | Result | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | First Stage | 4 | 1 | Clear (99.07) | Earned 50 points for Team France. |
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