Freerunner agonisingly close to becoming first Ninja Warrior UK
Tim Shieff went further than any contestant has gone before on the ITV show’s course.
The fourth series of ITV show Ninja Warrior UK has ended with none of the contestants able to complete the final stage of its gruelling course.
Saturday’s final ended with freerunner Tim Shieff being crowned the last man standing after he went the furthest into the obstacle course, further than any previous contender has managed in the British version of the game show.
Shieff, 30, finally fell as he tried to navigate the last part of the course’s penultimate challenge – the flying bars.
The vegan athlete, who was originally born in the US but lives in Derby, fell backwards as he tried to make one last swing and face a showdown on the final challenge, a 22-metre rope climb known as Mount Midoriyama.
Hosts Ben Shephard, Chris Kamara and Rochelle Humes groaned with disappointment as Shieff tumbled into the water below him.
Had he not fallen, Shieff would have been the first contestant to attempt the final obstacle.
Speaking to Humes after his fall, Shieff said: “I’ve never done this obstacle before in my life. Each catch takes a lot out of you.
“Not only are you catching the bar, but you are stopping from rotating as well. It’s quite a unique muscle you’re using.
“I thought ‘let me just swing to the platform and I’ll go’. That was the last swing and all she wrote.”
It is the second time Shieff has won the accolade of last man standing on the show, after he claimed the honour in its first series in 2015.
He became only the second contestant to complete the crazy cliffhanger and spider dip obstacles on the final stage of the obstacle course.
Earlier in Saturday’s final, Deren Perez, 33, also accomplished the challenges, but he did not travel as far as Shieff in the flying bars challenge.
The coastal lifeguard, who is originally from Guam, promised “the training will go up” in preparation for next year’s series.
Shieff previously took part in the US version of Ninja Warrior, and was also involved in the filming of Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows, in which he played a Death Eater.
