As Anna McArthur serves a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Columbia, South Carolina, “American Ninja Warrior” viewers across the country have been watching the Utah teen have her most impressive run on the show to date.
During Monday’s episode of “ANW,” co-host Matt Iseman called it a “breakout season” for 19-year-old McArthur, who started watching the show when she was 7 and has been competing on it since she was 16.
After hitting her biggest milestone on “American Ninja Warrior” — completing a full obstacle course and hitting the buzzer — McArthur, a four-time “ANW” competitor from St. George, found herself on the national finals stage during Monday’s episode, which was filmed last fall.
Here’s a look at how she fared.
A ‘breakout season’
Sixty competitors made it to the first stage of the national finals, which kicked off Monday night.
“ANW” has divided the 60 ninjas into groups of four based on their runtimes. The competitors in each group face each other in a series of one-on-one races — meaning everyone races three times.
Ultimately, the two competitors with the most wins from each group advance to the next round of the national finals.
For her first race, McArthur went up against Nam Phan, a 20-year-old college student from Missouri. Both of the competitors actually completed the course, but Phan secured the win with a faster time.
McArthur splashed down during her race against Ryan Cooper, a Texas high schooler who breezed through the course and hit the buzzer.
During her third race, against Ohio teen Nathanael Honvou, McArthur reached the final obstacle of the course before splashing down.
Although the fall officially eliminated her from the competition, there’s a chance McArthur could be back on the course this season.
In a new format for the show, a Women’s Bonus Tournament is taking place during the season finale. The top four female competitors will race for the title of Women’s Champion and a $50,000 bonus prize.
“ANW” is measuring the top four based on the number of obstacles conquered. At the end of Monday’s episode, McArthur was No. 4.
But next week will see the remaining ninjas — including Utah brothers Kai and Luke Beckstrand and their sister, Baylee — competing in the first round. So McArthur’s spot could potentially shift down.
Either way, Iseman noted during McArthur’s third and final race Monday night that it had been a “breakout season” for the teen.
Conquering a ‘nemesis’
McArthur’s first run on “ANW” Season 18, filmed last fall, finally aired on July 20 — just as she was starting her 18-month mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Although she’s a four-time “ANW” competitor, going into Season 18, the 5-foot-tall teen had still never completed a full obstacle course and hit the buzzer.
“Getting a buzzer has been a dream for a long time,” McArthur said during a clip earlier this season that showed her repeatedly splashing down on the fifth obstacle, which she called her “nemesis.”
During the Aug. 3 episode, while competing for a spot in the national finals, McArthur had a large support group from Utah on the sidelines.
As she navigated the course and reached the yet-to-be-conquered fifth obstacle, the “ANW” hosts praised her steady progress over the years, and noted her growth in self-confidence. The obstacle put the strength of McArthur’s grip to the test, but she held on tight and kept pushing forward.
And for the first time in her four seasons on the show, she made it past the fifth obstacle.
With her family loudly cheering — and one of her sisters crying — McArthur ran up the 14.5-foot Warped Wall and hit the first buzzer of her “ANW” career.
The emotional milestone helped McArthur earn her spot in the national finals.
Now, with her Season 18 run officially over, fans won’t see McArthur on the “ANW” course for a while. The teen, who has competed for four straight seasons, will be on her mission when the show films Season 19 this fall.
“Very excited for this next chapter of my life,” McArthur previously shared on her Instagram.
Who is Anna McArthur?
The “ANW” star recently earned her associate degree in general science from Utah Tech and was an office manager at McArthur’s Temple View RV Resort in St. George — a business that’s been in her family since 1984.
McArthur has worked there since she was 11 — around the same time she gave up being a gymnast and violinist to focus on “American Ninja Warrior” training, the Deseret News previously reported.
An “ANW” fan since the age of 7, McArthur would record the episodes so she could watch them over and over again. Eventually, she began to recreate the obstacles in her own home, determined to make it on the show one day.
“I’m gonna do this when I grow up,” she told her mom, per Deseret News.