Quad Steps (クワッドステップス) is a First Stage obstacle that was introduced in SASUKE 32 as the first obstacle, relocating Rolling Hill to the second obstacle. Similar to Godantobi and all of the obstacles that use its concept in the past, competitors have to traverse a series steps to clear this obstacle, with the number of steps on this obstacle being four, with the steps being covered with red mat and a bit of black shading on the edges of the steps. The width of the steps was later revealed via a 360Channel trailer for SASUKE 33 as 90 cm, 30 cm wider than Godantobi.
Similar to the Quad Steps in American Ninja Warrior 3, the first and third steps are originally placed on the right side from the competitors' view, while the second and fourth step are placed on the left side.
However, unlike the past obstacles to use this concept, this obstacle connects directly to another obstacle instead of a landing platform, making the transition between these two obstacles harder. A safety mat is placed between Quad Steps and Rolling Hill to catch competitors that roll down the hill. However, it is off limits to touch when transitioning between the two obstacles, though stepping on them unintentionally may not result to disqualification. Also, competitors are not allowed to skip a footing and only attempt either the left or right side of the obstacle or they will be disqualified, which is what HAYATE allegedly did during SASUKE 34, though this is unverified.
It is worth to mention that 'Quad', when Romanized into Katakana, can be written as クアッド (Kuaddo) or クワッド (Kuwaddo). Since the official term was written as クワッド (Kuwaddo), it will be used as it is then.
.png){kind=link}
Torisawa Katsuhide attempting Quad Steps
in SASUKE 32
There have been few minor aesthetic modifications to the obstacle. First, in SASUKE 33, the steps were now covered with black mat, removing all the red shading from the obstacle. Then, in SASUKE 34, the steps were now covered with light-blue mat and a red arrow was painted on each of the steps. Later, in SASUKE 38, the obstacle has a black towel placed on top of the steps, likely to make the obstacle easier to be cleaned due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
While the clear rate is very high with only a few competitors failing it per tournament, several notable competitors has failed this obstacle such as Kishimoto Shinya, Mori Wataru, Yamada Katsumi (who most likely would not have failed if the steps weren't slippery due to the rain that day), and Nagano Makoto (who most likely would not have failed if he did not apply too much adhesive spray to his shoes).
Other Appearances[]
Quad Steps[]
American Ninja Warrior[]
American Ninja Warrior 2's Quad Steps
American Ninja Warrior 3's Quad Steps
American Ninja Warrior 4's Quad Steps
The original incarnation of Quad Steps first appeared as the first obstacle in American Ninja Warrior 2 and American Ninja Warrior 3 in qualifying and semifinal, then in American Ninja Warrior 4 in every qualifying region. It is 26 feet (24 feet in American Ninja Warrior 4) across, each step is 3 feet wide, at a 45-degree incline, placed 4 feet (2.5 feet in American Ninja Warrior 4) apart, and is 6~7 feet between the centers of successive steps. The first and third steps was originally placed on the left, but was moved to the right since American Ninja Warrior 3 (similar to the Godantobi).
American Ninja Warrior 17's Quad Steps
In American Ninja Warrior 5, it was replaced by the Quintuple Steps in every qualifying city. After a twelve-season hiatus, the obstacle would reappear in both the qualifying and the semifinals round of American Ninja Warrior 17, incorporating the design from Home Run with an aesthetic modification in which all four steps were painted red along with a white star on each steps.
As a side note, the Quad Steps in American Ninja Warrior 3 is more commonly used for some international SASUKE/Ninja Warrior formats, including SASUKE.
During its overall appearances, the obstacle had taken out a lot of competitors, including:
- Jamie Rahn and James McGrath on their first American Ninja Warrior appearances during American Ninja Warrior 2's qualifying.
- Levi Meeuwenberg on his last American Ninja Warrior appearance during American Ninja Warrior 4's Southwest region qualifiers.
- Michael Needham during American Ninja Warrior 4's Northeast region finals.
- Jonathan Bange, Devin Harr, Marques Leonard, Mack Roesch, and Emily Keener during American Ninja Warrior 17's qualifying.
- Steven Bachta during American Ninja Warrior 17's Semifinals.
The obstacle's most dangerous appearance by far took place in American Ninja Warrior 3's qualifying round. The obstacle claimed a noticeably high amount of competitors that took on the course that season. Notable examples included Brett Sims, Andy Taylor, Brian Kretsch, Mike Moh, Kole Stevens, and more notably, Shane Daniels, Trevor Vaughn and Americus Abesamis. This was also the obstacle's most controversial appearance. Due to poor maintenance from the course staff, the steps became more coated as the qualifier went on due to previous competitor falls. In other words, the steps were significantly more slippery when earlier competitors failed the obstacle, causing several later competitors that ran the course that round to slip and fall as the obstacle was not properly being dried between competitor runs. Many competitors that ran have expressed frustration about this, as this poor maintenance caused many of their seasons to end unfairly early.
Ninja Warrior UK[]
Ninja Warrior UK 3's Quadruple Steps
Quad Steps appeared as the first obstacle in the finals' Stage One during Ninja Warrior UK 3 and was called Quadruple Steps.
Australian Ninja Warrior[]
Australian Ninja Warrior 2's Quadruple Steps
In Australian Ninja Warrior 2, Quad Steps appeared as the first obstacle during the semifinals and Stage One. Similar to its appearance in Ninja Warrior UK 3, the obstacle was called Quadruple Steps.
Quadruple Steps during the semifinals is the one similar to Quintuple Steps used in the Heats, albeit the first step is removed, requiring competitors to jump a greater distance towards the first step.
Ninja Warrior Germany[]
Ninja Warrior Germany 6's Quadruple Steps
The Quad Steps would also make an appearance in Ninja Warrior Germany as the first obstacle in various Heats, which was very similar to the one used in American Ninja Warrior 2 (since the first and third steps was originally placed on the left from the competitors' view).
Home Run[]
American Ninja Warrior[]
American Ninja Warrior 15's Home Run
After a ten-season hiatus, a variation of the Quad Steps returned in American Ninja Warrior 15 and American Ninja Warrior 16 as the first obstacle of the Runoffs round, the Semifinals round, Safety Pass races, and the racing portion of the American Ninja Warrior: Couples Championship 2.
The blue side of the course (leftmost) has the steps alternating from right to left, while the red side (rightmost) alternates from left to right. Each step was smaller compared to the original and redesigned to resemble a home plate, hence its name as Home Run. This modification was similar to the Godantobi in SASUKE Vietnam 2 or one of the Parkour Run modifications used in Ninja Warrior Poland 4.
The fact that each step was smaller, paired with the nature of a race against two competitors, increased the possibility that competitors would fail due to rushing. During the Runoffs of both American Ninja Warrior 15 and American Ninja Warrior 16, only five competitors failed the obstacle: Avery Glantz, Steven Bachta, Lindsey Darling, Amy Harski, and Caiden Madzelan. Madzelan was the only person to fail the obstacle in the Runoffs of American Ninja Warrior 16; everyone else failed in American Ninja Warrior 15. In the Semifinals round, only three competitors failed the obstacle: Dara DePoalo (in American Ninja Warrior 15), Lisa Hair, and Jay Flores (both in American Ninja Warrior 16). No one has failed the obstacle during the Safety Pass races of either season. During the American Ninja Warrior: Couples Championship 2, it shockingly eliminated Caitlyn Bergstrom-Wright.
The design of Home Run was later used for the Quad Steps in American Ninja Warrior 17 (see above).
Competitors' Success Rate[]
- All results based on the TBS/NBC broadcast and external information found.
SASUKE[]
| Quad Steps | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| SASUKE | Clears | Attempts | Percentage |
| 32 | 72 | 100 | 72% |
| 33 | 84 | 100 | 84% |
| 34 | 96 | 100 | 96% |
| 35 | 95 | 100 | 95% |
| 36 | 98 | 100 | 98% |
| 37 | 92 | 97 | 94.85% |
| 38 | 97 | 100 | 97% |
| 39 | 98 | 100 | 98% |
| 40 | 98 | 100 | 98% |
| 41 | 97 | 100 | 97% |
| World Cup 1 | 35 | 35 | 100% |
| 42 | 99 | 100 | 99% |
| Total | 1061 | 1132 | 93.72% |
American Ninja Warrior[]
| Home Run | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| ANW | Clears | Attempts | Percentage |
| ANW15 (Runoffs 1) | 3 | 4 | 75% |
| ANW15 (Runoffs 2) | 3 | 4 | 75% |
| ANW15 (Runoffs 3) | 3 | 4 | 75% |
| ANW15 (Runoffs 4) | 4 | 4 | 100% |
| ANW15 (Runoffs 5) | 4 | 4 | 100% |
| ANW15 (Runoffs 6) | 3 | 4 | 75% |
| ANW15 (Runoffs 7) | 4 | 4 | 100% |
| ANW15 (Runoffs 8) | 4 | 4 | 100% |
| ANW15 (Semi-finals 1) | 32 | 32 | 100% |
| ANW15 (Semi-finals 2) | 32 | 32 | 100% |
| ANW15 (Semi-finals 3) | 32 | 32 | 100% |
| ANW15 (Semi-finals 4) | 31 | 32 | 96.88% |
| ANW15 (Safety Pass) | 8 | 8 | 100% |
| Couples Championship 2 | 13 | 14 | 92.86% |
| ANW16 (Runoffs 1) | 3 | 4 | 75% |
| ANW16 (Runoffs 2) | 4 | 4 | 100% |
| ANW16 (Runoffs 3) | 4 | 4 | 100% |
| ANW16 (Runoffs 4) | 4 | 4 | 100% |
| ANW16 (Runoffs 5) | 4 | 4 | 100% |
| ANW16 (Runoffs 6) | 4 | 4 | 100% |
| ANW16 (Runoffs 7) | 4 | 4 | 100% |
| ANW16 (Runoffs 8) | 4 | 4 | 100% |
| ANW16 (Semi-finals 1) | 32 | 32 | 100% |
| ANW16 (Semi-finals 2) | 32 | 32 | 100% |
| ANW16 (Semi-finals 3) | 32 | 32 | 100% |
| ANW16 (Semi-finals 4) | 30 | 32 | 93.75% |
| ANW16 (Safety Pass) | 8 | 8 | 100% |
| Total | 341 | 350 | 97.43% |
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||