Vance Walker is making history for a second time.
On Monday, Sept. 9, the 19-year-old from Tampa, Fla. was crowned the first back-to-back winner of American Ninja Warrior during the season 16 finale of the hit NBC show.
Walker — who was born with a form of cerebral palsy — previously won season 15 of the show in September 2023
His win marks only the fourth time the million-dollar prize money has been awarded and the first time it’s been won in consecutive seasons of the show, which dares contestants to complete extreme obstacle courses.
Elizabeth Morris/NBC
“I’m forever grateful to have the opportunity to be out on these courses at all, let alone being the first to win it twice,” the teen said, per an NBC press release obtained by PEOPLE.
“Once again, in the words of Post Malone, ‘They said I wouldn’t be nothing, now they always say congratulations,’ ” he added.
“It feels amazing,” Walker added to NBC Insider about winning. “I’ve been so grateful to even be able to compete on the show in the first place with all the struggles that I’ve had growing up. I was born with cerebral palsy, and I never thought that I would even be able to walk without braces on my legs…”
Elizabeth Morris/NBC via Getty
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Walker — who was diagnosed with spastic diplegia which affected his legs at 18 months old — was crowned after climbing a 75-foot rope up “Mount Midoriyama” faster than the four other finalists.
The Texas-born competitor, who had to wear leg braces throughout his childhood due to his diagnosis, was up against Caleb Bergstrom, Nacssa Garemore, Kai Beckstrand and Noah Meunier. However, he managed to climb the rope in an incredible 27.6 seconds, which was a second faster than runner-up Bergstrom.
Walker, whose parents were told when he was young that he may never walk without braces, exhibits “extraordinary skill for his age group,” per the NBC release. He came third after making his show debut in season 13, and faced setbacks in season 14, but returned and managed to win season 15.
Elizabeth Morris/NBC
Per USA Today, Walker said season 16 was filmed shortly after his season 15 win.
“It filmed six days in a row,” he told the outlet. “It was three days of season 15 immediately into season 16. It was very tough to be able to go from that right in the next season.”
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After winning the 2023 show, Walker — who had previously dominated two seasons of American Ninja Warrior Junior — told PEOPLE that he wasn’t done competing.
“When I started watching the show, I never would’ve thought that I would’ve been able to win the whole thing, especially with having to wear those leg braces and struggling to work on things like flexibility and all that,” he said at the time. “But if you put your mind to stuff like that, you can do pretty much whatever you want.”
“No matter how many times I win, I’m still going to stick around. [I’m] still going to compete,” Walker continued, insisting, “I’m sticking around as long as I can.”
