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One of the winners set a new Eliminator record
Gym owner Amanda Wah and gymnastics coach Joe Fishburn have been crowned the winners of Gladiators 2025.
Wah, from Warrington, and Fishburn, from Scarborough, beat their female and male contenders to triumph in the final of the competition broadcast on Saturday on BBC One.
The gymnastics coach had a six-second head start on his fellow finalist, east London youth worker Mus Dumbuya, as they went into the Eliminator.
Fishburn went on to set a new record by finishing the course in 0.55 seconds.
In the women’s competition, Aneila Afsar, a supply teacher from Manchester, had the upper hand in the final Eliminator battle – having earned a 1.5-second head start from their previous events – but was beaten to the finish line by Wah.
Speaking to co-host Bradley Walsh, Wah said: “That one’s for you, mum. This has been the best experiences of my life – unbelievable.”
She added that the 11 weeks of being tackled and pushed by the “superhuman” gladiators was like being on “work experience”, calling them the “biggest, fiercest, strongest people but also extremely supportive”.
“They are professionals and they don’t want to hurt anyone, they care and it’s amazing,” Wah continued.
Fishburn paid tribute to his grandmother, Christine, who brought him up after his mother died when he was two years old.
He said he would put the trophy on his “grandmother Christine’s mantelpiece”, and called the experience “definitely the best thing I’ve ever done”.
Fishburn added: “We were in an amazing final, and I felt like I already won coming into this process but obviously it’s always nice to complete the whole thing and take the win.
He told co-host Barney Walsh: “I have absolutely no words, I just want to say I couldn’t be happier to do this with someone like Mus, it means the world to me and Christine, this amazing woman brought me up from the age of two when unfortunately I lost my mum.
“Mus is an amazing opponent, contender, friend, everything he does is so amazing and it was an honour to be in the final with him.”
Gladiators was revived last year on the BBC, with army officer Finlay Anderson and personal trainer Marie-Louise Nicholson being crowned champions.
The show was on ITV for eight years until 2000 before being axed, and came back on Sky for a short run from 2008 to 2009.
This year, the Gladiators Live Tour will make its global debut across UK arenas.
If you missed tonight’s final, you can catch up on BBC iPlayer.
Published: 2025-04-12 18:00:00 | Author: [email protected] (Ryan Price) | Source: MEN – News
Link: www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk
Tags: #won #Gladiators #gym #owner #gymnastics #coach #crowned #winners
