Where is Vance Walker now? 'American Ninja Warrior' Season 16 winner not ready to slow down after historic win
TAMPA, FLORIDA: 'American Ninja Warrior's' Season 16 has concluded with glory. Indeed, a winner of the $1 million reward was found—for the second consecutive year.
Vance Walker won the title of Season 16 Last Ninja Standing after completing the quickest time of the evening and a successful ascent of Mt Midoriyama. Being the first Ninja to win two seasons in a row, he creates history for 'ANW'.
After his historic win, Vance assured he would be back for more. In an interview with USA TODAY, he revealed, "I'm not done with the show, even though I've won it twice, even though I've certified my status. I love competing. I love this sport. I definitely want to come back as long as I possibly can."
In an exclusive phone conversation with TODAY.com, he stated, "I would love to be the first person to win it three times."
He decided to hang onto his $2 million prize from the previous two seasons for as long as possible, instead of following through on his original plan to purchase a Rolls-Royce in this economic climate. Vance revealed in a Zoom interview with DECIDER, "I might get another car. I already have my BMW convertible. A house would be nice. I thought that I had the money for that, but I guess I don’t [laugh]."
Vance and his folks enjoyed his victory together. Upon winning Season 16, his initial venture was to visit the hotel's Krispy Kreme and get a donut.
After enduring months of rigorous training and nutrition regimens, Vance's first impulse upon winning was to indulge in a tasty reward.
'American Ninja Warrior' Season 16 winner Vance Walker continues to train with diplegia and dysplasia
Although Vance appears to have an easy job given his rapid pace through "Ninja" classes, the teenager needs to put in twice as much work as his rivals to maintain his current level of performance. Vance must spend hours stretching before he even enters the gym to warm up his legs and prevent hip strain, which will result in an unavoidable recovery period from training.
"I have spastic diplegia in my legs, which means my muscles are very tight and twitchy, and it’s in both of my legs. It’s mostly affecting my calves and hamstrings and hips," he said.
In addition, Vance has hip dysplasia in one hip, which results in a slightly slanted hip that can lead to a variety of problems.
"That’s part of the cerebral palsy because when your bones are forming, the muscles were pulling them in the wrong directions, and they started to form off of where they were supposed to be, too. So these are things that affect me on a daily basis," he stated.
It is Vance who first admits to having experienced "a lot of failures along the way that would have been super easy to give up on."
Vance Walker credits his parents for 'American Ninja Warrior's historic win
Vance credits his parents's encouragement for his tenacious attitude.
"I could have accepted my defeat, but I wasn’t willing to do that. My mom never let me do that, too. She was always there for me to make me keep going. But yeah, I struggle with it every single day," he declared.
The attitude of "Whatever it takes," was instilled in him by his mother when he was growing up. With cerebral palsy as a child, Vance was never sure if he would ever be able to walk at all without the assistance of braces.
"(My braces) would have a certain level of tightness. (My mom) would get her own tool, tighten them even more when she wasn't supposed to. She would be pushing my legs and (asking), 'Does it hurt?' I would scream, 'Yes, stop!' And she would be like, 'OK, good' and push even farther," he noted.
Vance Walker shares bittersweet moment upon 'American Ninja Warrior' Season 16 win
Vance has once again created 'ANW' history in Season 16. In the rope climb to the summit of Mt Midoriyama, Vance beat Caleb Bergstrom's timing to win an additional million dollars and complete victory.
In the history of NBC's "American Ninja Warrior," this was the first time a ninja has ever won everything in back-to-back seasons. Vance remarked, "It was bittersweet," recalling his friend and training partner, Caleb.
"I won, and that was great, but to be honest, I was a bit disappointed because I wanted him to win it too."
