52-year-young Jon Stewart adds to American Ninja Warrior lore

One Jon Stewart is 51-years-old and is the host of the Daily Show — the other Jon Stewart is 52 and is the oldest contestant ever to complete an American Ninja Warrior Finals course. Which achievement is more impressive? Well, only one of the Stewarts can scale a 14-foot-high warped wall or navigate a suspended archway by grasping a series of rotating door knobs.

Jon Stewart (The Elder), a construction superintendent from Washington, Utah, was the first to complete the ANW Denver Finals course this past weekend after numerous other racers — some half his age — had failed. By doing so, he joined Kacy Catanzaro in making ANW history this season.

Jon Stewart has shocked Denver and become the first competitor over 50 to finish a City Finals course. AMAZING! #ANW pic.twitter.com/md5L5SrkQL

— Ninja Warrior (@ninjawarrior) August 6, 2014

Athletes in all sports have been competing at an elite level for more years than ever before. Last season, Ray Allen was a key member of the Miami Heat at age 38. This year, Adam Vinatieri is set to kick for the Indianapolis Colts at age 41. New Jersey Devils winger Jaromir Jagr is still skating hard at 42 years of age.

But three things set Stewart’s accomplishment apart; 1) he holds down a full-time job apart from obstacle racing, 2) a diverse, sometimes unrelated group of skills, must be mastered to complete an obstacle course, and 3) he’s a full freakin’ decade older than any of the aforementioned athletes!

Up next for the Willem Dafoe look-alike and mild-mannered quinquagenarian is Mt. Midoriyama in Las Vegas — an obstacle course no American has yet been able to complete.