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Pole Jump (ポールジャンプ), called Super Vault in English broadcasts, was the first obstacle of Third Stage in SASUKE 3 and 4. It was simply a pole with a fixed axis in a water pit that the competitors must grab onto and swing to a landing platform.

In its debut tournament, the obstacle is parallel with the overall course, with the landing platform noticeably higher than the starting platform. In the next tournament, the obstacle was positioned perpendicular to the overall course, resulting in a much smaller platform, with the starting and landing platform being modified with the same height. Overshooting the platform will eliminate competitors, which happened to Satō Shūsuke, the only competitor who failed the obstacle. In his case, he was strong enough to cross the gap, but lost his balance and fell off the course.

Despite having potential to be a deadly obstacle, it was replaced indirectly by Body Prop following Akiyama Kazuhiko's Kanzenseiha in SASUKE 4.

Yamada Katsumi attempting Pole Jump in SASUKE 3

Yamada Katsumi attempting Pole Jump in SASUKE 3

The obstacle was similar to Nirenbou, which would appear during KUNOICHI 2003 and KUNOICHI 2004's Third Stage, with the differences were the number of poles to swing onto (two poles) and the gap of the water pit which separated the platforms (the gap was smaller).

Other Appearances[]

SASUKE Ninja Warrior Indonesia[]

SNWI Pole Jump

SASUKE Ninja Warrior Indonesia's Pole Jump in Semifinal Stage 1

The Pole Jump appeared as the first obstacle during Semifinal Stage 1 on SASUKE Ninja Warrior Indonesia, which was similar to the one used in SASUKE 4. However, the obstacle is parallel with the overall course (similar to SASUKE 3's version), so that it was impossible to overshooting the platform.

American Ninja Warrior[]

ANW15 Pole Vault

American Ninja Warrior 15's Pole Vault

A modified version of the Pole Jump firstly appeared as the first obstacle in all episodes of American Ninja Warrior 15, American Ninja Warrior 16, and American Ninja Warrior: Couples Championship 2, replacing the Shrinking Steps from the past four American Ninja Warrior seasons. The obstacle was called the Pole Vault.

Competitors must run across a walkway, jump on a mini-tramp, latch onto the pole, climb up the top while it was tipping over, and dismount to the landing platform before the pole would dip them into the water below. Compared to the Pole Jump, the Pole Vault had the following differences:

  • Both the walkway and the landing platform were placed considerably lower, and the landing platform was placed at an angle. Thanks to this modification, some competitors who failed to reach the top of the pole would stretch themselves out on the pole, just barely avoiding touching the water, and crawl to the landing platform.
  • A mini-tramp was present as a medium for competitors to reach the pole.
  • The pole stood upright instead of leaning on the starting platform.
  • A cable was attached to the top of the pole, causing the pole to drop slower.

All of these differences resulted in competitors using a different technique to clear the Pole Vault compared to the Pole Jump: instead of competitors utilizing a good running start to forcefully tip the pole toward the landing platform, they primarily needed a good jump to reach the pole and a fast climb to avoid the water. The pole would naturally tip downwards as a result of competitors applying their body weight to it.

In its first appearance, it was proven to be surprisingly difficult as 32 competitors across all eight qualifiers failed it, including Yari Breunig, Jenedy Paige, Shane Scudder, Scott Bishop, Derek Doublin, Adriane Alvord, Megan Johnson, Sydney Yee, and Kristen Brickner. It is known that during the broadcast of ANW 15, many competitors tapped the water due to the pole being slick during previous competitor fails. It is also known that many of the competitors that failed it in ANW 15 ran later in the night, and production did not call for obstacle redos due to production needing to wrap up filming before sunrise. Thus explaining why there were a lot of eliminations on the obstacle overall, with most of which being completely cut from the broadcast. [1]

In its second appearance in American Ninja Warrior 16, it was slightly easier as it only eliminated 23 ninjas, though it did take out some notable competitors, such as Ryan Meeks, Izabella Adkins, and Christi Marie.

During the Couples Championship, it eliminated Chad Gordon, Cassandra Dortch, and Juliana Wilson.

Competitors' Success Rate[]

  • All results based on the TBS broadcast and external information found.
SASUKE Clears Attempts Percentage
3 6 6 100%
4 10 11 90.91%
Total 16 17 94.11%
ANW Clears Attempts Percentage
ANW15 (QF 1) 24 30 80%
ANW15 (QF 2) 24 28 85.71%
ANW15 (QF 3) 24 30 80%
ANW15 (QF 4) 27 29 93.10%
ANW15 (QF 5) 20 26 76.92%
ANW15 (QF 6) 26 30 86.66%
ANW15 (QF 7) 24 29 82.75%
ANW15 (QF 8) 28 29 96.55%
ANW16 (QF 1) 23 26 88.46%
ANW16 (QF 2) 23 26 88.46%
ANW16 (QF 3) 27 30 90%
ANW16 (QF 4) 28 30 93.33%
ANW16 (QF 5) 25 29 86.20%
ANW16 (QF 6) 27 30 90%
ANW16 (QF 7) 25 29 88.46%
ANW16 (QF 8) 29 30 96.66%
Total 406 461 88.06%

References[]

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