Excerpts from the DailyHerald.com:

“American Ninja Warrior” is an individual competition that challenges elite athletes with a series of extreme obstacle courses requiring strength, speed, balance, stamina — and a certain willingness to sacrifice their bodies — until only the winner remains.

Aurora Firefighter Dan Polizzi and Streamwood Firefighter Brandon Mears have become known as “The Towers of Power” since they first met during a taping of the show’s fifth season in 2013. This year, for the first time, each made it to the national finals in Las Vegas. Their individual performances were taped in June for broadcast beginning Monday night.

They have competed on the program for seven seasons. But while Polizzi and Mears each have made it to the national finals in the past, this is the first time they qualified to compete in Las Vegas together. They are among at least six athletes from the suburbs, and 90 overall, to qualify for this year’s finals.

Starting Monday night and continuing for four weeks, America will see how the firefighters did in their quest to win the “American Ninja Warrior” title along with the $1 million grand prize.

Polizzi and Mears each set aside their Ninja Warrior dreams for years to focus on becoming firefighters. They had never met before they both got accepted for the show’s fifth season and competed in Baltimore. They’ve been friends and training partners ever since.

NBC announced the national finals will be shown during four episodes airing at 7 p.m. Monday, Sept, 2, Sept. 9 and Sept. 16. During the finals, the athletes face a four-stage obstacle course with challenges that get progressively harder, including the final 75-foot rope climb. The competitors are prohibited from sharing details about what happened. 

Tags: American Ninja Warrior, Aurora Firefighter Dan Polizzi, Streamwood Firefighter Brandon Mears