I will never forget the name Mark Ortega. Yes, he got the win but it's not about that, it's about the fact that he never gave up even though it looked like Bam Bam had the win in the bag. Nothing short of a damn inspiring moment and a textbook testament of how life should be lived.
I have forgotten how awesome this Eliminator was. What more could you ask for both men. I could never ever take anything away from "Bam Bam" one arm alone he gave it his absolute best but it looked like Mike Ortega was not to be denied. About all this was by far the greatest moment in American Gladiators history. LOng live the show and it's legacy!
This is without a doubt, the most amazing, sensational, awe inspiring, incredible, unbelievable, and in all other ways, inconcievable ending in sports history. Seriously, name ONE event/finish in sports that is better than this, you can't.
3:55 YES!!! Way to go, Mark! You DID IT! Season 3 (1991-92) was, by far, the best season in American Gladiators history. And after 30 years, it's still glorious.
@@Dman3827 I agree with you! Referee was dead wrong! Remember earlier Referee refused to award Kimberly Lentz 10 points in the maze because he knew Kimberly escaped the maze before the clock hit zero!
Same here. I was rooting for Bam Bam and was disappointed that he didn't win, but man you HAVE to be impressed by that flying leap Mark Ortega made at the end.
I remember watching this whole season during the summer of 1993. I was rooting for Joe the whole time until this episode. I just got sick of his cocky attitude and ended up cheering for Mark.
I was cheering for bam bam throughout the whole series when I watched it during the summer of 1993 but I started getting sick of him being cocky and arrogant and I cheered for Mark this episode.
Here's something that will make you feel more sorry for him: During Swingshot, the first event, Joe Mauro grabbed a yellow ball early in the game, but bounced it out of his scoring pod when he tried to get it home. That point would have given Joe Mauro another half-second head start, so had that ball gone in the pod, Mark Ortega's arm would have come up 0.48 seconds short of Joe Mauro crossing the finish line.
AHAHAHHA I have this saved on DVR when I saw it on ESPN Classic. BEST FINISH EVER. Bam Bam set the record in the eliminator at 41 seconds in the semifinals. Ortegas best was like 51 seconds, so with the head start there was NO CHANCE that Ortega would win. BUT HE DID. Epic fucking finish man.
Thank you for uploading this, it nearly brought a tear to my eye when I saw it(this episode was on last night). Ortegas entire family and kids rushing the Gladiator arena floor = the band is out on the field. Absolutely increible.
Am I the only one who noticed that the giant ball thrown to Bam Bam was thrown to Ortega but further away? He just had to run under while Bam Bam had to jumped away because it was thrown to his feet and not over his head like Ortega
Indeed. But the way Mark flung his body over and landed in the perfect position to win made this one more dramatic. When I first saw this many, many years ago, I was totaly convinced that Bam Bam won because he actually broke the tape first and I though that was the thing that warranted victory.
We taped this when I was a kid, and I swear we watched it every other month. The whole show. The women's side was good, too- the runner-up didn't pull off the comeback but she came from behind to win every match leading up to that one. Great show.
Sorry for my wording. I wasn't there during the taping. I watched it on TV when it first aired. I jumped so high at the end, that my head grazed the ceiling fan. A little higher, it would have been a true buzz kill! lol
Hey, some people have The Miracle on Ice, others it may be The Immaculate Reception. More recently, maybe you enjoyed Phelps swimming well a lot at the Olympics, or some soccer thing where some guy faked an injury and cried a lot to run out the clock and win. However, my favorite moment in sport is this one right here. I can say that because I have the big balls to say it, like at 1:07. That size. This isn't about country political nonsense nor is it millionaires playing a game (yeah, they didn't all make millions back then but you get the point), or some mutant pothead in water. Definitely not about overpaid actors feigning injuries to no end. This was two middle-class people trying to win big money (well, back when it was a lot of money) and big respect on the greatest alternative athletic completion of the generation, and in the most competitive season of the show's existence. It's like Spartan Race and Cross-Fit Championships rolled into one. It's like Sasuke/Ninja Warrior which is equally as awesome except people are trying to beat you up while you do things. These people were trying to recapture their athletic youth. In that sense, it's sorta has a hint of one of those fat people shows except on this show, you have to win and not vote people off. You are correct, rolochoshu, this is the defining moment of the series. Also, Kathy Mollica was hot. In addition to this, she was probably the best female contender on the show ever. Lastly, I want to say that the newer Gladiators show was awful. Thank you for your time. P.S.: "The Play" is #2 for me. The band was on the field for crying out loud.
Best finish and competitors of all time love there amazing wins there spirits of passion congrats Mark and bam bam deserves the runner up he also gave it all he got.
I remember watching this being so disappointed both my favorites lost. Bam Bam and Kimberly Lentz who always came behind in the Eliminator but couldn't that time. She always said "It's never over till its over". This was my favorite season.
Whenever I rewatch this finish, I always feel like Ortega somehow defied gravity to get from the last wall to the finish line. From this camera angle, it looks inhuman.
@1099filer ---- actually joseph nor brett were ever prosecuted or found guilty over anyones death. there was never a case against them for that. the girl who died, was a hard core partier. her time had come unfortunatly to an end because of HER partying ways
I can remember watching this show in the early 90s and “the eliminator” is the only event that I remember. And it was, if I remember correctly, the only event that took place in every episode…the rest of them changed from episode to episode.
This classic finish reminds me of the women's 400m finals in the 2016 Olympics, in which the Bahamas' Shaunae Miller pulled an Ortega-like dive and nipped the USA's Allyson Felix at the wire to win the gold.
And it has aired on CBS affiliate WLKY, 🦊 affiliate WDKY, the now-defunct CW affiliate WBKI (which carried the show as part of the station's 3-hour Saturday Afternoon block, serving as a lead-in to two hours of 🤼♂️ shows) and NBC affiliate WLEX, all in the state of KY, and has won Emmy Awards along the way.
I remember watching this in 1993. I was cheering for Joseph through most of the tournament, but I was starting to get annoyed by his bragging attitude and I cheered for Mark this episode.
Hands down that's the best eliminator I've ever seen I wish bam bam had won it but all it takes is a matter of inches I know there are no moral victories but in my eyes both men won.
In the gr8st Eliminator in AG history, three costly mistakes cost Bam-Bam the championship: 1. He stumbled up the first wall 2. He triped himself after climbing the first wall. 3. He slowed down the final straightaway, and that allowed Ortega to make a final burst in the final strech. Either way, it could of gone either way, but the better man won. Gr8 Eliminator!!
I remember watching this as a young kid & really disliking Joe Mauro, I’m now a 41 year old man & I still get pleasure from watching Joe Mauro foul this up 👍
This season also featured Kimberly who was awful in all the events but the eliminator and had to come from behinds. She made it to theses finals but inevitably lost.
Once again have been brought to RU-vid for this. Now looking back, if the Gladiator would’ve thrown the big ball at Ortega earlier, it would’ve cost him a fraction of a second and Mauro would’ve won. They may not have thrown it to give him a chance.
@Wacky Movie Clips & R S Notice that Bam Bam started on the left side in the Eliminator and chose the right side when doing the wall climb. If he stayed on the left side, he would have got the missed big medicine ball and won. That is if the Gemini was trying and not letting Ortega have a chance.
@Wacky Movie Clips Gladiators don't help contenders. Their purpose is being obstacles. The ball that was meant for Ortega likely stopped for a brief moment.
@Wacky Movie Clips No, you are wrong (again). The medicine ball thrown at Ortega *stopped* for a moment, and the gladiator had to push it again. It tends to happen. Gladiators are not allowed to help contenders. If they did, the whole race would've started all over again.
@Wacky Movie Clips You are like a broken record beyond repair. Each Gladiator had to throw their medicine ball once their respective contender got about halfway down. Ortega was too fast for them to keep up.
Undoubtedly one of the greatest moments in television history! Had Joe "Bam Bam" Mauro not struggled with the first wall, he would've cinched the championship.
tom i totally agree with what u just said about Coz he definately deserved credit but I think another contender who deserves credit is Tim Goldrick 1st half runner-up he pwned the competition and would've beaten Ortega if it hadn't been for that head start
There IS, however, one not-so good thing about this clip. The time it was seen in the Boston Area. Unfortunately, for this area, WBZ-TV aired Gladiators at 1am on Saturday morning. Hopefully, not as many markets did likewise. The clip seen here was too good for stations to air Gladiators at a bad time like 1am.
Man, I legit remember watching it the night it aired!!! I was 14 years old and didn't know I was gay yet but still crushed on the guy gladiators and their teeny weenies hahaha. Anyway, I was so excited at this photo finish! My sister was watching with me and one of her friends and they were all screaming because they had a crush on Mark Otega. I probably did too. Man, old school TV was the best!!!
Brilliant. You could call this either way you wanted really though; in 100 metre sprint (that isn't spelled wrongly I'm English), if you just stuck your hand over the line first like Mark did but Bam Bam was TOTALLY over the line first before the rest of Mark, crossed the line, would Bam Bam get it? I haven't got freeze frame on my phone so I can't run it frame by frame to see if that was what happened.
Actually, Coz lost to Ortega in the Quarterfinal, but his score was high enough to be in the wild card, but he lost to Tim Goldrick in the semis (who lost to Ortega in the finals). Bam Bam and Coz never competed against each other. Interesting enough, Mark and Bam Bam each beat the top seeds in both of their final round (Goldrick and Ghollar, respectively), and both of them wore grey throughou the rest of their round, but in the final round, they both wore blue.
