Yamamoto Shingo (山本 進悟) is a gas station manager from Tokyo. He is the only person to have competed in every SASUKE competition, and the only person to have attempted the first and second version of the Final Stage. He usually competes in his gas station uniform shirt and cap (always with Esso/Mobil branding); he has only competed without it three times (SASUKE 1, 4, and 28).
Much note is made of Yamamoto's career and personal successes. These include his promotions at the Hasegawa service station, where he started as a gas jockey in the 1st Competition. He became manager before the 6th and was announced as a district manager at the 17th. His personal achievements include his marriage after the 5th competition and the building of his home in Tokyo, complete with a Sasuke training course. He is also the only competitor to participate in all 28 tournements of Sasuke
Of the 28 tournaments he has entered, he has passed the First Stage 14 times, the Second Stage 11 times, and the Third Stage twice. He is one of only four competitors who have reached the Final Stage more than once. Despite his amazing record, he and Takeda Toshihiro are the only All-Stars to have never worn #99 or #100, though he has worn high numbers numerous times after SASUKE 3. Yamamoto also competed on Viking, failing the Swing Mast, the next-to-last obstacle in the first stage after his feet touched the water.
In the early years of the show, he was one of the people thought most likely to beat the course. He made it to the Pipe Slider in his second appearance, in SASUKE 3. In the 3rd Competition, he made it to the Final Stage for the first time and came up only about 4 meters short. InSASUKE 4 he struggled on the Rolling Maruta and painfully failed the Yureru Hashi. In the 5th Competition, despite having an injury on his left shoulder before the second stage, he was the only man to beat the second stage(with only around 0.3 seconds left) and to reach the third stage. He made it to the final obstacle, the Pipe Slider but failed the landing to the mat. He had paved the way for a 100% completion rate on the Second Stage in SASUKE 6 however he was to fall on the Rolling Maruta in Stage One.
In the 7th Competition, he was the only person to reach the Final Stage. However, his attempt ended almost immediately when he dislocated his shoulder just seconds after beginning the Spider Climb. In the 9th Competition, he returned to the 3rd Stage. He completed the main part of the Rumbling Dice, but landed poorly on the platform and fell off. In SASUKE 8 and SASUKE 10, he performed poorly, timing out on the First Stage's Rope Climb in both competitions.
Between SASUKE 11 and 17, Yamamoto consistently made it to the 3rd Stage. However, he never made it past the Cliffhanger, failing there in SASUKE 11 and SASUKE 12. In SASUKE 13 he would clear the first stage, but time out on the Wall Lifting.
In SASUKE 14 he would take revenge on the Wall Lifting and fail the Curtain Cling in the Third Stage. In SASUKE 15 he would barely clear the First Stage with 3.88 seconds left. In the Second Stage he cleared with the fastest time of 10.1 seconds. In the Third Stage he would fall early on the Body Prop which he had passed in the previous tournament. In SASUKE 16 he performed poorly as he nearly fell from the Sandan Rolling Maruta and Cross Bridge, and when he reached the Jump Hang his feet skimmed the water. In SASUKE 17 he would once again fall on the Body Prop.
Shin-SASUKE
During Shin-SASUKE (the era after Nagano Makoto's kanzenseiha), his results have been lackluster as he has failed the First Stage 5 straight times. In SASUKE 18, he made it far into the First Stage. But while trying to reach the net of the Flying Chute, his hand missed the rope, and fell into the water. In SASUKE 19, he showed decent speed (getting caught up in the Pole Maze), but landed poorly on the Jumping Spider and fell into the water.
In SASUKE 20, his run was perfect up until the Half-Pipe Attack. He reached the rope, but when landing, he failed to steady himself and fell off the side of the mat. In SASUKE 21, he avenged his defeats of the past two tournaments and made it back to the Flying Chute. He had plenty of time (almost one full minute), but did not have enough momentum to reach the net underneath the Flying Chute. Eventually, his foot grazed the water, and he was eliminated.
In SASUKE 22, again his run was perfect up until the Half-Pipe Attack. Again, he beat the main part of the obstacle, but fell into the water on the plank connecting the Half-Pipe Attack to the Soritatsu Kabe, apparently failing to notice that the path was angled differently from previous tournaments.
Finally, in SASUKE 23, Yamamoto was able to clear the First Stage. He added to this success by clearing the Second Stage with little time to spare. However, while attempting the Arm Rings, the Third Stage's first obstacle, Yamamoto reinjured his shoulder, and he gave up on the obstacle to prevent further injury.
Keeping his perfect attendance record intact, Yamamoto attended SASUKE 24. He performed well up until the Half Pipe Attack, an obstacle that has given him all kinds of trouble in the past. Yamamoto made a common mistake of failing to set foot on the Half Pipe Attack platform and retreating back to the wall, this happened twice until he finally landed on the platform. It took him several attempts to clear the Soritatsu Kabe and he knew he did not have enough time to clear the stage when he reached the Slider Jump. Moving very slowly through the rest of his run, he ultimately timed out before he could attempt the Rope Ladder. This brought Yamamoto's first stage failure count to 11.
Still keeping his perfect attendance record intact, Yamamoto went to SASUKE 25 and did the best out of the All-Stars in that competition. He had small struggles in the First Stage, but cleared with 6.85 seconds left. In the Second Stage, he showed the performance worthy of an All-Star on the first few obstacles. On the redesigned Balance Tank, he tried to jump midway through the track like he had done in previous tournaments. However, he couldn't grab the rope and failed. However, this is his first time Shingo made it the furthest out of the All-Stars since SASUKE 7 and his first time failing the Second Stage since SASUKE 13.
In SASUKE 26, Yamamoto wore #94 and was one of just three All-Stars to attend. During the tournament, he cleared the first two obstacles easily. However, on the Rolling Escargot, he lost his footing and shocking failed there. It was his earliest failure since failing the Rolling Maruta in SASUKE 6.
In SASUKE 27 Yamamoto wore #81. He took his revenge on the Rolling Escargot and made it all the way to the Spinning Bridge where he fell at the last Ball. He failed the very same obstacle in the next tournament, ending his SASUKE career (RISING is the retirement tournament for the All-Stars).
Biographical Info
Born: July 29, 1974 (age 38)
Home: Tokyo, Japan
Job: Gas Station Manager
SASUKE Competitions
Song: The Chickens Are Revolting, Chicken Run Soundtrack
First SASUKE 1
Last SASUKE 28
Total 28 Competitions
Best: SASUKE 3, Final Stage, Tsuna Nobori
Personal History
Of the 28 tournaments he has entered, he has passed the First Stage 14 times, the Second Stage 11 times, and the Third Stage twice. He is one of only four competitors who have reached the Final Stage more than once. Despite his amazing record, he and Takeda Toshihiro are the only All-Stars to have never worn #99 or #100, though he has worn high numbers numerous times after SASUKE 3. Yamamoto also competed on Viking, failing the Swing Mast, the next-to-last obstacle in the first stage after his feet touched the water.
Early Success
In the 7th Competition, he was the only person to reach the Final Stage. However, his attempt ended almost immediately when he dislocated his shoulder just seconds after beginning the Spider Climb. In the 9th Competition, he returned to the 3rd Stage. He completed the main part of the Rumbling Dice, but landed poorly on the platform and fell off. In SASUKE 8 and SASUKE 10, he performed poorly, timing out on the First Stage's Rope Climb in both competitions.
Between SASUKE 11 and 17, Yamamoto consistently made it to the 3rd Stage. However, he never made it past the Cliffhanger, failing there in SASUKE 11 and SASUKE 12. In SASUKE 13 he would clear the first stage, but time out on the Wall Lifting.
In SASUKE 14 he would take revenge on the Wall Lifting and fail the Curtain Cling in the Third Stage. In SASUKE 15 he would barely clear the First Stage with 3.88 seconds left. In the Second Stage he cleared with the fastest time of 10.1 seconds. In the Third Stage he would fall early on the Body Prop which he had passed in the previous tournament. In SASUKE 16 he performed poorly as he nearly fell from the Sandan Rolling Maruta and Cross Bridge, and when he reached the Jump Hang his feet skimmed the water. In SASUKE 17 he would once again fall on the Body Prop.
Shin-SASUKE
In SASUKE 20, his run was perfect up until the Half-Pipe Attack. He reached the rope, but when landing, he failed to steady himself and fell off the side of the mat. In SASUKE 21, he avenged his defeats of the past two tournaments and made it back to the Flying Chute. He had plenty of time (almost one full minute), but did not have enough momentum to reach the net underneath the Flying Chute. Eventually, his foot grazed the water, and he was eliminated.
In SASUKE 22, again his run was perfect up until the Half-Pipe Attack. Again, he beat the main part of the obstacle, but fell into the water on the plank connecting the Half-Pipe Attack to the Soritatsu Kabe, apparently failing to notice that the path was angled differently from previous tournaments.
Finally, in SASUKE 23, Yamamoto was able to clear the First Stage. He added to this success by clearing the Second Stage with little time to spare. However, while attempting the Arm Rings, the Third Stage's first obstacle, Yamamoto reinjured his shoulder, and he gave up on the obstacle to prevent further injury.
Keeping his perfect attendance record intact, Yamamoto attended SASUKE 24. He performed well up until the Half Pipe Attack, an obstacle that has given him all kinds of trouble in the past. Yamamoto made a common mistake of failing to set foot on the Half Pipe Attack platform and retreating back to the wall, this happened twice until he finally landed on the platform. It took him several attempts to clear the Soritatsu Kabe and he knew he did not have enough time to clear the stage when he reached the Slider Jump. Moving very slowly through the rest of his run, he ultimately timed out before he could attempt the Rope Ladder. This brought Yamamoto's first stage failure count to 11.
Kanzen Renewal
In SASUKE 26, Yamamoto wore #94 and was one of just three All-Stars to attend. During the tournament, he cleared the first two obstacles easily. However, on the Rolling Escargot, he lost his footing and shocking failed there. It was his earliest failure since failing the Rolling Maruta in SASUKE 6.
In SASUKE 27 Yamamoto wore #81. He took his revenge on the Rolling Escargot and made it all the way to the Spinning Bridge where he fell at the last Ball. He failed the very same obstacle in the next tournament, ending his SASUKE career (RISING is the retirement tournament for the All-Stars).
Yamamoto at the starting line, wearing his trademark uniform 'Gas station uniform shirt and cap'
Yamamoto with the fellow SASUKE All-Star Yamada Katsumi and Takeda Toshihiro during SASUKE 27
Yamamoto against Half Pipe Attack
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Sasuke All-Stars
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