Katsumi Yamada

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Born October 22, 1965, Katsumi Yamada is best known as a competitor on the Japanese obstacle course show Sasuke. He is 42 years old (as of 2008) from Harima, Hyōgo Prefecture, and is known as "Mr. Sasuke". Another one of his nicknames is "The Naniwa Terminator", for his resemblance to actor Arnold Schwarzenegger. He was once thought to be the most likely to complete the entire course, after nearly clearing the final stage in the 3rd competition. He is particularly notable for his unusual devotion to the Sasuke competition. He has sworn to retire several times after failing to complete the 1st Stage, but the draw of total victory is too great for him and he always manages to resurface again. Early on he competed with the support of his family, but after he lost his job prior to the 6th competition because the factory where he worked (as a propane tank delivery driver) was closed, he did nothing but train for Sasuke, alienating his family in the process. In the 10th Competition, Yamada was the only All- Star to complete the First Stage and the only one who made it to the Pipe Slider, however he failed the Pipe Slider and since then hasn't returned to the Third Stage. Since being disqualified in the 12th competition on the 2nd Stage, he has never completed the 1st Stage. He trains to the point that he has no full-time job, though over the years he has worked part time as a steelworker and a hot dog vendor.

Yamada has failed in some interesting, surprising, and painful ways over the years. In the 6th competition he made the swing from the Pipe Slider to the mat but lost his balance and rolled off the side onto the ground. In the 8th competition, Yamada had announced his retirement. He took on the 1st Stage, and ran out of time on the Warped Wall. Clearly emotional, Yamada just stood there in defeat for a few seconds. Then unexpectedly, he ran and climbed over the Warped Wall with ease and completed the Rope Climb quickly. It was a very emotional moment in Sasuke. In the 9th competition, Yamada timed out on the 2nd Stage on the Wall Lift. That's because he spent nearly 20 seconds removing tape he applied to his shoes for stickiness then applying sticky spray to his hands and feet in preparation for the Spider Walk. Without this, he would surely have cleared in time. In the 11th competition, Yamada fell on the Balance Tank, landing with one leg on each side before being rolled into the water. In the 12th competition, Yamada failed to remove his gloves after completing the Chain Reaction, a mental error which disqualified him. Since that disqualification, Yamada has failed to even pass the first stage in the following tournaments with a series of unique wipeouts and time-ups.

[edit] Sasuke

This is a list of all the competitions Yamada participated in, along with his number, the obstacle and stage where he was eliminated.

1st competition (92) - Failed Hammer Dodge - Second Stage
2nd competition (91) - Failed Spider Walk - Second Stage
3rd competition (89) - Failed Rope Climb - Final Stage
4th competition (100) - Failed Cliff Hanger - Third Stage
5th competition (100) - Failed Spider Walk - Second Stage
6th competition (99) - Failed Pipe Slider - Third Stage
7th competition (100) - Failed Rope Climb - First Stage
8th competition (100) - Failed Warped Wall - First Stage
9th competition (99) - Failed Wall Lift - Second Stage
10th competition (1000) - Failed Pipe Slider - Third Stage ¹
11th competition (100) - Failed Balance Tank - Second Stage
12th competition (98) - Disqualified on Spider Walk² - Second Stage
13th competition - Did not participate
14th competition (99) - Failed Jump Hang - First Stage
15th competition (99) - Failed Bridge of Blades - First Stage
16th competition (99) - Failed Rope Climb - First Stage
17th competition (100) - Failed Warped Wall - First Stage
18th competition (73) - Failed Rope Ladder - First Stage
19th competition (91) - Failed Jumping Spider - First Stage
20th competition (1999) - Failed Jumping Spider - First Stage³

¹In the tenth competition, the numbers were 901-1000 to signalize that 1000 contestants attempted the course. Yamada's number under the normal system would be 100.

²Yamada completed the 2nd Stage but was disqualified afterwards. For safety reasons, competitors are required to wear gloves during the first obstacle, the Chain Reaction. They must remove these gloves before the Spider Walk (They might remove them in the Brick Climb). Yamada forgot and wore the gloves through the entire stage and was disqualified.

³In the twentieth competition, the numbers ranged from 1901 to 2000 to indicate that 2000 competitors have attempted Sasuke. Under the normal system, Yamada would have been number 99.

[edit] Other events

On the show, Viking Yamada fell in the 1st Marine Stage on the Cannonball Run. The second time he made it to the button but was too late and did not advance to the 2nd Adventure Stage. He has competed in Family Viking with his son. Although they didn't complete the 1st Marine Stage, they made it into the top 15 and advanced to the adventure stage. Unfortunately, they timed out and were eliminated.

When he was 30 years old and still had his job, Yamada appeared on Kinniku Banzuke (a.k.a. Unbeatable Banzuke on G4). He competed on the Quick Muscle event against Kohei Asano (who was the reigning champion of that event). He got off to a quick start, but began to tire and take very long pauses, which led to a loss, and Asano retained his title.