See NJ Ninja Warrior’s epic barefoot run
The other day I wrote about how many New Jerseyans were representing in American Ninja Warrior nationals, trying for the ultimate $1 million prize. One of them was Jamie Rahn. He did not disappoint. He had one of the most amazing ANW runs in the show's history.
First, his back story. He grew up in Cherry Hill and loves obstacle athleticism so much he's appeared in multiple seasons on the competition show. In fact, in Colorado where he now lives, he runs a gym dedicated to the offbeat sport. If you saw the show you couldn't miss him. He was the one sporting green hair. Yes, green hair. When he competes on the program he takes on the persona of Captain NBC and dresses like a super-hero.
What he wasn't counting on in Monday night's performance was losing his one of his shoes almost immediately on his first huge vault. You'll see it all in the video. Instead of letting it throw him, he completes the next few obstacles with only one shoe. Then decides to shed that one too. Now barefoot, he beasts it towards the finish line where the final obstacle had him face the challenge of climbing a cargo net with only seconds to spare before hitting a victory buzzer. It was such an exciting run that not only was the crowd roaring ferociously, so was announcer Matt Iseman. He had the perfect line for this moment, screaming, "No shoes! No shirt! No problem!"
Not as lucky was Rachael Goldstein, another finalist from New Jersey. She's a 34 year old occupational therapist. She struggled on the first two obstacles. On the next one known as the Double Dipper (hey, that's perfectly named for New Jersey pensions!), her hands slipped and she went into the water, ending her season.
Abby Clark, Juda Licciardello and Chris Wilczewski are the other three finalists from New Jersey and they make their run next Monday September 3rd.
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