The eighth season of American Ninja Warrior premiered on June 1, 2016, on NBC. Hosts Matt Iseman and Akbar Gbaja-Biamila returned for their respective seventh and fourth seasons, alongside sideline reporter Kristine Leahy who returned for her second season. The grand prize stayed even with season 7, at $1,000,000. In addition, 28 new obstacles were created for this season, and there were 40% more female applicants over last season.
Competition schedule
Qualifying airing Finals airing City Qualifying date Finals date Venue June 1, 2016 July 11, 2016 Los Angeles, California April 5, 2016 April 6, 2016 Universal Studios Hollywood June 8, 2016 July 18, 2016 Atlanta, Georgia March 18, 2016 March 19, 2016 Turner Field June 13, 2016 July 25, 2016 Indianapolis, Indiana April 27, 2016 April 28, 2016 Monument Circle June 20, 2016 August 1, 2016 Oklahoma City, Oklahoma May 13, 2016 May 14, 2016 Oklahoma State Capitol June 27, 2016 August 22, 2016 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania May 26, 2016 May 27, 2016 Richmond Power Plant
Obstacles
City Qualifying & Finals EventObstacles FinishersLos Angeles QualifyingFloating StepsTick TockEscalatorRing JumpI-Beam CrossWarped Wall17 FinalsSalmon LadderThe WedgeHelix HangInvisible Ladder1Atlanta QualifyingBig DipperBlock RunSpin CyclePipe Fitter27 FinalsSalmon LadderFloating Monkey BarsThe ClackerInvisible Ladder4Indianapolis QualifyingRolling LogFly WheelsDisc RunnerSwinging Spikes25 FinalsSalmon LadderHourglass DropCircuit BoardInvisible Ladder4Oklahoma City QualifyingRing SwingLog RunnerTire SwingBar Hop15 FinalsSalmon LadderBungee RoadWindow HangInvisible Ladder2Philadelphia QualifyingLog GripPaddle BoardsWall DropRolling Thunder 9 FinalsSalmon LadderFlying Shelf GrabStair HopperInvisible Ladder0
National Finals EventObstacle(s) Finishers Stage 1Snake RunPropeller BarGiant Log GripJumping SpiderSonic CurveWarped WallBroken BridgeFlying Squirrel17 Stage 2Giant Ring SwingDown Up Salmon LadderWave RunnerButterfly WallDouble WedgeWall Flip2 Stage 3Keylock HangFloating BoardsUltimate CliffhangerCurved Body PropHang ClimbWalking BarFlying Bar0 Stage 4Rope ClimbN/A
City courses Los Angeles Qualifying The Los Angeles Qualifying round featured four new or modified obstacles and concluded with 17 finishers. Both Jessie Graff and Natalie Duran made it to the Warped Wall, and Jessie got a buzzer while Natalie failed in the qualifying round. In addition, the Facebook video showcasing Graff's qualifying run was viewed more than 50 million times leading up to the Finals round. Kevin Bull earned the "POM Wonderful Run of the Night" with the fastest time (2:02.81). Additionally, actor Brennan Mejia, the Red Power Ranger from Power Rangers Dino Super Charge, failed on the second obstacle again.
Obstacles used during Los Angeles Qualifying are listed below.
Competitors who advanced to the City Finals are listed below. Rank Finalist Outcome Obstacle/Time 1 Kevin Bull Completed 2:02.81 (POM Wonderful Run of the Night) 2 Flip Rodriguez Completed 2:23.12 3 Chris Workman Completed 2:24.45 4 Sean Bryan Completed 2:30.11 5 Nicholas Coolridge Completed 2:33.37 6 Gabe Hurtado Completed 3:08.70 7 Justin Hillsten Completed 3:28.90 8 Ryan Robinson Completed 3:30.95 9 Liam Buell Completed 3:34.24 10 Grant McCartney Completed 4:23.47 11 Jessie Graff Completed 4:27.84 12 Josh Levin Completed 4:35.21 13 Nick Hanson Completed 4:43.68 14 Brian Kretsch Completed 4:45.30 15 Ben Melick Completed 2:50.16 16 Ted Jung Completed 5:19.83 17 Jerod Warf Completed 7:02.60 18 Steve Seiver Failed Warped Wall (3:22.84) 19 Natalie Duran Failed Warped Wall (4:03.58) 20 Adam Rayl Failed I-Beam Cross (0:58.91) 21 Alan Connealy Failed I-Beam Cross (1:04.24) 22 Jackson Meyer Failed I-Beam Cross (1:07.76) 23 Jesse La Flair Failed I-Beam Cross (1:17.12) 24 Jesse Cargill Failed I-Beam Cross (1:18.64) 25 Jonathan Cunanan Failed I-Beam Cross (1:23.88) 26 Grey Kantor Failed I-Beam Cross (1:26.46) 27 Alex Smith Failed I-Beam Cross (1:29.64) 28 Ben Antoine Failed I-Beam Cross (1:37.46) 29 K.C. Halik Failed I-Beam Cross (1:42.23) 30 Scott Willson Failed I-Beam Cross (1:42.71)
Finals The Los Angeles Finals round featured one new obstacle, The Wedge, as well as three modified obstacles from city qualifying. The round concluded with one finisher, the lowest number of any final to date unless the chance of a non-completed course. Rock climber and engineering student Josh Levin, who was a rookie, earned the "POM Wonderful Run of the Night" and the only finish, with a time of 8:21.30. Jessie Graff came in second place, breaking her own record for the highest finish by a woman in a city competition.
Obstacles used during the Los Angeles Finals are listed below.
Competitors who advanced to the Vegas Finals are listed below. Rank Finalist Outcome Obstacle/Time 1 Josh Levin Completed 8:21.30 (POM Wonderful Run of the Night) 2 Jessie Graff Failed Helix Hang (6:07.36) 3 Kevin Bull Failed The Wedge (2:34.03) 4 Chris Workman Failed The Wedge (3:25.97) 5 Nicholas Coolridge Failed The Wedge (3:28.89) 6 Adam Rayl Failed The Wedge (3:34.93) 7 Flip Rodriguez Failed The Wedge (3:39.43) 8 Gabe Hurtado Failed The Wedge (3:46.56) 9 Liam Buell Failed The Wedge (4:04.51) 10 Grant McCartney Failed The Wedge (4:09.06) 11 Ryan Robinson Failed The Wedge (4:18.86) 12 Justin Hillsten Failed The Wedge (4:19.73) 13 Jackson Meyer Failed The Wedge (4:20.93) 14 Nick Hanson Failed The Wedge (4:44.10) 15 Ben Melick Failed The Wedge (4:44.16)
Atlanta Qualifying The Atlanta Qualifying round featured three new or modified obstacles and concluded with 27 finishers. Gym owner Drew Drechsel earned the "POM Wonderful Run of the Night" with the fastest time (1:19.44).
Obstacles used during Atlanta Qualifying are listed below.
Competitors who advanced to the City Finals are listed below. Rank Finalist Outcome Obstacle/Time 1 Drew Drechsel Completed 1:19.44 (POM Wonderful Run of the Night) 2 Caleb Watson Completed 1:29.98 3 Neil Craver Completed 1:30.40 4 James McGrath Completed 1:45.96 5 Tyler Martin Completed 2:08.15 6 Chris Boehm Completed 2:12.01 7 Brett Sims Completed 2:22.21 8 Justin Maina Completed 2:26.12 9 Mack Roesch Completed 2:29.93 10 Kenneth Niemitalo Completed 2:30.84 11 Travis Rosen Completed 2:34.03 12 Casey Suchocki Completed 2:37.15 13 Todd Bourgeois Completed 2:50.25 14 Reko Rivera Completed 2:57.81 15 Danny Adair Completed 2:58.87 16 Jonathan Ruiz Completed 3:04.08 17 Yuri Force Completed 3:09.89 18 Jo Jo Bynum Completed 3:14.81 19 Shawn Richardson Completed 3:22.56 20 Chad Hohn Completed 3:32.37 21 Eddy Stewart Completed 3:34.37 22 Jeff Harvey Completed 3:43.78 23 Mike Chick Completed 3:55.55 24 Alexio Gomes Completed 4:04.91 25 Brent Ruffin Completed 4:16.60 26 Lucas Gomes Completed 4:25.41 27 Joseph Greene II Completed 5:02.39 28 Rodolfo Burgos Failed Warped Wall (2:09.51) 29 Bobby Bohannon Failed Pipefitter (0:58.68) 30 Chris Moore Failed Pipefitter (1:08.10)
Finals The Atlanta Finals round featured one new obstacle, The Clacker, as well as two modified obstacles from city qualifying. The round concluded with four finishers. Stock trader and ANW veteran Travis Rosen, earned the "POM Wonderful Run of the Night" with a time of 6:52.17, coming in third place. Roommates James McGrath and Drew Drechsel competed for the fastest time of the night when they came in first and second place, with times of 5:01.62 (McGrath) and 5:05.26 (Drechsel). After competing since the premiere season in 2009, parkour trainer and original ANW veteran Brett Sims made it to his first Vegas final with a time of 7:36.45, ending up in 4th place. During Drew Drechsel's run, Lucas Gomes was "on the bubble" in 15th Place, meaning if Drew got past the 8th obstacle, he would be eliminated in 16th place. He ended up in 16th, behind Todd Bourgeois. Someone got injured before Las Vegas so he did get in the top 15.
Obstacles used during the Atlanta Finals are listed below.
Competitors who advanced to the Vegas Finals are listed below. Rank Finalist Outcome Obstacle/Time1 James McGrath Completed 5:01.622 Drew Dreschel Completed 5:05.263 Travis Rosen Completed 6:52.17 (POM Wonderful Run of the Night)4 Brett Sims Completed 7:36.455 Casey Suchocki Failed The Clacker (3:24.45)6 Shawn Richardson Failed The Clacker (4:37.34)7 Jo Jo Bynum Failed The Clacker (6:07.44)8 Neil Craver Failed Floating Monkey Bars (2:47.10)9 Tyler Martin Failed Floating Monkey Bars (3:44.46)10 Chris Boehm Failed Floating Monkey Bars (3:51.21)11 Yuri Force Failed Floating Monkey Bars (3:54.59)12 Mike Chick Failed Floating Monkey Bars (4:09.59)13 Alexio Gomes Failed Floating Monkey Bars (4:11.25)14 Mack Roesch Failed Floating Monkey Bars (4:16.77)15 Todd Bourgeois Failed Floating Monkey Bars (4:33.40)
Lucas Gomes was brought back as a wildcard and an injury replacement for Tyler Martin.
Indianapolis
Qualifying The Indianapolis Qualifying round featured four new or modified obstacles and concluded with 25 finishers. Rock Climbing coach Meagan Martin was the only woman to advance to the city finals, earned the "POM Wonderful Run of the Night" with a time of 6:30.08. She became the first woman to scale the warped wall three years in a row. The Indianapolis round also featured IndyCar drivers Hélio Castroneves, Tony Kanaan, and Josef Newgarden as well as NASCAR driver and 2-time Xfinity Series champ Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and one-legged wrestler Zach Gowen. However, none ended up moving on to the Indianapolis city finals. This was the first time ever that the course was built in a curve.
Obstacles used during Indianapolis Qualifying are listed below.
Competitors who advanced to the City Finals are listed below. Rank Finalist Outcome Obstacle/Time 1 Lorin Ball Completed 1:36.44 2 Jake Murray Completed 2:00.13 3 Adam Arnold Completed 2:00.36 4 Dan Yager Completed 2:11.90 5 Brian Arnold Completed 2:18.15 6 Ian Dory Completed 2:46.55 7 Brandon Mears Completed 2:55.01 8 Dan Polizzi Completed 3:00.78 9 Eric Middleton Completed 3:01.80 10 Theodore "TC" Tronquet Completed 3:12.47 11 Ethan Swanson Completed 3:13.58 12 Dan Banura Completed 3:20.56 13 Tyler Yamauchi Completed 3:21.70 14 Drew Knapp Completed 3:25.81 15 Zack Kemmerer Completed 3:30.77 16 Matt Wilder Completed 3:32.57 17 Tyler Smith Completed 3:36.27 18 PJ Granger Completed 4:06.74 19 Andrew "Roo" Yori Completed 4:10.22 20 Kevin Hogan Completed 4:28.13 21 Ryan Elliot Completed 4:58.25 22 Jonathan Cooley Completed 5:00.43 23 Andrew Rowland Completed 5:17.80 24 Fred Thorne Completed 5:36.84 25 Meagan Martin Completed 6:30.08 (POM Wonderful Run of the Night) 26 Adam Stroup Failed Warped Wall (2:51.01) 27 Alex Bienz Failed Warped Wall (6:31.19) 28 Bryce Foley Failed Swinging Spikes (2:07.82) 29 Ben Jackson Failed Swinging Spikes (2:21.37) 30 Dr. John Murray Adams Failed Swinging Spikes (2:32.99)
Finals The Indianapolis Finals round featured one new obstacle, Circuit Board, and three modified obstacles from the qualifying round. The round concluded with four finishers. Wedding photographer Jake Murray earned the "POM Wonderful Run of the Night" with a time of 6:34.68, coming in second place. The fastest time of the night went to maintenance technician Adam Arnold, with a first place time of 5:40.42. Even though she failed on the Circuit Board obstacle, rock climbing coach Meagan Martin became the second woman to make it to the Las Vegas finals with a time of 7:31.83, finishing in 8th place. This was Meagan's first time on a back half of a Finals course and first time qualifying for the National Finals in Las Vegas.
Obstacles used during the Indianapolis Finals are listed below.
Competitors who advanced to the Vegas Finals are listed below.