Shane Daniels (シェーン・ダニエルス) is a free runner who qualified for SASUKE 23 as the #7 qualifier through American Ninja Warrior, the United States's qualifying competition.
American Ninja Warrior[]
Shane competed in the first season of the show alongside his girlfriend (and mother of his child) Luvelle Mendoza. In qualifying, he put up a great performance as he coasted through the first four obstacles with little issue. Despite a miss on the Warped Wall due to rushing, he cleared the course in 51.5 seconds. He managed to repeat that performance in the semi-finals, where he managed to move at an even faster pace than in qualifying, even using a new technique on the Tarzan Rope, where he reached farther and skipped multiple ropes to clear much faster. He ended up clearing in 1:39.2 seconds, placing 9th overall and moving on. In the finals, he started strong, finishing the brutal first stage in 1:46.4 minutes, placing 6th overall. However, in the second stage, he had to restart the second obstacle due to losing his balance and touching the sand. Despite that, he managed to pull through and clear in 31.5 seconds, placing 7th and moving on to Japan.
In the tournament, he performed fairly well. Despite a close call on the Curtain Slider after almost tapping the water on the dismount, he managed to continue on. However, he struggled a lot on the Spider Walk portion of the Jumping Spider, and took two tries to summit the Soritatsu Kabe. He was shown to have made it all the way to the Tarzan Rope with two seconds left and timed out before he could attempt the obstacle placing 5th overall again.
He also earned a spot in SASUKE 26 via American Ninja Warrior 2. Despite coming off a wrist injury in qualifying that caused him to struggle on the Spider Walk portion of the Spider Jump, he managed to clear the course in 19th place overall. In the semi-finals, he blazed through the first six obstacles in 43 seconds (despite almost failing the Rope Swing and Cross Bridge), but was one of many to go out on the Salmon Ladder, after failing the trampoline jump up to the obstacle. However, he placed 11th and moved on to Boot Camp. He then managed to secure a place as one of the Top 10, returning to Japan for a second year.
In the tournament, he performed well again, managing to clear most of the obstacles. However, he struggled to gain his footing on the Jumping Spider, costing him valuable time. He managed to reach the Tarzan Rope with much more time on the clock than in SASUKE 23, but got a very low grab on the Rope Ladder and timed out at the top of the obstacle, just a few feet away from the buzzer. It's worth noting that he started approximately two seconds late, which possibly could've prevented him from hitting the buzzer and moving to Stage Two placing 6th overall.
After his impressive showings in the first two American Ninja Warrior tournaments, Daniels returned for American Ninja Warrior 3, with new footwear and a new mindset for attempting the obstacles. However, his new technique backfired on the very first obstacle, as he attempted to stay low on the Quad Steps, only to lose his footing on the slippery step and shockingly slide into the water, ending his run.
In American Ninja Warrior 4, Shane returned in the Southwest qualifiers after a disastrous exit last season. Shane used a different approach at the Quad Steps and managed to earn redemption on the obstacle, clearing the rest of the course quickly and hitting the buzzer with the 5th fastest time of 54.18 seconds. In the city finals, Shane made quick work of the first six obstacles yet again, but failed the Salmon Ladder for the second time in his career and was eliminated.
He returned for American Ninja Warrior 5 and competed in Venice. In the Qualifying Round, he flew through the qualifying course and ended up with the second fastest time. In the City Finals, Shane's run was all cut. For years it was speculated he fell on the Salmon Ladder again, but the truth was finally revealed by Flip Rodriguez on a Twitch stream. Flip explained in Shane's last run he was disqualified on the Domino Hill for incidental contact. They let him continue his run while they reviewed the video. Shane failed the Cliffhanger, which would've been enough to earn him a trip to Las Vegas. After Shane climbed out the pool, he was told that he was disqualified on the Domino Hill and that the rules state you were only allowed to use your feet when traversing them. He had fell forward past the obstacle and on the way down his knee and a hand grazed a domino. He has never come back after this incident.
Trivia[]
- Shane's stunt credits include The Maze Runner franchise, Spider-Man: Homecoming, and The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1 and Part 2.
Results[]
| SASUKE | # | Result | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 23 | Failed Tarzan Rope (First Stage) | Digest. Time Out. | |
| 26 | 83 | Failed Rope Ladder (First Stage) | All Cut. Time Out. |