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WHITE BEAR/VADNAIS HEIGHTS PRESS
MAY 25, 2016 www.presspubs.com
Local grad competes on American Ninja Warrior BY BRUCE STRAND SPORTS CONTRIBUTOR
What ambitious young physical fitness fanatic wouldn’t want his name in the same sentence as “Ninja?" Mahtomedi native Leif Sandberg will be seen next month on American Ninja Warrior as one of the amazing athletes charging up warped walls, hand-walking peg to peg hanging high in the air, pushing skyward in a half-cylinder with their feet, and other torturous challenges concocted for the show. “It’s really nice after putting in two years hard work to get a call from NBC,” said Sundberg, who competed at regionals in Indianapolis on April 27-28 with teammates in their Ninjas United Club based in Buffalo. With close to 90 competitors, every run was filmed, to be edited for the footage that will appear on the June 13 episode. “You’re not all guaranteed to be on the show,” Sundberg said, “but it sounds like a lot of us (from Buffalo) will get some air time. They are asking for more footage and asking for more information.” The 2008 Mahtomedi
graduate was a soccer goalie and baseball first baseman for the Zephyrs. He played soccer at Bethel College, where he posted seven shutouts and ranked third in the MIAC in saves his senior season. Sundberg, 26, who majored in biology with pre-med emphasis, is a nuclear medicine technician, operating a mobile radiology unit to scan patients at rural hospitals. He lives in Northfield. He started training in earnest in April of 2014, two years after his college soccer ended. “I’ve always been a fan of the show, first the Japanese show, and then the American version,” said Sundberg. “I never thought I’d be able to do it myself.” What inspired him to take on the challenge was his mother, Glori, dealing with Alzheimer’s Disease. She passed away in 2013. There is no cure, but patients can slow the progression of the disease through medications, exercise and mental stimulation. “That was the turning point,” he said. “I had this epiphany that if my mother can battle Alzheimer’s, I can battle for this.” Sundberg remains devoted to fighting his
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mother’s affliction. While at Bethel, he worked on a research project examining the efficacy of herbal supplements and their effect on Alzheimer's-like symptoms in rats. At Mayo Clinic for his internship, he worked on a project exploring how to assist radiologists in diagnosing Alzheimer's with brain scans. He is a member of the Young Champions of the Alzheimer's Association. He is running a fundraiser, selling Ninja shirts from Mother’s Day through June 13, the day his episode airs, online at tinyurl.com/ninjaALZ. American Ninja Warrior enters its eighth season with the first of 10 episodes airing Wednesday, June 1, hosted by actor Matt Iseman, alongside ex-NFL player Akbar Gbaja-Biamila and reporter Kristine Leahy. The series, based on the long-running internation-
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Leif Sandberg, nicknamed “The Swedish Ninja” because of his heritage, trains and coaches at a gym called Ninjas United in Buffalo. His late mother Glori is his main motivation to compete, Sandberg said. He has started a fundraiser in her memory for the Alzheimer’s Association.
al Japanese hit "Sasuke,” will have 10 episodes, capped finals in Las Vegas featuring the top 15 from each city. Competitors test the limits of their endurance
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by trying to complete a series of “stages” of increasing difficulty. In a memorable duel last season, Isaac Caldiero beat Geoff Britten in the fourth “stage” to earn $1 million
and the title “American Ninja Warrior.” So, where does one train to be an American Ninja Warrior? Sundberg SEE NINJA WARRIOR, PAGE 5B
DEATH NOTICES
Beulah A. Richter (nee DeMars) Age 97 March 10, 1919 to May 19, 2016 Preceded in death by husband Vernon "Sarge" Richter; a sister and four brothers. Survived by children Darlene Newman, Roger (Betty), Merle (Vikkie), Arlen "Red" (Harriet), Dale and Karl (Debbie); grandchildren, great-grandchildren & great-great-grandchildren; brothers Delbert DeMars Sr. & Lloyd DeMars; sister-in-law Alvina DeMars and other relatives & friends. Lifetime member of the Women's Auxiliary of the Purple Heart. Mass of Christian Burial Wednesday, May 25 at 11:30 a.m. at St. Mary of the Lake Catholic Church, 4741 Bald Eagle Ave., White Bear Lake. Interment Fort Snelling National Cemetery. Visitation one hour before Mass at the church on Wednesday. Memorials preferred to donor's choice in lieu of flowers. Arrangements by Mueller Memorial, White Bear Lake.
Barbara Bade Barbara Bade, 66, longtime special education teacher, died May 17. A celebration of life memorial was May 21 at Donatelli's in White Bear Lake.
Robert F. Dotte Robert F. Dotte, 87, of White Bear Lake, died May 17. Mass of Christian Burial was May 23 at St. Pius X Catholic Church. Interment St. Mary of the Lake Catholic Cemetery.
Karen Jung Karen Jung, 69, of Mahtomedi, died May 10. Mass of Christian Burial was May 18 at Cathedral of St. Paul. Interment Ft. Snelling National Cemetery.
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