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Not to be confused with Thread the Needle, which was a variation of Eyeglass Alley in Australian Ninja Warrior 6.

ANW15 Thread the Needle

American Ninja Warrior 15's Thread the Needle

Thread the Needle is an obstacle, firstly introduced as the eighth obstacle in Stage One on American Ninja Warrior 15, replacing the Fly Hooks and The High Road from the past two American Ninja Warrior seasons.

Competitors must hang onto a short cane that rests on a hook attached to a pendulum. After generating enough momentum by swinging back and forth, they must jump the cane into the center of a 1-foot (30.48-centimeter) diameter ring. Finally, they must lache to the Rope Ladder, which they must climb up to reach the buzzer. It is presumed that competitors are not allowed to grab the ring directly.

The obstacle was very brutal, especially considering that competitors typically had little time to complete it. There were many ways in which competitors could fail this obstacle:

  • A handful of competitors were unable to lift the cane off the hook in the first place. Brett Sims and Ramcis Valdez, upon realizing that they wouldnโ€™t have time to complete the obstacle, let go of the cane, falling into the water with seconds left on the clock. James McGrath and Karsten Williams, on the other hand, timed out while still trying to generate momentum with the cane.
  • Jody Avila and Elijah Browning seemed to have plenty of time but missed the jump into the ring.
  • Kyle Soderman, Brandon Thomas and Jonathan Bange successfully jumped the cane into the ring but ran low on time, attempting (and failing) last-ditch leaps for the Rope Ladder.
  • While Flip Rodriguez, Alex Romer, and Ben Behrends were able to clear the obstacle itself, they timed out on the Rope Ladder.
  • Four people failed the obstacle in interesting ways:
    • Grant Kiningham rushed his jump to the cane, pulling it off the hook immediately upon grabbing it.
    • Isaiah Wakeham was unable to lift the cane off the hook on his first attempt, losing his grip in the attempt. Although he ultimately fell into the water while the cane remained on the hook, this was the result of poor grip instead of a voluntary disqualification.
    • Bob Reese, like Sims and Valdez, failed to lift the cane off of the hook. Instead of simply falling into the water, Reese made a non-committal lache to the ring, grabbing onto it with one hand but letting go immediately afterwards.
    • Most shockingly, R.J. Roman fell on this obstacle when he completed the jump into the ring, but lost his grip. Thanks to his Safety Pass, he was able to complete the obstacle.

Overall, 16 competitors failed the obstacle, while 18 have completed the obstacle and advanced to Stage Two. It served as the cut-off for the top 24 to advance to Stage Two.

Other Season Appearances[]

American Ninja Warrior: Womenโ€™s Championship 4[]

Thread the Needle reappeared on American Ninja Warrior: Women's Championship 4, once again as the final obstacle of Stage One. A springboard was added at the edge of the starting platform to help with the leap to the cane.

It was more brutal than the regular season as out of 11 attempts, only three women managed to clear it. All of the women either lost their grip on the cane or couldnโ€™t hold on when swinging the cane into the ring. Only Isabella Wakeham, Taylor Greene, and Addy Herman (with Addy and Isabella both hitting their second straight Stage One buzzer in the womenโ€™s championship) could conquer the course and move onto Stage Two, with Taylor Greene having the fastest time.

American Ninja Warrior 16[]

Thread the Needle returned for American Ninja Warrior 16 as the final obstacle for Stage One once again. The obstacle saw far more success on this season, as 26 competitors completed the obstacle and ultimately Stage One. Only eight competitors failed the obstacle this time around:

Out of these competitors, Kiningham and Avila failed this obstacle for the second season in a row. However, Flip Rodriguez, Elijah Browning, Kyle Soderman, and James McGrath all got their revenge on the obstacle. Furthermore, all 26 competitors who completed this obstacle advanced to Stage Two. This was the opposite of American Ninja Warrior 15, in which the obstacle served as the cut-off for the Top 24.

Trivia[]

  • Thread the Needle is a fusion of Fly Hooks and Cane Lane.
  • Thread the Needle was part of American Ninja Warrior 15's habit of incorporating trends that originated or was popularized in local Ninja Warrior gyms; this obstacle relied on "cane tech," which originated in American Ninja Warrior 10's Cane Lane but gained more traction in Ninja gyms. Other obstacles that were part of this trend included Lasso Launch ("rope tech"), Jawbreakers (a form of "bear trap" obstacles), Pressure Cooker (known as "Operation"), and Road Signs.
  • Thread the Needle in American Ninja Warrior 15 knocked out the most ninjas with sixteen ninjas, which broke the record held by ten by both the Flying Squirrel and Twist and Fly marking the first time that the final obstacle of Stage One was the most brutal.

Competitors' Success Rate[]

  • All results based on the NBC broadcast and external information found.
ANW Clears Attempts Percentage
ANW15 18 34 52.94%
Women's Championship 4 3 11 27.27%
ANW16 26 34 76.47%
Total 47 76 61.84%
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