U of M student competes on American... — GOLDEN VALLEY, Minn. - It's down to the best of the best on this season of NBC's "American Ninja Warrior." Part two of the Las Vegas finals airs Monday night on KARE 11.
Eric Middleton was a finalist in season eight and nine and will have his American Ninja Warrior skills on full display in Monday's episode.
“It's really fun to go out there and test yourself in really unique and difficult ways,” Middleton says. “We're all just a whole bunch of kids who never really grew up and playing on the playground.”
Middleton, originally from Salt Lake, has been in the Twin Cities the past three years pursuing a Ph.D. in Entomology at the University of Minnesota. Yes, this ninja warrior studies bugs, and you better believe they inspire him on the course.
“For me I think insects are a great place to draw inspiration as an athlete. People always say they want to train like an Olympian or train like a Spartan,” he says. “We should be focusing on bugs.”
Middleton competes in Monday’s episode wearing a T-shirt that says, “Dung Beetle Strong.” He says the strongest animal on the planet right now, pound for pound, is Onthophagus taurus. He says the species of dung beetle can pull over 1,000 times its own body weight.
American Ninja Warrior already released Eric's run online, which shows him completing stage one. For Eric there's more to it all than just advancing to the next round.
“It's not necessarily about winning the whole thing. It's not the end result. It's really the journey of going there,” he says. “Enjoy the journey of going through this and getting to play around on all this cool stuff.”
American Ninja Warrior airs Monday night at 7 p.m. on KARE 11.