Teri Sergi (31) from Scarborough at the Channel Nine launch of the 2018 Australian Ninja Warrior.
Camera IconTeri Sergi (31) from Scarborough at the Channel Nine launch of the 2018 Australian Ninja Warrior. Credit: Supplied/Andrew Ritchie.

Australian Ninja Warrior: obstacles nothing for Scarborough mother Tash Sergi

Lauren PilatStirling Times

DON’T tell Scarborough resident Tash Sergi she can’t do something unless you want to be proven wrong.

The 31-year-old mother-of-two is a force to be reckoned with and one of WA’s newest recruits for season two of Australian Ninja Warrior.

It took Sergi three months of training at Ninja Academy in Osborne Park before she decided to apply for the show – a timeframe, it seems, that it takes for her to defy the odds.

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At 17 years old, after losing her father to brain disease, the touch footballer and baton twirler was diagnosed with ovarian cancer.

After undergoing aggressive chemotherapy, having a fallopian tube and one ovary removed, Sergi was told at 24 that she wouldn’t be able to have children.

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Camera IconImage Credit: Supplied/Andrew Ritchie.

But after that magic timeframe of three months, she naturally fell pregnant with her first son.

Then just four weeks after giving birth, the health and fitness coach became a lingerie football player with the West Coast Angels.

After surviving cancer and becoming a mother, Sergi said she was more determined now than ever with training and hoped to be a role model for other mums and cancer sufferers.

“I’m very lucky to be alive because unfortunately a lot of people don’t have a happy ending so I’m super grateful and I love life,” she said.

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Camera IconImage Credit: Supplied/Andrew Ritchie.

“I hope that anyone else who is going through cancer has that hope as well and stays strong and keeps fighting.

“I also hope I inspire other mums out there – you can have kids and be fit and do these sort of things – my kids certainly don’t miss out on everything.”

Sergi is one of 14 WA season two contestants who will compete to be Australia’s 2018 Ninja Warrior against returning hopefuls Dave Ravi (Balcatta) and Olivia Vivian (Cottesloe), and new recruits such as Rory Garton-Smith (Nedlands).

Ravi made being a ninja his profession three years ago when he opened the Ninja Academy on Scarborough Beach Road, the first of its kind in Australia.

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Camera IconImage Credit: Supplied/Andrew Ritchie.

The former corporate tax accountant wanted to do something with purpose and for him that was through health and fitness helping people achieve things they did not think they could.

“I want to empower people to take on their own challenges,” Ravi said.

“When you do a physical obstacle it translates to the mental so you overcome your own fears and insecurities by just doing something physical.”

Australian Ninja Warrior airs on Channel Nine from July 8.