Isaac Caldiero

Isaac Caldiero
Occupation	Athlete, rock climber

Isaac Caldiero is an American athlete and rock climber who competed on American Ninja Warrior in seasons five through seven. He is best-known for finishing all four stages of the National Finals course in season seven, winning a $1,000,000 cash prize and becoming one of the first two Americans (along with Geoff Britten) to achieve what is known as "Total Victory".

Caldiero first competed on American Ninja Warrior in season five, making it to the National Finals in Las Vegas. He successfully locked into the fourth obstacle of Stage 1, the "Jumping Spider"; however, he could not maintain his grip and fell before he completed the obstacle, later calling this a "wardrobe malfunction".

In season six, Caldiero performed well enough to again advance to the National Finals. He was able to complete Stage 1 of the Finals course, but failed on Stage 2's "Double Salmon Ladder", ending his season.

Caldiero returned to Ninja Warrior in season seven and again advanced to the National Finals. He became the first competitor to finish Stage 3; fellow competitor Geoff Britten also finished the third Stage and advanced to Stage 4 along with Caldiero. Britten and Caldiero both completed the Stage 4 rope climb in the allotted time; Britten ran first, while Caldiero ran second and completed the Stage with a faster time. Because Caldiero's climb was faster, he was declared the season's official winner, and he received the title of the first "American Ninja Warrior." Because Britten ran first, however, some fans and competitors considered him to be the first; Joe Moravsky stated: "In my opinion, Geoff is technically the first American Ninja Warrior and Isaac is the second. The only difference is Isaac climbed it faster so he gets the million and won the season." Caldiero, however, believed the dispute was unnecessary, saying "There is no distinction, it's the same title. There are pictures of me holding the trophy that says I'm the first American Ninja Warrior. I think they are trying to give him a moment too because he does deserve it, but as far as the rules go, there is one title. It's an all or nothing deal. If you look at other sports, if Michael Phelps beats everyone in the Olympics by a fraction of the second that’s the way it is, even if everyone else 'finishes the course'."

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