Kai Beckstrand is so good at competing on “American Ninja Warrior” that even when he stumbles on an obstacle course, like he did during the national finals, he still gets the fastest time of the night.
The 20-year-old firefighter from St. George, Utah, has been competing on the show since he was 15 and, somehow, continues to get faster and better each season.
After winning Season 17 — which included a tight race where he eliminated his younger brother, Luke — Beckstrand entered the new season as the ninja to beat.
Throughout Season 18, the defending champ proved he deserved that title. His speed often placed him well ahead of his fellow competitors — or pushed his competitors into the water as they tried to keep up.
During the Season 18 finale that aired earlier this week, Beckstrand once again found himself in the final race — the ultimate showdown for $250,000.
But unlike last season, he didn’t get his desired outcome.
‘The biggest upset’ in ‘ANW’ history
During the last few minutes of the finale, Beckstrand was up against New Jersey’s Josiah Pippel.
Both competitors had already navigated the physically demanding course three times to get to this point. Now, just eight obstacles stood in their way of hitting the buzzer for the final time this season. If Beckstrand got there first, he would become a back-to-back “ANW” champion.
The race against Pippel — who was celebrating his 20th birthday on the day of filming — started out neck-and-neck.
As the two competitors breezed through the obstacles, the “ANW” hosts noted their “incredible synchronization.”
It appeared the championship race would come down to the final second. But then, in a shocking twist, Beckstrand lost his hold on an obstacle about halfway through, smacked down onto a mat and fell into the water — the first time in three years he has splashed down, the show noted.
The announcers called it “the biggest upset” in the show’s history.
Although Pippel had already secured the victory, he finished the course, hit the buzzer and welcomed his friends and family onto the stage to celebrate his win.
“Even the best ninjas in the world fall sometimes,” host Akbar Gbajabiamila said as Pippel held his trophy high in the air.
Following his win, Pippel shared that this moment was a long time in the making.
“For 6 years, I’ve had the goal of winning, but could never quite put it all together,” he wrote in an Instagram post.
“The difference this year wasn’t purely my own, but the result of a community of people I couldn’t be more grateful for,” he continued. “As much as I may have won on the course, it was everyone off the course who helped get me here. So thank you to everyone who played a part in this journey! I couldn’t be more grateful.”
Now, it’ll be Pippel seeking back-to-back wins.
“Can’t wait to defend my title in Season 19!” he wrote.
A family affair
For Beckstrand, Season 18 was a family affair.
He and his brother, Luke, made it to the show’s top eight. Their younger sister, Baylee, made it to the national finals. Baylee also made “ANW” history alongside the Beckstrands’ dad, Brian, as the pair became the first father-daughter duo to hit a buzzer.
Brian Beckstrand — who began building “ANW”-inspired obstacles in their St. George backyard when Kai was 7 — said he never could’ve imagined so many family members would end up joining him in competition when he first appeared on the show in 2015.
“There’s no way that I could have imagined that it would go this far,” he recently told the Deseret News.
All of the family’s “ANW” training, held at their gym The Grip, has helped prepare them for success on the show and beyond, Brian Beckstrand said.
“There’s so many lessons that can be learned through the sport,” he said. “The course is just one obstacle after another, and so that’s what we train for — just overcoming the next obstacle and not letting failures be the end result, learning from our mistakes.
“Being able to do it as a family, to share those moments, it’s kind of hard to put into words what that feels like,” he continued. “Anytime you can accomplish something and then do it with your family ... I think it makes it even more special.”