Matthias Noirel Wins Eighth Edition of Ninja Warrior After Being a Finalist Three Times

The fourth time was the good one. After being a finalist three times in seasons 5, 6 and 7, Matthias Noirel wins the eighth edition of Ninja Warrior. “It’s totally crazy. I feel super happy. There’s so much work behind it all (…) I’m super proud of my performance,” he commented on TF1 after recording the best time at the Tour des Héros. Finalist with Jean Tezenas du Montcel and Clément Gravier, the only two winners so far of the show, the climbing teacher climbed the 23 meters of rope in twenty-three seconds and two hundredths, which therefore gave him allowed to lift the trophy. A title he dedicated to his grandfather, who died a month before the filming of this season last spring, and who had passed on this passion for sport to him. For 20 Minutes, Matthias Noirel looks back on this victory.

How did you feel when you lifted your trophy?

I felt a lot of satisfaction because the work finally paid off. I’ve been on the show for four years now, and especially this year, I’ve sacrificed a lot in my personal life to dedicate my time to training. So, it’s just amazing. I was so excited that I didn’t sleep for forty-eight hours after the win!

Who did you think of when you realize you’ve won?

I thought a lot about my family and, of course, my grandfather because it was a special season for me. I had dedicated it to him because he had left a few months before the start of filming. I also thought of my darling. She was there all the previous seasons and the year I won, she couldn’t come. I just wanted to call him and tell him.

You found yourself at the foot of the Tower of Heroes competing with the only two winners of Ninja Warrior : Jean Tezenas du Montcel and Clément Gravier. Aren’t they impressive because of their background on the show?

Of course they are! On the other hand, we train all year together, especially with Clément, we are really friends, we are a family of Ninjas as the years go by. So we’re less afraid, even if it’s not totally reassuring because we know everyone’s abilities even more. With Clément, we also do a lot of competitions together. We notably went to Washington for the Ninja Warrior World Championships. We faced the best.

During the final, do you still believe in your chances when you see Clément Gravier beating his own record at the Heroes’ Tower?

In fact, I say to myself: “everything is possible, I will get there, I have to”. I must not go to the rope with the slightest hesitation. I trained for months for this event. I was aware of my abilities but, with adrenaline, you don’t know what you are capable of doing more than in training. I really took my time at the start, took a deep breath, took off like a rocket and it did. But I really didn’t believe it at the time.

It was your fourth participation in Ninja Warrior. What do you think made the difference?

I think it’s the fact of having participated in international competitions, then the experience acquired during the previous seasons, my training. It’s really a set of things. During my first participation, I had finished 3rd and it was thanks to my sporting past. There, I really realized that the experience, the mentality in the face of stress, of trials, it really changed my state of mind.

We see your two competitors jump for joy when you break the record that Clément has just recorded at the Heroes’ Tower. Did it affect you?

It makes me so happy! We are not against each other. We are really a family of candidates and we are against the course, we absolutely have to manage to beat it. When we do not succeed, it is the defeat of all the candidates. There, it’s incredible that they react like that, it means that they have the right mentality and that, I didn’t doubt it for a second.

You have won 60,000 euros thanks to this victory. Projects ?

Next year, with my darling, we are going to Hawaii for five months and a month and a half to New York. We will take advantage of this experience to find incredible rooms so that I can train. I would also like to improve my English. My big project would be to create my Ninja Warrior room. But it’s still just a dream.

Are you considering trying your luck again at Ninja Warrior next season?

If they call me, I’ll come right back. It’s really something that I’ve always loved. And even if I won, I will gladly participate again to try to go as far as possible, as usual.