Kai Beckstrand looked pretty tired by the time he got to the 10th and final obstacle of the “American Ninja Warrior” semifinals course.
Over roughly 2 minutes and 45 seconds, he had cruised through the other obstacles, “living up to the hype,” “ANW” sideline reporter Zuri Hall said, of being “the ninja to beat.”
But when the 19-year-old from St. George, Utah, reached the Invisible Ladder — an obstacle that requires hanging onto two rings and hoisting yourself up 30 feet to the buzzer — it was a big demand for his 180-pound body.
Beckstrand, who is known for his speed, noticeably slowed down as he worked hard to pull himself all the way up to the buzzer.
But he got there.
And, in what shouldn’t be too much of a surprise for “American Ninja Warrior” viewers, he still managed to do it with the fastest time of the night (up to that point).
“Tonight we saw how much grit he has,” the “ANW” announcers said after Beckstrand hit the buzzer. “The kid has no quit.”
“I was tired, but there was no way I was letting go,” Beckstrand responded with a smile.
The Utah teen, who is competing on the show for the fourth time, hit the buzzer in roughly 3 minutes and 45 seconds.
It’s an impressive feat — but it wasn’t the fastest time of the night.
That distinction ended up going to one of his toughest fellow competitors: his younger brother.
Luke Beckstrand beats his brother’s time on ‘ANW’
It’s only his second season competing on “ANW,” but Luke Beckstrand is proving to be one of the strongest — and fastest — competitors on the show.
After making his “ANW” debut last year — where he made it to Stage 2 of the national finals — Beckstrand returned this season 3 inches taller and with 20 pounds of muscle.
He cruised through the qualifying obstacle course in 54.92 seconds earlier this season, coming up just a little short in beating his older brother’s time of 52.90 seconds.
But during the semifinal round Monday night, it wasn’t even close.
Beckstrand, who the announcers noted is “always a little overshadowed by his big brother,” made the challenging course seem like a kids playground as he navigated all 10 obstacles in 3 minutes and 12 seconds — more than 30 seconds ahead of his older brother.
“We’ve talked about his brother Kai as a favorite to win it all. We better start talking about Luke the same way,” the announcers said.
As was the case with the qualifiers, both Luke and Kai Beckstrand claimed the two fastest times of the night during Monday’s semifinal episode.
Luke Beckstrand’s most recent run gives him the second-fastest time of all the competitors (so far) in the semifinal round. Kai Beckstrand’s run, meanwhile, puts him fourth overall in the semifinals.
A friendly rivalry between brothers
Although the “ANW” announcers often play up the angle of the Beckstrand brothers competing against each other, both teens insist it’s all done in good spirit.
Kai Beckstrand previously told the Deseret News his intention is to push “for the best for everybody,” while Luke Beckstrand said his older brother inspires him “to be my best and do my best.”
When one brother runs an “ANW” course, the other brother can be seen smiling wide and cheering.
Now, both brothers are headed to the national finals, which air in August.
Who else from Utah advanced to the ‘ANW’ finals?
Another set of Utah brothers has also advanced to the “American Ninja Warrior” finals.
Brothers Ashton and Paxton Myler — who make up one-half of the Ninja Kidz, a YouTube sensation out of Draper, Utah, that has billions of views and more than 40 million subscribers across all of their channels — are also moving on.
In his debut season, 18-year-old Ashton Myler hit a buzzer after completing the semifinal course in 5 minutes and 26 seconds, per NBC.com.
Although his younger brother, 16-year-old Paxton Myler, didn’t hit a buzzer in the semifinals, he made it far enough on the course to secure a spot in the finals.
Colton Skuster, a 19-year-old from Salt Lake City, also earned a spot in the finals even though he didn’t hit a buzzer. Skuster previously had the fastest time of his episode during the qualifying round earlier this season, completing the course in 52 seconds.
A few Utahns were eliminated Monday night, including:
- Mady Howard, a nurse from St. George and six-time “ANW” competitor who recently became the second mom in “ANW” history to hit a buzzer during the qualifying round.
- Baylee Beckstrand, the younger sister of Kai and Luke Beckstrand, and the fifth person in her family to compete on the show.
- Violet Kepo’o, a 17-year-old from Pleasant Grove who made her “ANW” debut when she was 15.
- Anna McArthur, an 18-year-old student at Utah Tech University, who made it to Stage 1 of the national finals last season.