The fourth season of the sports entertainment reality competition series Australian Ninja Warrior premiered on 26 July 2020 on the Nine Network. The season is hosted by Rebecca Maddern, Ben Fordham, Freddie Flintoff and Shane Crawford.
Production
On 17 October 2019, the series was officially renewed for a fourth season at Nine's upfronts, also confirming Fordham, Maddern and Flintoff were returning. The series was again relocated, with filming taking place at Melbourne Showgrounds in Ascot Vale. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, production introduced audience lock-out, meaning members of the public could not attend as audience; only family members of contestants were allowed to attend. Co-host Rebecca Maddern, was temporarily placed in self-isolation and replaced by Shane Crawford for two heats, before being cleared and returning to filming. Crawford returned to the season as the sideline commentator for the semis and Grand Final after Freddie Flintoff had to fly back to the UK before coronavirus pandemic measures came into effect.
Format Changes
Power Tower - The Power Tower will see the two furthest fastest Ninjas from each heat and semi-final run go head-to-head side by side on an all new obstacle, climbing five 1.5m high steps, before a 2.35m leap to the first bar, travel 4.5m to the vertical pole, which they will slide down to an unsteady horizontal beam, move across a 3m beam to the next pole and climb 5.5m, then lache 1.75m to the horizontal ladder before leaping onto the platform and race to hit the buzzer. Advantages Heats - The winner will receive a 10-second time advantage into the semi-finals, meaning 10 seconds will be taken off their final time. Semi-finals - The winner will receive a second chance advantage into the Grand Final, meaning if they make a mistake during their run, they can re-run the course again.
Rounds
Underline represents the contestant who won the Speed Pass in the qualifying heats as a result of winning the head to head competition on the Power Tower.
represents the contestant who won the Safety Pass in the semi-finals as a result of winning the head to head competition on the Power Tower.
Italics denotes female competitors.
Episode 1
Heat 1
This episode aired on 26 July 2020. Only 6 competitors completed this course, with a large number of athletes bowing out on the Doorknob Drop. Returning athlete Ashlin Herbert received a 10-second advantage for the semi-finals, after beating Daniel Mason on the Power Tower.
Quintuple Steps Tic Toc to Net Bridge of Blades Doorknob Drop Double Squirrel Warped Wall
+ Rank Competitor State Time Furthest Obstacle 1 Ashlin Herbert VIC 1:26 2 Daniel Mason VIC 1:42 3 Zak Stolz VIC 1:58 4 Jake Baker VIC 2:25 5 Stewart Furze SA 2:38 6 Steve Taylor Madin VIC 4:06 7 Michael Mischefski VIC 1:20 8 Rhys Landwehr WA 1:48 9 Troy Cullen VIC 1:05 10 Chris Poppleton VIC 1:06 11 Ryan Solomon QLD 1:16 12 Matthew Matazita VIC 1:17 13 Josh O’Sullivan NSW 1:10 14 Dan Bird-Smith QLD 1:24 15 Cian Maciejewski NSW 2:02 16 Skye Haddy QLD 2:04
Episode 2
Heat 2
This episode aired on 27 July 2020. Only 2 competitors completed this course, with a large number of athletes bowing out on the Doorknob Drop. Returning athlete Ben Polson received a 10-second advantage for the semi-finals, after beating Olivia Vivian on the Power Tower.
Quintuple Steps Tic Toc to Net Bridge of Blades Doorknob Drop Flying Shelf Grab Warped Wall
+ Rank Competitor State Time Furthest Obstacle 1 Ben Polson WA 2:16 2 Olivia Vivian WA 5:53 3 Eddie Burrill QLD 3:16 4 Jack Martin QLD 1:06 5 Danielle Smith WA 1:07 6 Todd Smith QLD 1:12 7 Tom Nicholson VIC 1:13 8 Brendan Nachtigal VIC 1:14 9 Justin Flegler QLD 1:15 10 Nathan Burley QLD 1:21 11 Jade Genet QLD 1:22 12 Monika Siemonek QLD 1:34 13 Mel Armstrong VIC 1:35 14 Eloni Vunakece NSW 1:36 15 Sarah Blackmore VIC 2:03 16 Raphaela Wiget SA 2:13
Episode 3
Heat 3
This episode aired on 28 July 2020. Only 3 competitors completed this course, with a large number of athletes bowing out on the Bar Hop. Returning athlete Sam Goodall received a 10-second advantage for the semi-finals, after beating Matt Filippi on the Power Tower.
Quintuple Steps Butterfly Wall to Zipline Bridge of Blades Bar Hop Flying Shelf Grab Warped Wall
+ Rank Competitor State Time Furthest Obstacle 1 Matt Filippi QLD 1:17 2 Sam Goodall WA 1:38 3 Zed Colback WA 2:34 4 Alex Matthews WA 2:34 5 James Sayers VIC 1:44 6 Matt Laycock QLD 1:57 7 Nic Manning NSW 3:15 8 Harry Cole VIC 0:46 9 Rhys Menzel SA 0:54 10 Danial Wyles-Wall QLD 0:55 11 Luke Filippi QLD 0:56 12 Alex Bigg SA 1:10 13 Jarryd Sutton SA 1:11 14 Luke London VIC 1:12 15 Daniel Tolli VIC 1:30 16 Will Kelly SA 1:55
Episode 4
Heat 4
This episode aired on 2 August 2020. 10 competitors completed this course, with a large number of athletes bowing out on the Basket Toss. Returning athlete Charlie Robbins received a 10-second advantage for the semi-finals, after beating Bryson Klein on the Power Tower.
Quintuple Steps Butterfly Wall to Zipline Bridge of Blades Bar Hop Basket Toss Warped Wall
+ Rank Competitor State Time Furthest Obstacle 1 Charlie Robbins VIC 0:47 2 Bryson Klein NSW 0:48 3 Rainer Scheu QLD 1:01 4 Rob Patterson QLD 1:02 5 Mike Snow VIC 1:27 6 Fred Dorrington QLD 1:42 7 Michael Fisher QLD 1:47 8 Jordan Papandrea NSW 1:55 9 Zac Perillo VIC 2:21 10 Clem Vertigan VIC 2:36 11 Alexander Robinson NSW 1:37 12 Tony Torrisi QLD 2:02 13 Chris White WA 2:03 14 Donny Byrne WA 2:04 15 Paul Culloty QLD 2:14 16 Matthew Bowles WA 0:21
Episode 5
Semi-final 1
This episode aired on 3 August 2020. The top 12 competitors all completed the course. Returning athlete Zak Stolz received a second chance advantage for the Grand Final, after beating Jordan Papandrea on the Power Tower.
Snake Run Rolling Log Diving Boards Ring Toss Slingshot Warped Wall Barrell Roll Spider Jump Invisible Ladder
+ Rank Competitor State Time Furthest Obstacle 1 VIC 3:03 2 Jordan Papandrea NSW 3:43 3 Rob Patterson QLD 4:07 4 Mike Snow VIC 4:57 5 Troy Cullen VIC 5:12 6 Zed Colback WA 5:37 7 Todd Smith QLD 5:38 8 Eddie Burrill QLD 5:38 9 Stewart Furze SA 5:48 10 Sam Goodall WA 5:51 11 Alex Matthews WA 6:00 12 Jack Martin QLD 6:12
Episode 6
Semi-final 2
This episode aired on 4 August 2020. Five competitors completed this course, with a large number of athletes bowing out on the Slingshot. Returning athlete Charlie Robbins received a second chance advantage for the Grand Final, after beating Matthew Bowles on the Power Tower.
Snake Run Rolling Log Diving Boards Ring Turn Slingshot Warped Wall Barrel Roll Spider Jump Invisible Ladder
+ Rank Competitor State Time Furthest Obstacle 1 VIC 5:03 2 Matthew Bowles WA 5:15 3 Bryson Klein NSW 5:40 4 Fred Dorrington QLD 6:49 5 Olivia Vivian WA 10:17 6 Harry Cole VIC 6:51 7 Ben Polson WA 2:01 8 Alex Bigg SA 2:02 9 Jake Baker VIC 2:09 10 Rainer Scheu QLD 2:18 11 Ryan Solomon QLD 2:19 12 Rhys Landwehr WA 2:30
Episode 7
Grand Final, Stage 1
This episode aired on 9 August 2020.
Competitors had to complete Stage 1 within 3 minutes and 45 seconds to advance to Stage 2. Only 8 of the 24 semi-finalists managed to complete all the obstacles in time. Olivia Vivian became the first woman to advance to Stage 2 of the Grand Final in the history of the Australian competition.
Snake Run Rolling Log Balance Bridge Ring Turn Flying Shelf Grab Warped Wall Ferris Wheel Spider Jump Chimney Sweep
+ Rank Competitor State Time Remaining 1 Zak Stolz VIC 0:37 2 Mike Snow VIC 0:32 3 Jordan Papandrea NSW 0:19 4 Charlie Robbins VIC 0:13 5 Ben Polson WA 0:07 6 Olivia Vivian WA 0:06 7 Alex Matthews WA 0:05 8 Matthew Bowles WA 0:02
Episode 8
Grand Final, Stage 2
This episode aired on 10 August 2020. Contestants had 2 minutes and 15 seconds to finish the six obstacles that were Stage 2.
Rope Jungle Spin Hopper Salmon Ladder Unstable Bridge Wing Nuts Cat Grab Wall Lift
+ Rank Competitor State Furthest Obstacle Time Remaining 1Charlie RobbinsVIC0:22 2Zak StolzVIC0:15 3Ben PolsonWA0:09 4Matthew BowlesWA0:04 5Alex MatthewsWA 6Olivia VivianWA 7Jordan PapandreaNSW 8Mike SnowVIC
Grand Final, Stage 3
Unlike the first two stages, no time limit was imposed on the Ninjas to complete Stage 3. Completion of this stage resulted in progressing to Stage 4.
Hang Climb Body Prop Crazy Cliffhanger Floating Doors Flying Bar
+ Competitor State Furthest ObstacleCharlie RobbinsVICZak StolzVICBen PolsonWAMatthew BowlesWA
Stage 4, Mount Midoriyama Competitors have to climb up a single rope up 20 metres to the top of Mt. Midoriyama within 30 seconds. For the first time in 4 seasons, 3 people made the top of Mt. Midoriyama. They are allowed to hit the buzzer before fully completing the ascent to the top. + Rank Competitor State Time to ascend 2020 Season Result 1 Ben Polson WA 25:56 2 Charlie Robbins VIC 26:56 3 Zak Stolz VIC 29:80
Obstacles by episode
Heats Time Limit 1:50 + Heat 1 Heat 2 Heat 3 Heat 4 Quintuple Steps Quintuple Steps Quintuple StepsQuintuple Steps Tic Toc to Net Tic Toc to Net Butterfly Wall to ZiplineButterfly Wall to Zipline Bridge of Blades Bridge of Blades Bridge of BladesBridge of Blades Doorknob Drop Doorknob Drop Bar HopBar Hop Double Squirrel Flying Shelf Grab Flying Shelf GrabBasket Toss Warped Wall Warped Wall Warped WallWarped Wall
Finals + Semi-final 1 Semi-final 2 Grand Final Stage 1 Stage 2 Stage 3Snake RunSnake RunSnake RunRope JungleHang ClimbRolling LogRolling LogRolling LogSpin HopperBody PropDiving BoardsDiving BoardsDiving BoardsSalmon LadderCrazy Cliffhanger Ring TossRing TurnRing TurnUnstable BridgeFloating DoorsSlingshotSlingshotFlying Shelf GrabWing NutsFlying BarWarped WallWarped WallWarped WallCat GrabBarrel RollBarrel RollFerris WheelWall LiftSpider JumpSpider JumpSpider JumpInvisible LadderInvisible LadderChimney Sweep
Viewership
References