The fourteenth season of American Ninja Warrior premiered on June 6, 2022, on NBC. A spin-off from the Japanese reality series Sasuke, it is hosted by Matt Iseman, Akbar Gbaja-Biamila, and Zuri Hall. Filming for the season was similar to that of the thirteenth season, as it was taped in fewer cities, with a smaller audience during live taping, due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The series was officially announced by NBC in late March, though the applications were being accepted from October 21, 2021, until December 10, 2021. The full list of competitors was published on February 6, 2022. Filming for qualifiers moved to San Antonio, Texas, while the semifinals and national finals remained in Los Angeles, California, and Las Vegas, Nevada, respectively. The Grand Prize and Last Ninja Standing prize remained at $1,000,000 and $100,000, respectively. The official age requirement is 19 years old, although contestants from 15 to 19 were invited as "special guests".
Filming for the season began on March 20, 2022, and wrapped on May 17, 2022. The season featured Split Decision for the third obstacle in qualifiers, in which competitors could choose one of two obstacles to pass. This season marks the return of Akbar's Gbajabia-Moments (for the first three episodes), a segment reprising the most unusual outings of the night, where competitors usually fail on the earlier obstacles.
For the first time on American Ninja Warrior, more than 2 athletes finished Stage 3, with 5 competitors reaching Stage 4; however, all of them timed out on the final Rope Climb, thus no one claimed the $1 million grand prize. Despite this, 16-year-old Kaden Lebsack climbed to the top of the tower faster than the others in 36.77 seconds and was declared the Last Ninja Standing for the second year in a row, earning $100,000.
Obstacles Every qualifying course starts from Shrinking Steps and ends on a wall, where a competitor may choose either a 14.5 foot Warped Wall or an 18-foot Mega Wall, which, if completed, would give the contestant an immediate reward of $10,000. The third and balancing obstacle features Split Decision.
For the semifinals, four extra obstacles were added, starting from veteran Salmon Ladder and ending on Spider Trap. Split Decision is moved to the ninth obstacle which features a choice of either a balance obstacle or an arm strength obstacle, and the Mega Wall was removed. The top two competitors finishing their runs proceed to a Power Tower, where they race against each other to get to the finish and earn a Safety Pass. The winner may use it to retry either Stage 1 or Stage 2 at the National Finals.
For the National Finals, Split Decision moved to the final obstacle of Stage 1, reprising the obstacles from season 13. However, both of the obstacles were followed by a climb on a cargo net or a ladder, depending on a chosen obstacle.
Bold and Italic indicates two possible variants on Split Decision.
The obstacle was created by fans for the Obstacle Design Challenge.
San Antonio Qualifying EventObstacles FinishersNight 1Shrinking StepsRollercoaster Domino EffectCarnivalSalmon RollWarped Wall/Mega Wall13SerpentNight 2Overpass Domino EffectPiston Plunge11SerpentNight 3Rollercoaster Log RunnerKickboardsSalmon Roll15Burn RubberNight 4Shattered Panes Log RunnerFinal Frontier8DespicaballsNight 5 Broken BridgeRing Chaser17Despicaballs
Los Angeles Semifinals EventObstacles FinishersNight 1Shrinking StepsLunatic LedgesAir SurferSpinning BridgeKaleidoscopeWarped WallSalmon LadderGhost TownDragonbackSpider Trap4Spin ZoneNight 2ClockworkHopscotchBox OfficeDragonback1Spin ZoneNight 3Over UnderDiamond DashFlipped Around6Diving BoardsNight 4Air SurferKaleidoscopeGhost TownFlipped Around6Diving Boards
Las Vegas National Finals EventObstacle(s) FinishersStage 1Slide SurferThree Ring CircusGiant RollercoasterJumping SpiderTetherballWarped WallDipping BirdsThe High Road25Fly Hooks Stage 2Striding StepsDouble Salmon LadderPiston PlungeHammer DropHornet's NestFalling Shelves11 Stage 3Patriot PassStalactitesChop It UpUltimate CliffhangerPipe DreamEyeglass AlleyFlying Bar5 Stage 4Rope Climb0
San Antonio Qualifying The five nights of qualifying took place in Alamodome arena in San Antonio, Texas. The contestant finished the Mega Wall and was awarded $10,000 The woman contestant passed within top 30 competitors The contestant is a rookie
Night 1 The first round of qualifying featured four new obstacles: Rollercoaster, the Serpent (‘Split Decision’ obstacle, along with Domino Effect), Carnival and Salmon Roll. This episode tied the record of four successful Mega Wall climbs. In addition, 15-year old Jordan Carr, a former American Ninja Warrior Junior competitor, set a record as the youngest woman ever to beat the Warped Wall. Her mentor, veteran Flip Rodriguez, barely advanced after falling on the fifth obstacle.
The episode also marked the return of James "The Beast" McGrath after a three-year absence and his proposal to Allyssa Beird, his girlfriend and fellow ninja; Beird was the only veteran who couldn't advance to the semifinals in this episode. Another proposal in the episode came from veteran Vinnie Castranova. USA Olympic soccer medalist Heather O'Reilly and 70-year old John Loobey also attempted the course but neither could advance.
+Top 30 CompetitorsRankCompetitorTimeFurthest Obstacle1R.J. Roman01:51.47Finished (Mega Wall)2Vinnie Castranova02:27.73Finished3Cal Plohoros02:32.35Finished4Josiah Singleton02:36.17Finished5Brett Sims02:49.47Finished6Christopher Harding Jones02:50.55Finished7Brett Hernandez Strong02:56.83Finished (Mega Wall)8Gary Hines03:00.06Finished9Jordan Carr03:00.91Finished10Ethan Bartnicki03:08.03Finished11Bob Reese03:34.01Finished (Mega Wall)12Casey Rothschild03:44.25Finished13James McGrath03:46.72Finished (Mega Wall)14Sean GarlockN/ASalmon Roll15Ronald WashingtonN/ASalmon Roll16Lorin BallN/ASalmon Roll17Enzo DeFerrari WilsonN/ASalmon Roll18Vance WalkerN/ASalmon Roll19Julius FergusonN/ASalmon Roll20DeShawn HarrisN/ASalmon Roll21Karen PottsN/ASalmon Roll22Jason KotzinN/ASalmon Roll23Lilah NathisonN/ASalmon Roll24Flip RodriguezN/ASalmon Roll25Eric MiddletonN/ASalmon Roll26Kyle McCreightN/ASalmon Roll27Brad GilesN/ASalmon Roll28Jay FloresN/ASalmon Roll29 Josh WaggN/ASalmon Roll30Parish CardenasN/ASalmon Roll
+RankCompetitorTimeFurthest Obstacle1Jordan Carr03:00.91Finished2Casey Rothschild03:44.25Finished3Karen PottsN/ASalmon Roll4Lilah NathisonN/ASalmon Roll5Lindsay EskildsenN/ACarnival
+RankCompetitorReason for inclusionFurthest Obstacle1Caleb DowdenBrought milk from his cow on the competitionRollercoaster2James BartholomewGot cheered from Amar'e Stoudemire like a childCarnival3Zach DiPaoloDrove his bike before the runRollercoaster
Night 2 The round introduced another new obstacle, Piston Plunge. This episode saw all five top female competitors all finish within the top 30, with three of them being teammates. Joe Moravsky scaled the Mega Wall for the third consecutive time, Najee Richardson returned after missing season 13 due to an ankle injury and 75-year old Dave Kozak became the oldest competitor of a season, easily making it onto Akbar's Gbajabia-Moments.
Among the famous participants were current WBA-NABA super featherweight boxer Abraham Nova, who couldn't pass the first obstacle, and Miss Massachusetts 2019-2020 Lindsey Littlefield, who failed on the second obstacle. Veterans Jessie Graff, who had returned after missing the previous season because of knee and shoulder injuries, and Sandy Zimmerman, the first mother to ever clear qualifying, also were unable to advance to the semifinals, failing on the Serpent and Carnival respectively. Also, 2020 Olympics silver medalist MyKayla Skinner joined Matt and Akbar in the booth and reported the run of her husband, who also failed on the Serpent.
+Top 30 CompetitorsRankCompetitorTimeFurthest Obstacle1Matt Bradley01:44.73Finished2Matt D’Amico01:59.84Finished3Luke Dillon02:07.71Finished4Joe Moravsky02:16.51Finished (Mega Wall)5Josiah Pippel02:21.88Finished (Mega Wall)6James Sannella02:22.01Finished7Jay Lewis02:25.98Finished8Jacob Arnstein02:27.27Finished9Ryan Sanders03:07.69Finished10Jeremy Warters03:23.25Finished11Najee Richardson03:41.18Finished12Xavier DantzlerN/APiston Plunge13Lucas RealeN/APiston Plunge14Joe CapoN/APiston Plunge15Dave CavanaghN/APiston Plunge16Darion BennettN/APiston Plunge17James BurnsN/APiston Plunge18Sophia Lavallee01:30.22Piston Plunge19Alex BegollyN/APiston Plunge20Abby Clark01:34.17Piston Plunge21Branden McWilliamsN/APiston Plunge22Stewart MahlerN/APiston Plunge23Tyler BehrleN/APiston Plunge24Cara Mack01:54.35Piston Plunge25John UgaN/APiston Plunge26Rachel Degutz02:05.30Piston Plunge27Steve DonnellyN/APiston Plunge28Anthony EardleyN/APiston Plunge29Jennifer Stefano02:26.58Piston Plunge30Guang CuiN/APiston Plunge31Ryan HermsteinN/APiston Plunge
+RankCompetitorTimeFurthest Obstacle1Sophia Lavallee01:30.22Piston Plunge2Abby Clark01:34.17Piston Plunge3Cara Mack01:54.35Piston Plunge4Rachel Degutz02:05.30Piston Plunge5Jennifer Stefano02:26.58Piston Plunge
+RankCompetitorReason for inclusionFurthest Obstacle1Dave KozakEntered on the start line in USAF costume; walked down Shrinking StepsShrinking Steps2James BurnsPresented a lego sculpture of host tower and the walls to Matt and AkbarPiston Plunge; qualified3Robbie JimenesPlayed his guitar longer than ran the courseShrinking Steps
Night 3 Another new obstacle was introduced, Kickboards, and two obstacles from the first night, Rollercoaster and Salmon Roll, returned. Domino Effect and the Serpent at Split Decision were replaced by the Log Runner and Burn Rubber, respectively.
Two former Olympians were present on a course. Former speed skater K. C. Boutiette, who now fights his daughter's 1p36 deletion syndrome, attempted and advanced to the semifinals in 30th place, and former artistic gymnast Shawn Johnson covered the run of her husband in the booth with Matt and Akbar. The Coyote, a mascot of San Antonio Spurs, cheered the competitors from the sideline. Akbar's Gbajabia-Moments featured only two contestants instead of three.
+Top 30 CompetitorsRankCompetitorTimeFurthest Obstacle1Chris Behrends01:45.70Finished2Kaden Lebsack01:46.63Finished3Ethan Swanson01:59.83Finished4Max Feinberg02:19.79Finished5Cam Baumgartner02:25.85Finished6Tieg Scott02:28.57Finished7Devan Alexander02:37.67Finished8Mike Silenzi02:57.99Finished9Levi Enright03:02.31Finished (Mega Wall)10Chris DiGangi03:06.55Finished11Ethan Gardulski03:11.07Finished12Jamie Rahn03:13.69Finished13Joe Brown03:33.36Finished14Jesse Labreck04:19.39Finished15Roo Yori04:36.68Finished16Jackson TwaitN/ASalmon Roll17Jon KlippensteinN/ASalmon Roll18Michael BougherN/ASalmon Roll19Derrick PavoniN/ASalmon Roll20Leif SundbergN/ASalmon Roll21Addy HermanN/ASalmon Roll22Scott BishopN/ASalmon Roll23Kyle SchulzeN/ASalmon Roll24Brandon VarnerN/ASalmon Roll25Andrew StoinskiN/ASalmon Roll26James WilsonN/ASalmon Roll27Nathan GreenN/ASalmon Roll28Drew NesterN/ASalmon Roll29Steven BachtaN/ASalmon Roll30KC BoutietteN/ASalmon Roll
+RankCompetitorTimeFurthest Obstacle1Jesse Labreck04:19.39Finished2Addy HermanN/ASalmon Roll3Maggie OwenN/AKickboards4Maggi ThorneN/AKickboards5Elizabeth LeslieN/AKickboards
+RankCompetitorReason for inclusionFurthest Obstacle1Mike GilleskiHis cheerleader dressed like a pencil on the courseKickboards2Jordan FreemanBrought grilled ribs in a grill to Matt and AkbarLog Runner
Night 4
Three more new obstacles were introduced: the Shattered Panes, the Despica-balls (created to promote the 2022 film Minions: The Rise of Gru) at Split Decision, and Final Frontier. Present on the sidelines in this episode was Rowdy, the mascot for the University of Texas at San Antonio Roadrunners, alongside the UTSA cheerleaders. This episode set a new record with seven women all finishing in the top 30.