DOOR COUNTY (NBC 26) — At Door County Fire Company, Luke Filar's family and friends gathered to watch his American Ninja Warrior dreams finally come true.
- Friends and family at Luke Filar’s American Ninja Warrior Watch Party in Sturgeon Bay
- Luke Filar explain how exciting it is to finally see the episode air
- Filar's family describes the excitment of watching Luke in action
(The following is a transcription of the full broadcast story)
Last fall, Sevastopol High School cheered Luke Filar on as he left for Las Vegas to film the competition.
"I've been dreaming about this for so long. It's really amazing," Luke Filar said.
WE WERE AT THE AMERICAN NINJA WARRIOR WATCH PARTY, WATCH BELOW:
Rob Rankin, a family friend whose children are close with Luke, says it’s been exciting to watch everything unfold.
"It's very exciting to see something from such a little community become something so big like this. It is pretty cool to watch and especially since he's one of my kid’s best friends," Rob Rankin said.
Years ago, Filar watched competitors soar through the air on American Ninja Warrior, dreaming of becoming one of them.
He spent the next six years training splitting his time between the De Pere Ninja Warrior gym and a course he built in his own backyard before finally applying to be on the show at just 15 years old. His mom, Trisha, says it's been incredible to watch his journey unfold.
"Just so proud of him. It's so awesome to watch him living his dreams, and it's just such a fun journey. It's gonna be so fun to see where it goes," Trisha Filar said.
Everett Freimuth, one of Luke’s friends and someone he has trained, was in Las Vegas to watch him compete.
"It's a lot bigger than you see on the TV screen. It was really fun," Everett Freimuth said.
After his first American Ninja Warrior run, Filar says he's eager to get back on the track.
The thought of his family and friends watching from home made it even more meaningful.
"Just knowing that everyone's watching especially watching what I've worked so hard to do for the past six years is just super special," Filar said.
Though Filar’s run on American Ninja Warrior was brief, his athletic journey is far from over he’s now training with the USA Olympic pentathlon team and preparing for the Canadian Nationals.
