Ninja Warrior contestant Aiden Princena-White claims national gold, now Europe awaits

From Ninja Warrior finalist to pole vaulting champion to dog cartoon entrepreneur. Meet Aiden Princena-White, the 18yo jack of all trades who will be competing for European glory this summer.Photography: Casey Sims/ Athletic Australia

The 18- year old wonder won gold and two state titles at the U20 National Championships. Picture: Contributed

WHEN Aiden Princena-White took a four month break from pole vaulting to focus on his HSC, he had no expectation of doing well at the State Champs U20 and State Open Champs.

So after the 18-year-old Sydney sensation ended up winning gold in both state titles last month, achieving his personal best at 5.05m and subsequently earning selection to represent Australia in the upcoming U20 European tour, he was naturally taken by surprise.

“To then win the U20 Nationals Championships and to compete in the Open Nationals division against Olympian Kurtis Marshall and the best senior Pole vaulters in Australia and NZ, felt incredible,” the high flyer said.

Aiden Princena-White will be heading to England and Belgium after making selection to the U20 European Tour. Picture: Casey Sims/ Athletics Australia

But this is not the first time this local superstar has been recognised for his golden achievements.

The freshman uni student studying Cyber Security won the Rouse Hill Local Sports Star Award back in 2019 after just six months of pole vaulting and made his TV debut as a finalist on Ninja Warrior last year.

Aiden competed against his older brother Ethan, who also boasts a successful pole vaulting career, on the obstacle ridden show, and said he was proud to climb up the warp wall, push the buzzer and make it to the grand final.

“Competing in Ninja Warrior was exciting and a fun experience, I learnt that TV production includes a lot of late nights, filming delays, due to the rain,” he said.

The Princena-White duo are used to going head to head in their athletic careers. Both started out their sporting journey’s as gymnasts at the NSW Gymnastics High Performance Program where they trained more than 25 hours for six days a week over the course of four years.

“I would say I am more competitive than my older brother Ethan. Competing with my brother has its pros and cons,” he said.

The 18-year-old wonder won gold and two state titles at the U20 National Championships. Picture: Contributed

“Pros would be the support we give each other, win or loss. The cons would be that we are always compared against each other and Ethan being the older one, would have felt more pressure.”

But it's not all competition between the brothers. The pair also co-own a successful pet portrait business called ‘Perfectpawtraits’ to fund costly sports training fees and costly travel expenses, which Aiden says has been a great learning experience.

In 2017 Ethan suffered ongoing injuries from gymnastics, which forced him to cut back on training and resulted in a growth spurt.

The pair’s parents could see the toll gymnastics was taking on both Aiden and Ethan’s bodies and thought it would be best to find another sport.

“My older brother gave pole vaulting a go and he liked it. His coach suggested I should give Pole Vault a try too,” he said.

“At first, I didn’t really like it, training outdoors in winter and in scorching 30+ degrees heat and sometimes rain wasn’t fun.”

But Aiden kept at it, and from there, a star was born.

“I have always been a sporty child growing up as I was constantly involved with school and with my mates. Seeing that my dad (a former junior player for the Parramatta Eels) was such a great athlete has inspired me over the years to achieve highly in the sports I compete in,” he said.

With the help of his ex-Olympian trainer Zsuzsanna Olgyay-Zsabo, Aiden hopes to one day compete on the world stage himself representing Australia at the globe’s most prestigious games.

And he won’t have to wait for long. The student athlete just recently got the news of his selection to this summer’s U20 European tour where he will soon wear green and gold as he competes in England’s U20 Championships and later Belgium’s Mannheim International Gala.

“I think it helps when you have a coach who doesn’t have the mentality of ‘win at all costs’,’ he said.

“She has a wealth of knowledge and experience, is very supportive and as an ex-athlete she can also understand the frustration and struggles.”

“I have so much more to learn about pole vaulting. With the help of my coach, I will continue to work hard, stay focused and keep up with my strength so I can jump on bigger poles.”