DOOR COUNTY (NBC 26) — Sevastopol sophomore Luke Filar has competed on American Ninja Warrior but he's not stopping there. Soon he'll be leaving his hometown to train with a goal of competing at the 2028 Olympics.
- Luke Filar a sophomore at Sevastopol High School describes his athletic journey
- Trisha Filar, Luke's mom talks about her excitement for Luke and this opportunity
- Luke competing at different events and training at ninja gym
(The following is a transcription of the full broadcast story)
NBC26 spoke with Luke Filar as he takes the next step in his career towards another major goal.
"I'm a little nervous but I'm kinda excited just to try something new and explore the higher level of pentathlon" Luke Filar said.
16-year-old Luke Filar has already accomplished a lot. He began his ninja training at 10 years old, and competed on the U.S Obstacle Course Racing team.
And recently was a challenger on an episode of American Ninja Warrior.
"I really enjoyed it and started doing competitions all around the Midwest and then that led to world ninja competitions" Filar said.
And now his new goal is the multi-sport pentathlon. It'll feature American-ninja style obstacle courses at the Olympics for first time in 2028.
"It's a lot of training, pretty sure it's gonna be training three to four times a day for an hour more" Filar said.
He'll train for six months, living at the Olympic training facility in Charlotte, North Carolina.
"We don't live in a big city here in Door County, so that's gonna be a different experience too, but I don't really know what to expect. I guess we'll find out" Filar said.
Though he'll be training almost all day the high school sophomore will still be making sure to keep up with his studies.
"I'm gonna start online school I'll just be fitting it between workouts" Filar said.
It's a major shift from the quiet of a Door County winter.
"I'm gonna miss him being here" Trisha Filar said.
Luke's mom, Trisha Filar says she's thrilled to see Luke take these next steps.
"I'm really excited to watch this opportunity happen for him" Trisha Filar said.
Some advice Luke has for other athletes is to make sure you're having a good time and a little competition never hurt anybody.
"There's no point in doing something you don't enjoy but having a little competitiveness in what you find fun, I think is awesome" Luke Filar said.
Luke will be moving to the Olympic training facility in Charlotte at the end of January. As for his episode of American Ninja Warrior that will air sometime in the late spring.
