Drew Drechsel

Drew Drechsel (ドリュー・ドレッシェル) is an American gym owner, American Ninja Warrior champion, and one of the most successful foreigners to ever compete on SASUKE.
== SASUKE ==
Dreschel made it to SASUKE 27 via tryouts in American Ninja Warrior 3. While in Japan, he made good time through the first half of the First Stage, but on the Half-Pipe Attack, he landed awkwardly on the log and tore his right ACL and MCL, his meniscus, and cracked his femur and chipped his tibia. He attempted to get up the Soritatsu Kabe, but he couldn't put pressure on his leg without causing himself serious pain and was forced to withdraw from the competition for his own health. He was the only American to fail the First Stage as the others cleared it.
He returned as the lone American representative and as the 2014 ASEAN OPEN CUP champion in SASUKE 30. In the sidelines he was dressed up as his idol Goku from Dragon Ball. Meanwhile, he was able to finish the First Stage with the 3rd fastest time (28.90 seconds remaining). In Second Stage, he beat the Unstable Bridge this time, but almost slipped at the end of the Spider Drop. He finished the course with the 2nd fastest time (9.45 seconds remaining), missing the fastest time by .55 of a second. In Third Stage, Drew beat the first 3 obstacles, but then fell on the Crazy Cliffhanger.
In SASUKE 31, he finished the First Stage with the second fastest time, though almost got eliminated on the new Rolling Hill. In the Second Stage, he finished the course. Controversy arose in the Third Stage when Dreschel used a new technique on the Crazy Cliffhanger in which he positioned his body to directly face the 4th ledge while still hanging on the 3rd ledge. He successfully made the transition to the 4th ledge and subsequently completed the obstacle, but was later informed by the production crew that his technique was unacceptable. He was disqualified, but was given another chance to complete the Crazy Cliffhanger. On his second attempt, which was shown in the broadcast, he used the traditional technique of doing a quick mid-air turnaround in the transition from the 3rd to the 4th ledges. He was unable to get a firm grip on the 4th ledge and failed.
He competed in SASUKE 32, wearing 93. His First Stage performance was quick as previously, however on the Soritatsu Kabe he noticed that it was wet and frosty, and took a lot of time to dry off his shoes and failed one attempt. He still managed to clear but with only 2.63 seconds remaining. After this, the remaining 7 competitors were told that they were to compete the next day as the slippery frosty conditions made it unfair and unsafe for them. Dreschel's Second Stage run was digested but he was shown to clear. In the Third Stage, he competed the first three obstacles with ease, and then completed the new Ultra Crazy Cliffhanger on his first attempt, being the first competitor to do so. However, the new Third Stage was redesigned so the Vertical Limit Kai is directly followed the Cliffhanger with no rest. Drew managed to grip on to the Vertical Limit, however immediately lost his grip and fell. He went the furthest of all competitors in that tournament.
In SASUKE 33, Dreschel competed wearing number 96. He stormed through the First Stage with a tournament high of 31.31 seconds left. His Second Stage attempt was also comfortable in regards to time, as he passed with 7.83 seconds remaining - a time only bettered by Morimoto Yūsuke. With this, Drechsel had returned to the Third Stage for a fourth time in succession, and although he was the only man to reach the Ultra Crazy Cliffhanger as well as successfully complete the first transition, he was unable to repeat his SASUKE 32 feat of hanging onto the moving ledge, as he went too late, with the moving ledge start to move up when he made the second transition, as a result he fell into the water. With the other remaining competitors only being able to make it as far as the Flying Bar, Drechsel finished SASUKE 33 as the competitor who went the furthest once again, thus becoming the fourth competitor to go the furthest two competitions in a row, after Nagano Makoto, Urushihara Yuuji, and Lee En-Chih.
Drew competed in SASUKE 34 as one of the two American representatives, (the other being Jessie Graff) wearing number 97, his second highest number to date. In the tournament, he finished the First and Second Stage with no problem at all, but on the Third Stage, history repeated itself as he failed the exact same place as last tournament, failing the transition to the third ledge of the Ultra Crazy Cliffhanger. This time, he went too early, with the ledge still moving down as he made the second transition.
He returned for a seventh time in SASUKE 35 wearing number 98, his highest number to date in SASUKE. Just like the past 5 tournaments, he finished the First and Second Stage with ease. In the Third Stage he managed to clear the Ultra Crazy Cliffhanger, the second time he cleared it. Unfortunately, he failed on the first ledge of the Vertical Limit, unlike SASUKE 32, he managed to get hold of the ledge and made it halfway before falling.
He returned for a eighth time in SASUKE 36, once again wearing number 97. He cleared the First Stage with the fastest time and he was looking to clear the Second Stage for the seventh consecutive time. But unfortunately he went down the ramp from the Backstream too fast and slid off the mat, resulting in a course out. They let him continue his run, but was disqualified after he cleared. He cleared with over 25 seconds left, which would have made him made him get to the Third Stage for the 7th time in a row if he wasn't disqualified. This was his first time failing the Second Stage in SASUKE, and he lost his streak of making it to the Third Stage.
Drew didn't compete in SASUKE 37, due to the fact that his wife is pregnant. This marked the first time that he hasn't competed in SASUKE since SASUKE 29.
== The crimes he committed ==
On August 4th, 2020, it was reported by various news outlets that Drew had been arrested following an FBI investigation on charges of child sex offenses. The next day, NBC announced they would sever all ties with Drew, which lead to removal of older seasons from NBC's Peacock streaming service, as well as re-editing of American Ninja Warrior 12 to remove his appearance. One notable change was the unexplained exclusion of the Power Tower in the first episode due to Drew placing in the top 2.
In short: He is a pedophile who is currently serving a prison sentence in jail. He fucked minors and he does not deserve to have a spotlight.
SASUKE Producer Masato Inui discussed the situation on twitter on August 5th, and made the following statement over several tweets:"There's a lot going on and it's disappointing. There's a guy who did something stupid... and that's that. I'm really sorry because they were a hero to many kids."It is presumed that Drew will not be permitted to return to SASUKE.
Drew is currently awaiting trial, which has been delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.