The Ninja Warrior phenomenon may have cooled since the show’s monster debut in 2017, but one local family is still getting their fix every single day.
The Thomson family have a Ninja Warrior gym set up in their humble backyard in Werrington. The Thomsons built it so mum Sheri and teenage daughter Hannah could take their love for the action-packed sport to the next level.
In 2022, the pair travelled to Las Vegas to compete at the Ultimate Ninja Athlete Association (UNNA) World Series, however they didn’t quite get the results they wanted.
“2022 was our first time and we did not do very well,” Sheri told the Weekender.
“We did a big US road trip for three to four weeks prior to the competition and didn’t really do any Ninja or any training that whole time,” 14-year-old Hannah added.
However, when Sheri and Hannah hit the US for the second time in three years next week – things will be a lot different.
The duo will represent Australian once again at several major international Ninja Warrior competitions, which will take place in Anaheim in southern California.
Hannah will be competing in the Amateur division, while Sheri – who’s currently carrying a rotator cuff injury – will do her best in the Masters 40+ division.
“We are much better now than we were a couple of years ago,” Sheri said.
“We have been training really hard for this one. Last time it was just a bit of fun, but this time we are really giving it a go and want to do well.”
Off the back of a strict training schedule, Hannah – who will tackle the UNAA World Series Finals, the FINA Round of Champions, and Ninja World Cup – is feeling a lot more prepared this time around.
“I’ve definitely been training harder, but I’m a bit nervous as well,” the Mamre Anglican School student said.
“Mum and I train at a regular gym two to three times a week and then we run five or six days a week. When we’re not training on our rig in the backyard, we travel to a Ninja gym over in Tuggerah once every other week.”
But before the Thomson girls put on their green and gold kit to represent Australia, they’ll be clocking 11,000km over two-and-a-half weeks visiting Ninja gyms across the US to get into tip-top shape.
“We are starting the trip in LA and driving to Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, Oklahoma, Colorado, Utah, Nevada and then back to LA for the competitions,” Hannah said.
“I didn’t expect to like Ninja so much. I really like that it’s something that Hannah and I can do together while getting fit,” Sheri added.
Nathan Taylor
Nathan Taylor is the Weekender's Deputy Editor and Senior Sports Writer. He also compiles the weekly Chatter on the Box TV column. Nathan is an award-winning journalist, who has worked at the Weekender for a decade.