, later revived as Sports Danshi Grand Prix (究極の男は誰だ!?最強スポーツ男子頂上決戦) abbreviated as SpoDan (スポダン) was an annual program made by Monster9, the same company that produced series such as Kinniku Banzuke and SASUKE and broadcast on TBS TV.
Core installments
Pro Sportsman No.1 Ketteisen (1993–2009) The original series that began as a pilot in 1993. A group of professional athletes competes in a modified pentathlon or heptathlon of events that combine strength, balance, speed and general athletics.
Geinōjin Survival Battle (1996–2007) A spinoff of Pro Sportsman No.1 that retains the same general formula, with shorter overall runtimes and a lineup consisting entirely of athletics celebrities.
Sports Danshi Grand Prix (2012–present) A reboot of the series produced after the dissolution of former production studio Sportsman No.1, Sports Danshi Grand Prix features a mix of athletes, former champions and celebrities together. The series was retitled due to an ongoing legal dispute with former producer Ushio Higuchi and his studio GoldEggs.
Other series
Battle of the Four Kings (1995), Power Sportsman (1996) and Kairiki Battlefield (2022) A series of tournaments under the same core concept as Sportsman No.1, with the competitor pool made up of Sumo wrestlers and Strongmen.
Amateur Sportsman (1995-1996) A side series produced in conjunction with the Japanese Olympic Committee under the working title Clash of Olympians. In this case, amateur refers to athletes who are not being paid in professional leagues, rather than true amateur. The lineup is consistently most of current and former Olympians, and is widely referred to as "Olympian Sportsman" among fans.
Speed Sportsman (1996) A one-time special that featured exclusively high-speed events revolving around running. This tournament is notable for having the debut of the now iconic event Shotgun Touch.
Queens Challenge Battle (2002–2004) A women's spinoff of Sportsman No.1 that features a group of women taking on modified events.
Glory Sportsman (2010) A one-time special that featured a large lineup of 50 competitors attempting the Monster Box.
Noniku Battle Atamaccho (2012) A one-time special that featured a pair competing together on modified events that feature traditional Sportsman events mixed with intellectual aspects.
Strongman No.1 (2023–2024) Airing as a special during the final three specials of Honoo-no Taiiku-kai TV, Strongman No.1 saw seven professional athletes in different fields competing for the title. In addition, a team composed of four Taiiku Kai TV staff who competed alongside the professionals.
Winners
OverallSeriesOverviewDivisionSeasonWinnerNum of EventsScoreBroadcast1Pro— Yukio Tanaka513829 December 19932Pro1 Tetsuya Iida73451 January 19953Olympian1 —5—29 March 19954Olympian2 —5—5 October 1995EX1BFK—Koji Murofushi3—16 December 19955Pro2 Makoto Hasegawa65002 January 1996EX2Speed—Tetsuya Iida3110027 January 1996EX3Power—Nobuhiko Takada355017 February 19966Celebrity1 Daisuke Shima55782 April 19967Olympian3 Koji Murofushi32202 October 19968Pro3 Kazuo Matsui5692 January 19979Celebrity2 Kane Kosugi55602 April 199710Pro4 Koichi Ogata85501 January 199811Celebrity3 Kane Kosugi79501 April 199812Celebrity4 Kane Kosugi78102 October 199813Pro5 Tetsuya Iida73801 January 199914Celebrity5 Naoki Iketani662026 March 199915Pro6 Kane Kosugi73851 January 200016Celebrity6 Kane Kosugi668524 March 200017Celebrity7 Kane Kosugi644610-14 October 200018Pro7 Daisuke Ohata85801 January 200119Celebrity8 Shōei661423 March 200120Pro8 Koji Murofushi85651 January 200221Celebrity9 Shōei852227 March 200222Celebrity10 Masaru Nagai647627 September 2002EX4Queens1Yuko Mizuno220023Pro9 Daisuke Ohata86301 January 200324Celebrity11 Kinnikun Nakayama654431 March 2003EX5Queens2Yuko Mizuno325025Celebrity12 Naoki Iketani771526 September 200326Pro10 Taka Miura84551 January 2004EX6Queens3Yuko Mizuno324024 March 200427Celebrity13 Naoki Iketani75605 April 200428Pro11 Naoki Iketani84901 January 200529Celebrity14 Kinnikun Nakayama66008 April 200530Celebrity15 Kinnikun Nakayama529528 September 200531Pro12 Daisuke Miyazaki63751 January 200632Celebrity16 Kinnikun Nakayama655029 March 200633Celebrity17 Kinnikun Nakayama55854 October 200634Pro13 Paul Terek74701 January 200735CelebrityCB Wacky540530 March 200736Celebrity18 Wacky54555 October 200737Pro14 Daisuke Miyazaki74801 January 200838Pro15 Daisuke Miyazaki63953 January 200939 Special— Hirokazu Ōyama53407 January 201040Grand Prix1Gaku Sano534021 November 201241Grand Prix2Wataru Mori642311 April 201342Grand Prix3Mandy Sekiguchi648529 December 201343Grand Prix4Mandy Sekiguchi657523 December 201444Grand Prix5Gaku Sano640023 December 201545Grand Prix6Gaku Sano645010 October 201646Grand Prix7Mandy Sekiguchi43101 January 201747Grand Prix8Yuki Nomura546511 May 201748Grand Prix9Yuki Nomura533528 September 201749Grand Prix10—3—1 January 201850Grand Prix11Kaisei Takechi651022 March 2022EX7Kairiki—28 March 2022EX8Kairiki—7 August 2022EX9Strongman1Akihito Yamada421023 September 2023EX10Strongman2Taiiku-kai TV team425016 December 2023EX11Strongman3Akihiko Nakamura422016 March 202451Grand Prix12Kaisei Takechi43003 May 202452Grand Prix13Kaisei Takechi427014 October 2024EX12Taiikusai——3—31 December 202453Grand Prix14Yoshiyuki Yamamoto42702 May 202554Grand Prix15Yoshiyuki Yamamoto430021 December 2025
References