Team Europe is coming for the USA vs. the World trophy

USA vs. the World is almost here! On March 11, four teams made up of some of the best Ninjas on Earth will converge on the stage of the National Finals.

As we continue to approach Sunday night’s festivities, Ninja Warrior Nation is giving you a full slate of team previews to help prepare. You can check out Team Asia and Team Latin America or keep reading to see who Team Europe is bringing to Las Vegas.

Team Europe

This team has perhaps been the biggest rival to Team North America in past years of the show. Team Europe won the title in Season 7, but North America has managed to recapture the throne in two epic battles for Ninja supremacy. Let’s learn more about Europe’s line-up for the next chapter in this rivalry.

Team Captain: Sean McColl

David Becker/NBC

• Age: 29
• Height: 5’ 6 ½”
• Weight: 130
• Hometown: Vancouver, Canada

USA vs. the World experience:

• Season 6: Won Tie-Breaker for Team Europe
• Season 7
• Season 8

Ninja Warrior/Sasuke experience:

• Seven prior runs on USA vs. the World
• Ninja Warrior France

What you should know:

• Many successful Ninjas from Season 9 have a climbing background. But nobody can boast the same resume as Sean McColl. Team Europe’s captain is the #1 ranked rock climber in the world and is currently training for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
• We need two bullets to properly cover Sean’s Climbing abilities! Sean is a four-time Overall World Champion Climber with nine World Championship titles and 32 medals. McColl is a fierce competitor who knows how to win.
• Sean is no stranger to the Ninja course. He’s won four different heats in USA vs. the World competition and has quickly become one of the most recognizable names in this annual special.
• This long list of achievements is even more impressive considering Sean had exercise-induced asthma as a child, making it hard to just compete in sports-let alone become a world champion.

What the Captain had to say:

“Because this is my fourth year on American Ninja Warrior: USA vs. the World I believe I bring a lot of experience and I can also do Stages, 2, 3 and 4. The fact that in the first year Team Europe won and the past two seasons we haven’t won it really makes us really eager to bring back the trophy.”

Alexander Mars

David Becker/NBC

• Age: 30
• Height: 5’ 11”
• Weight: 163
• Hometown: Stockholm, Sweden

USA vs. the World experience:

• Season 7
• Season 8

Ninja Warrior/Sasuke experience:

• Sweden Season 1 and 2
• Sasuke Season 31

What you should know:

• Alexander has not only competed in two seasons of USA vs. the World, he’s also excelled on home soil. In Sweden, he made it to the Cliffhanger in Season One of their Ninja competition-the farthest mark of anyone.
• He’s also a pioneer for the sport, opening the first Ninja Gym in Scandinavia that could lead to a new wave of European All-Stars
• Mars already has a friendly rivalry with Team USA’s Drew Drechsel, as he finished one spot behind Drew in a National Ninja League event at Apex Nor Cal.
• Like ANW 9’s Kevin Carbone, Alexander has a knack for designing obstacles. He’s personally designed all the Ninja obstacles in his gym to help him train for competition.

What the Captain had to say:

“This is Alex’s third time coming back for Team USA vs. the World and he got much needed points in the previous years. I’m really excited to have Alex back on the team because he’s a very well-rounded Ninja. He can do Stage 1, 2, 3 and probably even the Rope Climb if need be.”

Ossur Eiriksfoss

David Becker/NBC

• Age: 27
• Height: 5’ 9”
• Weight: 165
• Hometown: Vagur, Faroe Islands

USA vs. the World experience:

• First time participating

Ninja Warrior/Sasuke experience:

• Team Ninja Warrior Denmark: Champion

What you should know:

• Although Ossur is a rookie to USA vs. the World, he is no stranger to entering Ninja competitions — and winning. Eiriksfoss participated in Team Ninja Warrior Denmark and carried his team to the victory, setting a course record in the process.
• Ossur has a strong gymnastic background. Inspired by his grandfather to compete, he’s represented national teams for both the Faroe Islands and Denmark. He earned a Northern European Championship for vault.
• Like his teammate Alexander, Ossur is doing his part to grow the community. He teaches at an adventure high school where he takes students cliff jumping, surfing, climbing and camping.
• As mentioned, Ossur is from the Faroe Islands, a small country that is part of the Kingdom of Denmark. He currently lives in a city with a population of just 4,000!

What the Captain had to say:

“We’ve reloaded with incredibly talented new athletes and we’re stronger than ever. Ossur is going to be a really good asset for Stage 1 because he competed in the Ninja Warrior of Denmark and he was super quick.”

Sergio Verdasco

David Becker/NBC

• Age: 21
• Height: 5’ 7”
• Weight: 152
• Hometown: Madrid, Spain

USA vs. the World experience:

• First time participating

Ninja Warrior/Sasuke experience:

• Ninja Warrior Spain
• Sasuke Indonesia

What you should know:

• Sergio is another rookie to USA vs. the World, but he still has plenty of obstacle experience. In Ninja Warrior Spain, he was the “Last Man Standing” reaching Stage 3’s famous Flying Bar.
• Like McColl, he is a professional rock climber who represents the Spanish National team at just 21 years of age.
• Because of his great upper body strength, Verdasco considers his best obstacle the Salmon Ladder-an obstacle he will hopefully get to face against the rest of the world Sunday night.
• While the Salmon Ladder is his best event, Sergio’s toughest challenge has been the Flying Bar where he has fallen in both his major Ninja competitions. He’ll look for redemption if he gets a shot at Stage 3.

What the Captain had to say:

“I’ve competed with Sergio. I’ve seen him out in the climbing community and kind of like me his skill set is very climbing based. He’s really good at pulling but he may be even better than me in that he can do pushing obstacles as well. Sergio is another really amazing well-rounded athlete and I’m pretty comfortable saying that he can do any of the stages.”

Team Europe will join Teams Asia, Latin America and North America in USA vs. the World, airing on Sunday, March 11. The show begins at 7 pm EST on NBC and will be a thrilling three hour special.