The eleventh season of American Ninja Warrior premiered on May 29, 2019, on NBC. City qualifying and finals competitions were held in Los Angeles, Atlanta, Oklahoma City, Seattle/Tacoma, marking the first time a course was held in the Pacific Northwest, Baltimore, and Cincinnati.
The course returns with new twists in the qualifying rounds, including changes to the Mega Wall, and a new reward competition, the Power Tower. Matt Iseman and Akbar Gbaja-Biamila returned for their respective tenth and seventh seasons while newcomer Zuri Hall joined the duo as a sideline reporter, replacing Kristine Leahy. Season 7 course finisher and "Total Victory" achiever Geoff Britten participated, marking his return to competition in the series but fell in Seattle/Tacoma Qualifying, marking the end of his season.
Drew Drechsel finished first and apparently became the third person to achieve "Total Victory" on American Ninja Warrior. He was arrested almost a year later on August 4, 2020, following accusations of federal child sex-related charges, with NBC and A. Smith & Co. Productions subsequently cutting ties with him the following day. Dreschel pled guilty on June 1, 2023, on one count of attempting to receive and enticement to travel for illicit child sexual conduct. On June 26, 2024, Dreschel was sentenced to 121 months in prison.
Competition schedule Qualifier airing Finals airing City Episode taping Location May 29, 2019 July 15, 2019Los Angeles, California March 6–7, 2019 Universal Studios Hollywood Backlot June 5, 2019 July 22, 2019 Atlanta, Georgia March 24–25, 2019 The Home Depot Backyard at Mercedes-Benz Stadium June 17, 2019 July 29, 2019 Oklahoma City, Oklahoma April 12, 14, 2019 Oklahoma State Capitol June 24, 2019 August 5, 2019Seattle/Tacoma, Washington May 11–12, 2019Tacoma Dome July 1, 2019 August 12, 2019Baltimore, Maryland April 28–29, 2019 Rash Field July 8, 2019 August 19, 2019 Cincinnati, Ohio May 24–25, 2019 2nd Street (in front of National Underground Railroad Freedom Center)
Obstacles Indicates obstacles created by fans for the "American Ninja Warrior Obstacle Design Challenge".
A new obstacle, the Power Tower, was also introduced. In the city qualifiers, the two fastest finalists from each course competed against each other for a "speed pass" that immediately advances the recipient to the National Finals. In the city finals courses, the Power Tower offered a "safety pass" that allows the recipient a second chance to complete Stage 1 or 2 of the National Finals. Most of the ninjas had to play their Safety Passes from the City Finals with 2 using it on Stage 1 (Drew Drechsel and Flip Rodriguez) and the other 3 using it on Stage 2 (Dave Cavanagh, Mathis 'Kid' Owhadi, and Karson Voiles). The only ninja who didn't play it was Michael Torres because he finished Stage 1 and 2 and it is not allowed to be used on Stage 3. The only ninjas who played it but failed to advance to Stage 3 were Flip Rodriguez, who timed out on the Water Walls after using it on Stage 1 when he fell on the Diving Boards, and Dave Cavanagh, who fell twice on Stage 2, first on Giant Walk the Plank, and then on the Extension Ladder.
Mega Wall changes The Mega Wall, introduced in the tenth season, returns with new rules. Contestants must now choose which version to attempt—the 14.5-foot Warped Wall or the 18-foot Mega Wall—and cannot change once they have attempted one or the other. In addition, contestants are now allowed three attempts at the Mega Wall, and can win cash on any of them: $10,000 for scaling it on the first try, $5,000 on the second, or $2,500 on the third.
Power Tower A new obstacle, the Power Tower, was also introduced. In the city qualifiers, the two fastest finalists from each course competed against each other for a "speed pass" that immediately advances the recipient to the National Finals. In the city finals courses, the Power Tower offered a "safety pass" that allows the recipient a second chance to complete Stage 1 or 2 of the National Finals. All the other ninjas with 2 using it on Stage 1 (Drew Dreschel and Flip Rodriguez) and the other 3 (Dave Cavanagh, Mathis 'Kid' Owahdi, and Karson Voiles) having to play their Safety Passes from the City Finals but the only one out of the six who didn't play it was Michael Torres because he finished Stage 1 and 2 and he cannot use it on Stage 3.
City Qualifying & Finals Event Obstacles Finishers Los Angeles Qualifying Shrinking Steps Walk the Plank Spring Forward Diamond Dash Spin Hopper Warped Wall/Mega WallN/A11 Finals Warped Wall Salmon Ladder The Hinge Leaps of Faith Spider Trap2 Atlanta Qualifying Off the Hook Block Run Bouncing Spider Ferris Wheel Warped Wall/Mega WallN/A17 Finals Warped Wall Salmon Ladder Up For Grabs Fallout Spider Trap5 Oklahoma City Qualifying Wing Swing Fly Wheels Diving Boards Coconut Climb Warped Wall/Mega WallN/A13 Finals Warped Wall Salmon Ladder Crazy Clocks Snap Back Spider Trap5 SeattleTacoma Qualifying Lunatic Ledges Barrel Roll Broken Bridge Lightning Bolts Warped Wall/Mega WallN/A13 Finals Warped Wall Salmon Ladder Floating Monkey Bars Northwest Passage Spider Trap0 Baltimore Qualifying Double Twister Dangerous Curves Hazard Cones Crank It Up Warped Wall/Mega WallN/A9 Finals Warped Wall Salmon Ladder Angry Birds Cane Lane Spider Trap0 Cincinnati Qualifying Ring Swing Spinning Bridge Wingnuts Slingshot Warped Wall/Mega WallN/A11 Finals Warped Wall Salmon Ladder Slam Dunk Spinball Wizard Spider Trap7
National Finals Event Obstacle(s) Finishers Stage 1 Archer Steps Spin Your Wheels Double Dipper Jumping Spider Tire Run Warped Wall Diving Boards Twist & Fly28 Stage 2 Giant Walk The Plank Extension Ladder Snapback Swing Surfer Grim Sweeper Water Walls21 Stage 3 Grip & Tip Iron Summit Crazy Clocks Ultimate Cliffhanger Pipe Dream Cane Lane Flying Bar2 Stage 4Rope Climb1
City courses
Bold denotes the finishers who completed the Mega Wall and received a prize money bonus ($10,000, $5,000, or $2,500 based on number of attempts).
Italics denote the Top 5 women who also finished in the overall Top 30 and the Top 2 women who also finished in the overall Top 12.
Underline represents the contestant who won the Speed Pass on the Power Tower in qualifying.
represents the contestant who won the Safety Pass on the Power Tower in the finals.
Los Angeles Qualifying The Los Angeles qualifiers featured two new obstacles, Walk The Plank and Spring Forward. The course took place on the backlot of Obstacle Academy. The Los Angeles Clippers cheerleaders along with mascot "Chuck the Condor" who were firing up and handing out t-shirts to the crowd. Former NBA player Kareem Rush ran the course as 10-time NBA all-star Paul Pierce cheered him on. Gymnast Danell Leyva, a US champion and 3-time Olympic medalist, completed the course.
+RankCompetitorTimeFurthest Obstacle1Hunter Guerard POM Run Of The Night1:34.03Finished2David Campbell1:35.99Finished3Kevin Bull1:37.26Finished4Danell Leyva2:23.68Finished5Dayvon Hancox2:28.93Finished6Scott Willson2:41.25Finished (Mega Wall)7David Alvarez2:59.71Finished8Arnold Hernandez3:44.54Finished9Brian Burk3:58.38Finished10Brian Kretsch4:17.67Finished11Jonah Bonner4:34.93Finished12Kyle Soderman1:10.67Mega Wall13Flip Rodriguez1:40.77Mega Wall14Ruben Arellano1:49.46Warped Wall15Hunter Swan3:05.34Mega Wall16Corey McCoy3:21.22Warped Wall17Adam Rayl0:38.17Spin Hopper18Seth Rogers0:47.40Spin Hopper19Ben Udy1:17.18Spin Hopper20Westley Silvestri1:37.57Spin Hopper21Noah Garfield1:52.39Spin Hopper22Austin Seibert1:59.68Spin Hopper23Samantha Bush2:02.63Spin Hopper24Kevin Fisch0:56.12Diamond Dash25Rebekah Bonilla1:24.29Diamond Dash26Verdale Benson1:28.43Diamond Dash27Lee Cates0:17.03Spring Forward28Thomas Kofron0:19.06Spring Forward29Anthony Trucks0:26.56Spring Forward30Steven Barbarito0:29.96Spring Forward +RankCompetitorTimeFurthest Obstacle1Samantha Bush2:02.63Spin Hopper2Rebekah Bonilla1:24.29Diamond Dash3Emmi RoseSpring Forward4Anna ShumakerWalk The Plank5Tiana WebberleyWalk The Plank
Finals The Los Angeles finals had one new obstacle, Leaps of Faith. Starting this season, only the Top 12 competitors in each city would move on to the National Finals. In Los Angeles, a total of 15 competitors moved on to the National Finals, as the Top 12 contestants, the Top 2 Women, and Hunter Guerard, the Speed Pass winner in qualifying, advanced. The Los Angeles Chargers cheerleaders and "Thunderbolt" Drumline along with Sean Culkin were in the crowd cheering on the competitors and pro football player Anthony Trucks who ran the course.
+RankCompetitorTimeFurthest Obstacle14:13.48Finished2Brian Kretsch POM Run Of The Night5:42.71Finished3Hunter GuerardLeaps of Faith4Kevin Bull2:35.59Leaps of Faith5Danell LeyvaLeaps of Faith6David CampbellLeaps of Faith7Scott WillsonLeaps of Faith8Adam RaylLeaps of Faith9Seth RogersLeaps of Faith10Ben UdyLeaps of Faith11Brian BurkLeaps of Faith12Hunter SwanLeaps of Faith13Verdale BensonLeaps of Faith RankCompetitorTimeFurthest Obstacle+1Tiana WebberleyThe Hinge2Anna ShumakerWarped Wall
Atlanta Qualifying In a tie-in with the 2019 movie The Secret Life of Pets 2, the course had a theme inspired by the movie. A preview also aired during the episode. Additionally, after his run, lab technician Andrew "Roo" Yori was awarded a $20,000 check from the creators of the film for his nonprofit organization, The Wallace The Pitbull Foundation. The Atlanta qualifiers featured two new obstacles, Off The Hook and the Ferris Wheel. The competition took place outside Mercedes-Benz Stadium, home of the Atlanta Falcons; their cheerleaders and mascot Freddie Falcon were in attendance to cheer on competitors. Celebrity competitors included former NFL cornerback and two-time Super Bowl champion Tyrone Poole who made it to the Ferris Wheel obstacle, and World Series of Poker player Tony Miles who only made it to the third obstacle, thus losing the bet his friend put on him to hit the buzzer at 25:1 odds. +RankCompetitorTimeFurthest Obstacle1Tyler Gillett1:07.68Finished2Drew Drechsel1:08.32Finished (Mega Wall)3R.J. Roman1:16.90Finished4Caleb Bergstrom2:00.84Finished (Mega Wall)5Jody Freeman2:12.99Finished6Kevin Carbone2:21.44Finished (Mega Wall)7Travis Rosen2:21.99Finished8Kenny Niemitalo2:28.57Finished9Brett Sims2:33.79Finished10Jordan Hatton2:37.05Finished11Casey Suchocki POM Run of the Night2:44.56Finished12Josiah Singleton2:55.36Finished13Chris Howard3:17.78Finished14Ryan Stratis3:21.23Finished (Mega Wall)15Roo Yori3:27.91Finished16Chad Hohn3:33.36Finished17Rochambeau Dolcine3:50.88Finished18Jon Dilulllo1:20.83Mega Wall19Neil Craver1:33.77Mega Wall20Eddy Stewart3:22.93Warped Wall21Jessica Clayton4:13.25Warped Wall22Travis Rust1:02.73Ferris Wheel23Kirill Rebkovets1:03.10Ferris Wheel24Ronald Washington1:12.29Ferris Wheel25Caleb Auer1:12.37Ferris Wheel26Lucas Gomes1:29.41Ferris Wheel27Ben Wilson1:33.34Ferris Wheel28Glenn Davis1:40.50Ferris Wheel29Tyrone Poole1:42.62Ferris Wheel30Devin Harrelson1:52.86Ferris Wheel +RankCompetitorTimeFurthest Obstacle1Jessica Clayton4:13.25Warped Wall2Alyssa Varsalona1:54.07Ferris Wheel3Emily Durham0:45.92Bouncing Spider4Caitlyn Bergstrom1:00.63Bouncing Spider5Grace Sims1:12.86Bouncing Spider
Finals The Atlanta Finals will feature 1 new obstacle, Up For Grabs. 15 contestants advanced to the National Finals from this region, as 13 competitors automatically advanced, as Drew Drechsel, who was in the Top 12, won the Speed Pass in qualifying, along with making it up the Mega Wall and now winning the Safety Pass, making ANW history by completing this trifecta. The Top 2 Women also advanced to the National Finals, as Caitlyn Bergstrom, along with her brother Caleb Bergstrom, also made ANW history, becoming the first brother/sister duo to both qualify for the National Finals, after making history by becoming the first brother/sister duo to qualify for the city finals in qualifying.