Karl Stefanovic slammed over ‘sexist’ comments about Australian Ninja Warrior

TODAY host Karl Stefanovic has been attacked by angry viewers after suggesting Australian Ninja Warrior use a different course for men and women.

TODAY host Karl Stefanovic has been slammed as “sexist” by angry viewers after suggesting Australian Ninja Warrior use a different course for men and women.

His controversial comments come off the back of Andrea Hah’s failure to qualify for the grand final despite making Ninja history as the first woman in Australia to make it up the Warped Wall.

It took six years for a woman in the US to achieve the same feat.

Andrea Hah made Australian Ninja Warrior history by climbing the warped wall. Picture: Nine

Disgruntled viewers have challenged Stefanovic to take on the course himself to see how he would fare if pitted against Hah.

And, in an online poll launched by the Today show, 88 per cent of respondents disagreed with Stefanovic’s sentiment there should be gender-specific courses.

The show again blitzed ratings, pulling an average national audience of 1.745 million in the five cities and an additional 716,000 regional viewers.

Although Hah admitted her failure to make the grand final was “disappointing”, she believes the course isn’t gender discriminatory.

“The course is equal for men and women,” she told News Corporation Australia.

“It’s about bodyweight so you’re actually at an advantage if you’re lighter. A female would have an advantage if anything.

Same course for men and women for sure! Like to see @karlstefanovic vs Andrea Hah. #NinjaWarriorAU

— Tegan Crisafulli (@TeganCrisafulli) July 23, 2017

WHYTHEF**K should the women have a different course to the men #NinjaWarriorAU KARL YOURE ARE A SEXIST #9today

— LA-LA (@donnae324) July 23, 2017

Feeling gutted for Andrea Hah, what a superstar! #ninjawarriorau

— Tee Pee (@tania_price72) July 23, 2017

“I’m 56kgs, so it’s easier for me to pull myself up than it might be for a 90kg man. I do think as a woman though you need to focus on upper-body strength so I do weights and strength work for that,” she added.

Far from being disappointed by her failure to quality, the Blue Mountains exercise physiologist is “pleased” with how she performed and is already in training to compete when the show returns next year.

To prepare herself, she is incorporating 2am training sessions to align with the show’s night-time shooting schedule, which sees ninjas attempt the course anytime between 8pm and 2am.

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Viewers were not happy with Karl Stefanovic’s comments. Picture: Channel Nine

Stars of Australian Ninja Warrior Andrea Hah and Lee Cossey pictured near their home in the Blue Mountains. Picture: Simon Carter

“Your body performs best when it’s used to performing,” said Hah, 30.

“So, if you’ve got a race at 6am then you should be training for it at 6am.”

Year-round, Hah spends three days per week outdoor rock climbing and an additional four hours on indoor courses. She also does weight and strength training at the climbing gym she owns with her boyfriend, fellow Ninja Warrior Lee Cossey, 34.

Andrea Hah competes in Australian Ninja Warrior. Picture: Nine

Andrea Hah shows off her phenomenal strength. Picture: Nine

After experiencing the rigours of the course and the tight turn-around between heats and semi-finals – for Hah there was only a day in between – she intends to take more time off work around the competition next year.

“I’d probably do things differently, so I didn’t have to race back and see clients in between the heat and semi-final. Ninja Island is about three hours from where we live so it was intense to be going back and forth,” she said.

However, the former gymnast won’t be going on any extreme diets or downing protein shakes to bulk up. “I’m not a fan of being really strict. I think everything in moderation,” she said.

Andrea Hah says she rock-climbs three times a week. Picture: Supplied

An average day for Hah begins with eating an egg on toast. Morning tea will consist of yoghurt and muesli, while lunch is most often a toasted vegetable sandwich. For afternoon tea she’ll eat nuts or hummus on crackers, and dinner will usually be a vegetable and noodle stir fry or vegetable curry with rice.

Andrea Hah and boyfriend Lee Cossey. Picture: Simon Carter

For environmental reasons, both Hah and Cossey limit their consumption of meat to once a week and refuse to cook it in the house.

Alcohol is kept to a minimum, and in an admission sure to make dieters weep, Hah revealed her washboard abs and athletic figure is the result of a frequently indulged sweet-tooth. “I eat chocolate every night,” she said.

Australian Ninja Warrior airs 7pm Monday and Tuesday on Nine