American Ninja Warrior has finally crowned a winner after seven seasons in which not a single incredible athlete completed the nearly-impossible obstacle courses.
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Isaac Caldiero, a 33-year-old professional rock climber, was dubbed the first "American Ninja Warrior" after completing all four stages and 23 obstacles of "Mt. Midoriyama" at the finals in Las Vegas, Entertainment Weekly reported.
Caldiero walked away with the $1 million grand prize, making history after 3,500 contestants over the last six years could never accomplish what he managed to achieve.
"Winning this event always seemed impossible," Caldiero reportedly said. "As the first 'American Ninja Warrior' I want to use this opportunity to inspire the world to find your impossible and conquer it."
In a surprising twist, Geoff Britten also completed the fourth and final stage of American Ninja Warrior's obstacle course -- and completed it before Caldiero. However, there can only be one winner and Caldiero completed the stage more than three seconds faster and was therefore crowned champion.
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Britten therefore finished as Season 7's runner-up.
American Ninja Warrior executive producer Kent Weed explained how having a victor might change the show going forward -- but only for the better.
"I think it only helps the show and it's only going to bring more viewers. They've done something nobody's done before, but can they do it again? You've seen it before with athletes, where people who have risen and gotten very far, and then disappeared. Will we have a repeat next season? And we're always adjusting the courses and making them more difficult," Weed told EW.
"And part of the uniqueness of American Ninja Warrior is the minute [contestants] see the courses, they start building them in their backyard. I think that's why we had success this year -- we didn't make a lot of changes to Stage 3. And Isaac basically built Stage 3 in his backyard from last season and worked out on it every single day. So he said, 'If I could just get to Stage 3, I can do it.'"
Weed explained it didn't just come down to endurance and strength, because Caldiero had also prepared for the challenges "in his head more than anything... Half of this is really mental."
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Because there were two winners in a sense this season, Weed admitted producers might look into giving out additional prizes if there will be more than one finisher again in the future.
As for what American Ninja Warrior viewers can expect next season, there will apparently be between 24 and 26 new obstacles with "a couple surprises planned," according to Weed.
About The Author: Elizabeth Kwiatkowski