Obstacle Race

Previous:	U.S.J. Incident
Next:	Cavalry Battle
Obstacle Race
Kanji	障害物競争
Rōmaji	Shōgai Butsu Kyōsō
Arc	U.A. Sports Festival Arc
Event	U.A. Sports Festival
Location	Sports Festival Stadium
Participants	U.A. High School Students
Duration
Manga	Chapter 24 - 26
Anime	Episode 15 - 16
Battles & Events

The Obstacle Race (障害物競争, Shōgai Butsu Kyōsō^?) is the preliminary competition for the first year stage of the U.A. Sports Festival.

Prologue

Present Mic announces the beginning of the U.A. Sports Festival. All of the first-year students are introduced by their respective classes. Midnight is introduced as the chief referee and she calls Katsuki Bakugo to the stage for the student pledge. 

Katsuki's fellow students boo him.

Katsuki was chosen because he finished first in the U.A. Entrance Exam for the hero course. However, Katsuki uses the attention to announce that he will win the festival. All of his rival students heckle and boo him for this overconfident statement.

Midnight moves the ceremony along and immediately reveals the festival's first game: The Obstacle Race. She explains that all eleven classes must race four kilometers around the outside of the festival stadium throughout an obstacle course. Students are permitted to use their Quirks as much as they like as long as they don't leave the course. 

Race

Robo-Inferno

Shoto freezes the colossal Villain-Bot.

All the students take their places in front of a large corridor that leads outside the stadium. Once the countdown to the start of the race completes, all the students rush through the doorway and end up jam-packed together. Shoto Todoroki realizes this is the first obstacle the competitors must get through and uses his Quirk to freeze some of his opponents' feet for a short time and escape the crowd. Katsuki, Momo Yaoyorozu, Eijiro Kirishima, Yuga Aoyama, and many others are able to avoid Shoto's ice attack.

Minoru Mineta bounces off the balls created by his Quirk and closes in on Shoto. Before he can capitalize, a Villain Bot appears and knocks him clean out of the air. Shoto and the other contestants notice the army of robots standing before them, including the giant zero-point villains from the U.A. Entrance Exam practical test. While the majority of students stand back in fear, Shoto takes initiative and freezes some of the colossal villains with ease. They're frozen off balance and they fall over in front of the other students.

Izuku uses a plate to destroy a robot.

Eijiro and Tetsutetsu Tetsutetsu end up getting crushed by the falling robots, but their Quirks allow them to get out from under it easier. Katsuki uses his explosions to fly over the robots. Fumikage Tokoyami and Hanta Sero use their Quirks to follow right behind him. Members of Class 1-A take an early lead ahead of the other classes. Shota Aizawa and All Might attribute this to their experience fighting real villains because they've grown and learned not to hesitate in the face of adversity. Each of them fights past the smaller robots, including Izuku Midoriya, who uses a piece of the larger robots to defend himself. Momo creates a cannon and shoots down the larger robots, clearing a path for the other students.

The Fall

Tsuyu crosses the fall.

The students eventually reach the next obstacle: The Fall. Competitors must traverse large stone pillars connected by tightropes without falling into the pit below in order to move on to the next obstacle. Tsuyu Asui, Tenya Ida, Shoto, and other students use their Quirks while balancing themselves to get across. Katsuki flies across using his explosions while Mei Hatsume uses her gadgets to do the same. Shoto is the first to get across the fissure, with Katsuki in hot pursuit. Mezo Shoji and Yuga also fly over the obstacle while Izuku traverses the tightropes upside-down.

Minefield

The students try to run through the minefield

The final obstacle is a minefield that the competitors must cross in order to reach the finish line. Shoto is the first to reach it, but he's at a disadvantage because he must cross it slowly to avoid getting hit by the mine detonations. This allows Katsuki to catch up to Shoto and attack him, giving the former the lead. Tenya tries to cross the field with his speed and ends up getting himself barraged and hit with small mine detonations. Juzo Honenuki and Ibara Shiozaki from Class 1-B begin to catch up to the tandem competing for first place.

Izuku reaches the minefield later and notices Shoto and Katsuki fighting for first as they close in on the finish line. He uses the piece of the robot he's been carrying to dig up the mines and pile them up. Once he's done collecting them, Izuku jumps shield-first into the mines and uses the impact from the explosion to propel himself all the way into first place.

Izuku propels himself into first place.

Katsuki decides to fly after Izuku while Shoto freezes a path in front of him to chase after them both. Shoto knows the ice path will help other competitors, but he refuses to fall behind Izuku and Katsuki. Izuku starts to lose momentum as he approaches the last leg of the race and his rivals threaten to pass him for first place.

Izuku stands on both their shoulders and slams his shield into the ground, creating yet another explosion that propels him forward. Izuku essentially clears the minefield in an instant and is able to finish the race first out of everyone. Shoto and Katsuki follow suit shortly after, and then all the other students return inside the stadium one after the other. The first forty-two to make it qualify for the next event.

Aftermath

Midnight reveals the standings and shows which forty-two students advance to the next round. She immediately announces the next event: The Cavalry Battle. Point values are assigned to each student depending on where they finished in the race. Izuku earns a point value of ten million, making him a desirable target for everyone else.