Even though Kai Beckstrand rose to the top on “American Ninja Warrior” last summer, claiming the $250,000 prize as the Season 17 winner, the competitor from St. George, Utah, isn’t ready to be done with the show just yet.
“As long as ‘Ninja Warrior’ keeps calling me back, I’ll keep being on the show,” he told the Deseret News last year.
Now, Beckstrand is returning for Season 18, which premieres Monday on NBC. It marks his fifth time competing on “ANW,” and this time around, he’ll do so alongside his younger brother and toughest competitor, Luke; his younger sister, Baylee; and his dad, Brian, who first competed back in Season 7 and sparked the family’s passion for the show.
The Kai and Luke Beckstrand competition returns to ‘ANW’
When the 19-year-old Kai Beckstrand fell to the stage after hitting the season-winning buzzer, the first one to reach him, to hug him and cheer him on in his victory was his toughest competitor and biggest supporter: his younger brother.
“He was on the stage before I had even comprehended that I just finished the race,” Beckstrand told the Deseret News last year, ahead of the Season 17 finale. “I hit the buzzer, I was diving for it. So I fell down to that stage, and before I even knew it, I was already getting picked up by Luke.”
Beckstrand’s victory made him the first Utahn to win “American Ninja Warrior” in a decade — during the show’s seventh season in 2015, Salt Lake City’s Isaac Caldiero made history as the first winner on the show.
To claim that victory, Beckstrand had to go head-to-head with Luke. Throughout Season 17, the brothers were two of the speediest ninjas and often had the fastest times of their episodes (during the semifinals, Luke Beckstrand beat his older brother on the course by more than 30 seconds).
“Having to race directly against him was kind of nerve-wracking,” Kai Beckstrand previously told the Deseret News. “He’s my training partner. ... I knew exactly what Luke was capable of, and that happened to be the fact that it could go either way for either one of us.”
That back-and-forth dynamic that plays out so often at The Beckstrands’ gym in St. George, The Grip, will likely take the stage once again during the newest season of “American Ninja Warrior.”
Baylee Beckstrand returns to ‘ANW’ for 2nd season
The Beckstrands’ younger sister, Baylee, made her debut on “ANW” last season — the fifth member of her family to make a splash on the show after her dad, mom and two older brothers.
“I’ve been watching my family from the sidelines for about 10 years,” she said ahead of her run on “ANW” last season. “And I finally get my chance.
“My brothers set a pretty high bar, so I feel a lot of pressure because I just know I wanted to be just as good as them,” she continued.
Beckstrand, who was then 16, made it to the semifinals in her debut season. Now, she returns for another shot at the course.
Brian Beckstrand returns for 5th time on ‘ANW’
Brian Beckstrand, the dad who began building “American Ninja Warrior”-esque obstacles in his St. George backyard (at its peak, there were around 40 or 50 obstacles) when Kai was 7, was the first of the family to compete on the show.
Kai Beckstrand vividly remembers being inspired watching his dad compete back in Seasons 7 and 8. When the then-teenager made his own “ANW” debut in Season 13, he made history alongside his dad as the first father-son duo to hit a buzzer and advance to the semifinals.
Now, Brian Beckstrand returns to compete on the show for the fifth time, having last competed on Season 15.
“American Ninja Warrior” Season 18 premieres Monday at 8 p.m. MDT on NBC.