Split-second win as Ben Polson is crowned first Australian Ninja Warrior
It's taken 4 seasons but Mt. Midoriyama is conquered, by just a 1 second victory.
- Published by David Knox
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Ben Polson has broken a 4 year drought to be named the very first Australian Ninja Warrior.
Polson, 27 of Perth, conquered Mt. Midoriyama in 25.56 seconds, beating runner-up Charlie Robbins by just one second -scooping the $400,000 jackpot prize.
Mt. Midoriyama consisted of just one single challenge, to climb a 20 metre rope unaided in under 30 seconds.
But as Polson tells TV Tonight he had been preparing for the final stage for a long time.
“It almost sounds like TV magic with just one second but that’s honestly what it came down to.
“I trained rope climbs before Season Three, so I’ve been trying to get better and better for a couple of years now. All those hours I spent in the gym purely just doing rope climbing, there were many times where I’ve been thinking, ‘This is only going to come into play if I actually make it to Mt. Midoriyama.’
“That one second is all those hundreds of hours of rope climbs”
“My biggest regret in life would be to get to Mt. Midoriyama and know that I hadn’t trained enough. That one second is all those hundreds of hours of rope climbs over the past two years. At the end of the day one second is the difference between first and second place.”
Only 14 people in the world have scaled the dreaded tower. In third place was student Zak Stolz, as one of only 3 Australians to take on the almighty final stage of the Nine show.
Filming for the grand final finished just before dawn, and due to COVID-19, there was no audience aside from fellow Ninjas.
“It was dead quiet, a bit eerie,” he recalls.
“It felt more relaxed, almost like a training session”
“A lot of people prefer the crowd because they thrive off that energy. When you finish an obstacle, you get that big roar. But personally, I actually quite enjoyed the fact that there wasn’t a huge amount of people there. It felt more relaxed, almost like a training session where I could just really focus and not have to worry about everyone else and feel like I needed to cater for the cameras and the crowd. I could just completely focus on what I needed to do.”
One Ninja watching on and willing him to the top was girlfriend Olivia Vivian, the only female competitor to make it to the grand final.
“She had an amazing season, her best season ever,” he says proudly.
“I was either going to have a panic attack, or about to accomplish my life goal.”
“I’m glad that she was there because I really did need her support because I was quite mentally drained. To be honest, by the time I was standing at Mt. Midoriyama it was about 5:30 in the morning, and I was either going to have a panic attack, or was about to accomplish my life goal.”
The win was also a victory for the young man who turned to sport after being bullied at school.
“I was like a tall, lanky, very skinny with ginger hair. I played the trumpet in band camp, I did juggling and magic – the things I thought would get all the chicks. But unfortunately, it just got the attention of a lot of bullies. As soon as the teacher would leave the class I would immediately be the one that was picked on.”
“Kids ran up to me saying ‘It’s Ben Polson!'”
For Ninja Warrior he sported bleach white hair for all but one season. The colour turned out to be part of his TV persona, in a show where almost everybody has a defining characteristic.
“I had my ginger hair in Season 2, which was a very successful season for me. For the two months during and after the show not once did anyone ever recognise me -and that’s fine, I don’t care. As soon as I dyed my hair, that day I went to the shops kids ran up to me saying ‘It’s Ben Polson!'” he laughs.
Polson, who says he is tempted to return in 2021 to defend his title, will now enjoy the fruits of one of Australian TV’s biggest-ever wins, planning a trip to Japan with Olivia, as soon as restrictions allow.
“We love Japan and would love to go snowboarding, have a trip and eat as much sushi as we possibly can.
“I actually don’t have a car, so buying myself a car would be a good start. Making sure that my family is okay and the big portion will be dealt with in a very smart way and discussing with much smarter people than myself to make sure that it does last.”
7 Responses
The interesting thing here is, when Charlie reached for the button he missed, but connected on his second go. Ben won by one second. So it may have been a tie if not for the miss. But rules is rules so Ben wins.
Charlie won the 100k last year therefore I don’t think it’s a huge deal he didn’t get any consolation prizes. Agree with Zac though.
Another fantastic season and I’m in awe of so many of the contestants. Ben is a worthy winner and I’m sure some of that cash will go towards improving his already fantastic Ninja Academy here in Perth. I agree with Bogues that Zac and Charlie should have won some consolation prize for still conquering Mt. Midoriyama. I’ve also found a new mancrush in Matt Bowles. Brilliant job all round, Nine!
Was such an exciting final, was sorry to see the other finishers didn’t win something too, like the furthest fastest did last year, but glad we also have a winner this year, it’s a very hard achievement to do as a tough looking course.
Congratulations to Ben Polson, even though I was hoping the unassuming Charlie Robbins would win. What amazing athletes these guys are. Great show and no wonder this series has topped the ratings.
Really feel for Zac and Charlie who both made it to the top and received nothing for it. There should be a five figure prize for completing the course.
Yeah i fully agree , a measly 50K for 2nd and 25K would have been nice.