PROUD peinn ja By Andrea Louise Thomas Photos Yanni
Z
ak Stolz is the 2021 Australian Ninja Warrior champion. The 22-year-old gymnastics coach from Rye was furthest and fastest on a course that, this year, seemed impossibly difficult. In fact, it was so hard, no one made it to the very end to climb the ultimate obstacle, Mt. Midoriyama. With an ever-increasingly competitive field and ridiculously difficult obstacles, winning is remarkable. “Trying to bring all your training into one moment when the circumstances are overwhelming is hard. The mental composure to be able to use your physical prowess is the key to success,” Zak says. There are a lot of distractions with noise and lights and crowds. He learned coping methods as he became more experienced competing. Zak pointed out that the cameras don’t really capture the true scope of the course. The size and height of the obstacles and the distance between points are much greater than they appear on television. Combine this with the fact that the ninjas are not allowed to try the course before they compete and it’s a pretty daunting set of circumstances. “You’ve gotta be fearless,” Zak says.
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8 | PENINSULA
September 2021
Tens of thousands of people applied to be on season five of the popular Channel Nine show, but only 144 made it to compete. Through the heats, that number was rapidly narrowed. Just to make it on screen was a major accomplishment. From his first appearance in season three, Zak powered to the front of the pack and has done so every season. It was actually his grandmother who piqued Zak’s interest in ninja sport. She showed him American Ninja Warrior when he was about seven years old and right away he said, “I want to do that!” Zak was always athletic as a child. He started kinder gym at two and participated in a wide range of sports through his childhood and youth. Zak went to Rosebud Secondary College with Charlie Robbins, who won Australian Ninja Warrior in 2019. It was through Charlie that Zak got interested in gymnastics. At sixteen he started to train at Peninsula Gymnastics with coach Troy Cullen, who also competed on the show. Through the gym, Zak then met Ashlin Herbert (who competed in all five seasons). He convinced Zak to try out for the show. continued page 10...