Vance Walker (‘American Ninja Warrior’) on how cerebral palsy may have actually helped him win $1 million prize: ‘I’m very quick and powerful’ [Exclusive Video Interview]
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“I had been training for that moment for so long,” says Vance Walker, the 18-year old who conquered Mt. Midoriyama and became the third man in “American Ninja Warrior” history to claim the $1 million grand prize. “To see that I had finally lived out my dream and won the show was just the most amazing feeling ever.” Watch our full video interview with champion above.
Season 15 started with over 200 ninjas in the competition, and ended with only 8 making it to Stage 4 of the Finals (the most of any season). In order to win the $1 million prize, you have to finish all four stages of finals AND be the fastest person to climb up Mt. Midoriyama (75 foot rope climb). Vance won by one second, climbing the rope climb in 26.75 seconds to edge out veteran Daniel Gil.
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As if Vance’s accomplishments weren’t impressive enough, the athlete nicknamed “Walker Texas Ninja” was diagnosed with a form of cerebral palsy at 18 months old called spastic diplegia. “I have to do a lot of stretching and physical therapy to maintain where I am,” he reveals. “I can’t make it any better than it is, but everything I do is to prevent it from getting worse. It already prevents me from ever being flexible, but I can keep it from getting tighter to the point where I struggle to walk.”
Vance says he is naturally gifted at the rope climb, which he attributes to what many could consider a weakness — his cerebral palsy. “The only good thing about cerebral palsy is that my muscles are super tight,” he explains. “I’m very quick and powerful. I might not have as much endurance as other people, but I have a lot of power. Luckily, you only have 30 seconds where you’re on the rope so I can do it very quickly. I’ve always been good at the rope climb.”
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