Daniel Gil (ダニエル • ギル) is a worship leader, singer, and trainer at Sam Sann's Iron Sports gym who first competed in American Ninja Warrior 7. Daniel is known for his long, curly hair, and is also known by many as the Kingdom Ninja.
American Ninja Warrior[]
American Ninja Warrior 7[]
Daniel first competed in American Ninja Warrior 7 (since he wasn't eligible to compete before) at the Houston qualifying course. He blasted through the qualifying course posting the fastest time of 1:30.78.
In the Houston finals, Daniel finished the first half of the course at an even quicker pace than he did in qualifying. He then demolished the Salmon Ladder and made a spectacular leap onto the rope to conserve grip strength on the Walking Bar. That strategy didn't seem to pay off though, as he lost his grip on the transition to the sixth ledge on the Crazy Cliffhanger. Daniel still placed 3rd overall and qualified for the national finals.
In the Vegas finals, Gil flew through Stage One, finishing with 38.44 seconds left. On Stage Two, Gil was the second competitor to run. He maneuvered through the first four obstacles with ease, but on the Roulette Row, he didn't reach for the second ring, and was unable to build up momentum, causing him to fall into the water. He ended up as one of the top rookies of the season, alongside Dan Yager and Mike Meyers.
American Ninja Warrior 8[]
He returned for his sophomore season in American Ninja Warrior 8 in Oklahoma City. In qualifying, he was the last runner, and he finished the course with ease, landing the second fastest time at 01:44.17, just one second behind Thomas Stillings's 01:43.51. It is also notable that the recording date (May 13) took place on Gil's 23rd birthday.
Gil even bettered his performance and dominated the city finals course, finishing the course in 1st place, punching his second straight trip to Vegas. He was also the only competitor in Oklahoma City to complete both city qualifying & final courses. He cleared Stage One for the second straight season, this time with 15.03 seconds left. He then completed Stage Two with 3.81 seconds remaining and advanced to Stage Three for the first time. On Stage Three, however, he failed the Ultimate Cliffhanger.
USA vs The World 3[]
After a superb showing in ANW8, he was granted a spot on Team USA in the third international competition.
Daniel competed in the first heat of Stage One and he flew across the course, finishing the course, and winning the heat for Team USA. He then ran in the second heat on Stage Two, where he got past the Giant Ring Swing that knocked out Karl Fow and made it to the Double Wedge, but he failed thereafter he took a huge jump on the first panel, resulting in the bar sliding down one side, and he ultimately lost the heat to Sean McColl.
American Ninja Warrior 9[]
Gil returned once again in American Ninja Warrior 9 looking stronger than ever. He blazed through the San Antonio qualifying course finishing with the fastest time of the night. He then repeated his stellar performance by defeating the grueling San Antonio city finals course, being the only athlete to do so. As such, he placed 1st and earned his third consecutive trip to Vegas. Overall, Daniel was one of just nine athletes who completed a city finals course that season. On Stage One, he cleared with 47.96 seconds left, the third fastest time on that season's Stage One. On Stage Two, his run was cut midway, but he surprisingly failed the dismount of Wingnut Alley.
American Ninja Warrior 10[]
Daniel returned in American Ninja Warrior 10, competing in Dallas as the last competitor of the night. He had an incredibly fast pace through the qualifying course, earning the fastest time of 1:40.79. In addition, he became the first competitor to ever complete the Mega Wall, winning $10,000.
In the city finals, Daniel was one of five finishers that night and was the fastest of the group for the third straight season. His run was also responsible for eliminating Jon Stewart out of the top 15.
On Stage One, he completed the course with 38.35 seconds on the clock, being the fourth fastest time on Stage One that season. Unfortunately, Gil was shockingly eliminated by just the third obstacle, Deja Vu on Stage Two.
American Ninja Warrior 11[]
Daniel returned for his fifth season on American Ninja Warrior 11 in Oklahoma City. He blazed through the qualifying course and cleared in 1:23.14, even getting up the Mega Wall and earning another $10,000. This turned out to be the fastest time, and he faced off on the Power Tower against 2nd place finisher Matthew Day. They were even until Daniel gained a lead when climbing up the pole, and hit the buzzer well before Matthew, earning the Speed Pass and qualifying for the national finals.
He still attempted the Oklahoma City finals course, where he once again completed the course with the fastest time. From there, he had a chance of winning the Trifecta (the ultimate combination of the Mega Wall, Speed Pass, and Safety Pass in the same season, similarly to Drew Drechsel). He was off against Kid Owhadi in a Student vs. Master competition on the Power Tower. They were even at first, until eventually, Kid got the edge at the end and won against Gil. In the end, Gil just narrowly missed out on the Trifecta.
In Stage One, he finished with 40.54 seconds left, making it the fifth consecutive season he completed Stage One, second only to Brian Arnold. The rock star continued his fast speed in Stage Two, clearing with 65.57 seconds left. He had not only the fastest Stage Two time this season but the second fastest of all time in American Ninja Warrior history, just behind Matt D'Amico in ANW14. In Stage Three, he completed the Ultimate Cliffhanger that took him out in ANW8 and eventually finished Stage Three, becoming the fourth person to ever complete Stage Three during the regular season. In Stage Four, he at first went at a decent pace, but he unfortunately started to slow down and he timed out at the 70-foot mark.
USA vs the World 6[]
Daniel rejoined Team USA after his superb performance in ANW11. He competed in the first heat of Stage Two. Despite a scare on the dismount of Giant Walk the Plank, he was otherwise flawless, finishing the rest of the course with a fast enough time to win the heat, getting Team USA three more points.
American Ninja Warrior 12[]
Daniel Gil returned for ANW 12 after his best season yet. Before his run, he said that he wanted the Mega Wall and the Power Tower. Aside from a slight stumble on Rib Run, he was otherwise flawless through the first five obstacles. Unfortunately, couldn't get the Mega Wall, but finished the course in 1:18:57. Sadly, his time wasn't enough to get him into the Power Tower. In the semifinals, Daniel yawned before The Dungeon, but still was able to complete it. He then breezed up the Spider Trap, finishing the course and placing 2nd, moving on to the finals. In the finals, Daniel had no issues on the course and finished the course for the third time this season, and placed 2nd once again behind Jake Murray, advancing him to the Power Tower playoffs
During the Power Tower playoffs, he beat Jesse Labreck in the first round. In the second round, he and Adam Rayl were neck and neck, and Daniel only beat Adam by 0.1 of a second. In the final matchup, he went against Austin Gray. Daniel was behind, but he took the lead on the Cliffhanger, and reached the buzzer first, winning the ANW12 trophy and taking home $100,000.
American Ninja Warrior 13[]
Gil returned for American Ninja Warrior 13 in the first episode of qualifying as the final runner. Unlike most of the veterans in the first episode, Gil showed no signs of struggle through the first part of the course. However, he ran into trouble on V Formation, where the ring was not fully lodged on the ascent, and it fell back down, knocking his grip loose and shockingly sending him into the water. However, despite this being the first time he failed on a qualifying course, he still placed 7th and advanced to the semifinals.
In the first episode of the semifinals, Daniel was once again the last runner. Looking for revenge after his shocking exit in qualifying, Daniel powered through the course and knocked Jody Avila out of the top 15. When he reached Split Decision at obstacle nine, he surprisingly went for the riskier Tuning Forks, even though he was well ahead of the fastest time and likely would have completed the Inverter. Nevertheless, he completed the obstacle and went on to complete the course with the fastest time by more than two and a half minutes, earning him a spot on the Power Tower for a chance at the Safety Pass.
Daniel was the heavy favorite to win on the Power Tower against Brian Burkhardt. However, in a shocking upset, Daniel accidentally released the bar when he reached the Salmon Ladder portion of the Power Tower. It took him a couple of attempts to get it back into place, and by the time he could do so, Brian had nearly finished.
Based on both external information and ANW itself, Gil, unfortunately, was unable to compete in Vegas due to testing positive for COVID-19, forcing him to withdraw from the competition. He was replaced with Jody Avila, due to him placing 16th in Gil's episode.
Gil did not compete on American Ninja Warrior 14 in light of the vaccine mandate applied to the show. He was shown on the virtual sideline during Isabella Wakeham's semifinal run without any mention as to why he did not compete that year.
Later, on social media, he confirmed that he would return in 2023.
American Ninja Warrior 15[]
Daniel returned for the third round of qualifying as the last runner. He flew across the course, being only the second to conquer Lasso Launch after Jody Avila and finished faster than 1:20, getting a shot at the Mega Wall easily clearing it and becoming the second ninja to conquer both types and the second to do it three times.
Gil raced Gary Weiland in the semifinals. As always, Gil blazed through the course, but his speed caught up to him, as he shockingly failed Sideways, marking the first time since ANW7 that he fell on a semifinal course. He was so far ahead of Weiland at the time that Weiland didn't notice that Gil had fallen until he reached Beehive. Gil ultimately survived a huge scare and advanced to the national finals as Weiland fell on Beehive.
Gil returned in the second round of the National Finals. His troubles on the course were few but he once again finished the course for a record sixth straight time moving onto Stage 2. There, he was up against Isaiah Thomas. Both of them cruised the first four obstacles before Isaiah ended up falling on Jawbreakers. That gave Gil the win, but he was looking for another buzzer on Stage Two, so he continued, before falling on the last shelf on Falling Shelves. Despite that, he once again moved on to Stage Three.
On Stage Three, he cruised through the early obstacles, and he was the second not only to complete the new Road Signs at the end but also became the second American to complete the course and advance to Stage Four twice. On Stage Four, he showed much improvement from ANW11, as he finished with 2 seconds left, being only the fourth competitor ever to complete Stage Four. However, his time was later beaten by Vance Walker, and Daniel ultimately finished as the runner-up. This is his best performance to date.
SASUKE[]
Upon the release of the competitors list for the tournament, it was then revealed that Daniel Gil competed in SASUKE 41, wearing number #92. All of his runs in the tournament were either digested (Second Stage) or mid-cut (First & Third Stage). He went through the First Stage at a slower pace, with him also having a slight close call on the Fish Bone, but still nonethenless cleared it with 06.27 seconds remaing on the clcok. On the Second Stage, Gil advanced at a solid pace and cleared it with 10.20 seconds remaing. On the Third Stage however, he was one of many to have failed the transition to the third ledge on the Cliff Dimension, with Gil mistiming the transition and then not catching the third ledge properly.
Other Appearances[]
Daniel Gil is featured in the docuseries Becoming the Ultimate Ninja.
Trivia[]
- Despite not being old enough to compete in American Ninja Warrior 6 (his 21st birthday occurred after the qualifying rounds were held), Daniel was frequently shown in the crowds during the Dallas qualifying and city finals courses in support of his trainer, Sam Sann. He was even shown in training at Sann's gym during his competitor profile video.
- Gil was the third competitor whose birthday occurred while running an ANW course, after Cheetah Platt in American Ninja Warrior 2, and Natalie Strasser in American Ninja Warrior 4. This would later be followed by Halei Jo Fuller (born April 13) and Brett Sims (born April 14) on the Miami qualifiers/city finals respectively.
- Gil married Abigail Rose Gonzales on December 21st, 2016.
- For his singing skills and especially long hair, he is known for bearing an uncanny resemblance to American songwriter/saxophonist Kenny G. He was occasionally referred to as "Danny G" by Matt and Akbar.
- Gil is one of only five athletes in American Ninja Warrior to have cleared the Invisible Ladder, the Elevator Climb, and the Spider Trap in the city finals (with Josh Levin, Ian Dory, Drew Drechsel, and Joe Moravsky were the others).
- Gil has the record for the fastest Stage Two time after Casey Finley's fastest Stage Two time in Season 5, as Gil finished Stage Two of American Ninja Warrior 11 with over 65 seconds left on the clock.
- Gil is the first ever competitor to have timed out on Stage Four on American Ninja Warrior, as he Timed Out on the Rope Climb in American Ninja Warrior 11. He would later be followed by Kaden Lebsack (twice), Josh Levin, R.J. Roman, Josiah Pippel, and Jay Lewis.
- Daniel has six consecutive finishes on Stage One with American Ninja Warrior 7-American Ninja Warrior 11, and 15 is now tied with Brian Arnold with 6.
- He and Drew Drechsel are the only group of Stage Three finishers to hit a City Finals buzzer.
- Gil is the first ninja (before being followed by R.J. Roman) to attempt all six stages of the show at least once.
- Daniel is the second ninja to conquer both versions of the Mega Wall after Jera Boyd.
- Daniel is the first ninja to complete Stage Four after failing two courses (Semifinals and Stage Two).
- He is the first ninja to be runner up three times in his career. Ironically, two of those times were with Drew Drechsel.
- He is the first competitor to clear similar obstacles Falling Shelves and Swing Edge.
- He is the second American competitor to attempt three different named versions of the Cliffhanger (Crazy Cliffhanger in ANW7, Ultimate Cliffhanger in ANW 8, 11, and 15, and Cliff Dimension in SASUKE 41), after Drew Dreschel.
- He holds the record for the fewest buzzes hit in a season for a ninja who has conquered Stage 4 with four.
Team Ninja Record[]
Season | Episode | Round | Heat | Opponent Team | Opponent | Result | Notes | Individual Record |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Team: Iron Grip | ||||||||
1 | 5 (Qualifying) | Round One | 3 (Anchor Run) | Lab Rats | Brian Wilczewski | Win | 1-0 | |
1 | 5 (Qualifying) | Round One | 4 (Sudden Death) | Lab Rats | Chris Wilczewski | Win | Chris fell at the Doorknob Arch. | 2-0 |
1 | 5 (Qualifying) | Round Two | 3 (Anchor Run) | Ninja Brittens | Geoff Britten | Win | Geoff fell at the Dancing Stones. | 3-0 |
2 | 4 (Qualifying) | Round One | 3 (Anchor Run) | Lab Rats | Brian Wilczewski | Win | 4-0 | |
2 | 4 (Qualifying) | Round One | 4 (Sudden Death) | Lab Rats | Brian Wilczewski | Loss | Daniel fell at the Ring of Fire. | 4-1 |
2 | 4 (Qualifying) | Round Two | 2 | Phoenix Force | Najee Richardson | Win | 5-1 | |
2 | 10 (Finals) | Round One | 3 (Anchor Run) | Storm Team | Joe Moravsky | Loss | 5-2 | |
2 | 10 (Finals) | Round Two | 3 (Anchor Run) | Team Ronin | Flip Rodriguez | Win | 6-2 | |
3 | 7 (Qualifying) | First Matchup | 3 | InvincAbels | Abel Gonzalez | Win | 7-2 | |
3 | 7 (Qualifying) | Final Matchup | 3 | Lizard Kings | Kyle Soderman | Win | 8-2 | |
3 | 12 (Playoffs) | First Matchup | 3 | Beasts from the East | James McGrath | Win | 9-2 | |
3 | 12 (Playoffs) | Final Matchup | 3 | Golden Hearts | Neil Craver | Win | 10-2 | |
3 | 16 (Finals) | First Matchup | 3 | Team Ronin | Flip Rodriguez | Loss | 10-3 |
American Ninja Warrior Results[]
ANW | # | Result | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
7 | Failed Roulette Row (Stage Two) | ||
8 | Failed Ultimate Cliffhanger (Stage Three) | Transition to 6th Ledge. | |
9 | Failed Wingnut Alley (Stage Two) | Transition to Landing Platform. | |
10 | Failed Deja Vu (Stage Two) | ||
11 | Failed Rope Climb (Stage Four) | Time Out. About 70 Feet Up. | |
12 | Champion | ||
13 | Withdrew | Did not compete due to testing positive for COVID-19. Replaced by Jody Avila. | |
15 | Total Victory | 2.01 seconds left. Failed Falling Shelves in Stage Two but was allowed to advance due to the format change. |
SASUKE Results[]
SASUKE | # | Result | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
41 | 92 | Failed Cliff Dimension (Third Stage) | Mid Cut. Second Transition. |
|
|
|
|
|
|