EXCLUSIVE | 'American Ninja Warrior': Winner Daniel Gil says 'ninja-killer' obstacle corkscrew made him 'nervous'
'American Ninja Warrior' Season 12 came to a glorious end. Daniel Gil, for the first time ever, walked away with the title of a champion and $100,000 cash prize. But it wasn't just a stroke of luck, months of hard work and training guided his passion to win the season, and helped him tide over the challenges on this NBC-backed show.
Over the weeks, it was clear that his strategies were in place and he was in it to win it. His clean runs are proof of it. Daniel made every second count. But even then there were obstacles along the way that shook his grit, gave him a tough time.
In a chat with MEAWW, Daniel opened up on three of the most difficult stunts/obstacles that took out several ninjas this season. Corkscrew, which was added as the eighth obstacle on semifinals night 1, was one such obstacle that killed the dreams of several ninjas. To successfully, finish the stunt, a ninja would have to hold on to a twisting and twirling wheel, which resembled a submarine hatch. Failing to do so, will drop them into a pool.
"I mean you can go back and watch, it was a ninja killer for sure. It took out so many ninjas in the competition," Daniel added. He elaborated that the dungeon obstacle was indeed another one that was a really tough one. "And then the last one is an obstacle called slam dunk where I mean you can imagine it kind of got its roots from basketball but it was such a difficult challenging course this year. I'm just glad I was able to make it through it."
Daniel admitted he was nervous about pulling these three obstacles off because he hadn't tried them before. The 'ANW' champ added that "for ninja warrior you never know which obstacles you're going to have on the course in front of you. And they change it every single year."
The 'American Ninja Warrior' Season 12 finale aired on November 4 on NBC at 9/8c. For more information, check your local listings.