Kai Beckstrand on season 16 – Deseret News

Although Kai Beckstrand has competed in “American Ninja Warrior” three times, his approach to the show has remained largely the same: “If you're nervous, you're not ready for it.”

That doesn't mean he doesn't get nervous when competing. Nervousness on national television is virtually inevitable, he said, but when it's his turn to run an “ANW” obstacle course that tests upper body strength and balance, Beckstrand can suppress his nerves and let his preparation for the big moment carry him right up until the final whistle.

“If you have doubts about your performance, you haven't put in enough work to be confident,” he said in a recent phone interview with Deseret News.

And the 18-year-old from St. George, Utah, has put in a lot of work. He has trained intensively at his family's ninja gyms in southern Utah while also juggling school and firefighter training.

Beckstrand was 15 when he made his debut on American Ninja Warrior and made it to the finals (he was also one of the youngest and fastest contestants of the season).

When he returned for season 15, he was even faster – and was considered the favorite to win throughout the show until he had a surprise crash during the first leg of the four-stage final course that ended his run.

Now Beckstrand is back. And this time he is breaking new ground. For the first time in his “American Ninja Warrior” career, Beckstrand has made it to the fourth stage – the last stage of the final course.

It's the only obstacle keeping him from the show's $1 million prize. To win the money, he must climb a 75-foot rope in 30 seconds – a feat only a handful of contestants have accomplished in the show's 15 seasons.

Ahead of Monday night's Season 16 finale, which airs on NBC and will feature Beckstrand's attempt at promotion, the teenager reflected on how he bounced back from the disappointing ending to Season 15 and experienced his greatest moment on “ANW.”

A shocking elimination

Perhaps no one was more surprised than Beckstrand when he crashed onto the Jumping Spider obstacle in Stage 1 last season.

The obstacle requires contestants to jump off a trampoline and land between two walls, climb up and over the walls, and then jump onto a landing platform. It's tricky, but Beckstrand had easily completed this obstacle two seasons earlier in his debut on “American Ninja Warrior.” He was visibly shocked when he lost his balance and fell into the water.

“We've had surprises all night, but this one is probably the biggest!” shouted one of the commentators. “Kai Beckstrand, a favorite for the overall victory, is out.”

In his disappointment, the teenager recalled how defeated he felt after falling to Level 2 during his first season of the show in 2021. Up until that point, he had overcome every obstacle he had faced. To overcome the first obstacle of Level 2, he said, “you had to strike deep.”

But then he talked to “ANW” veteran Joe Moravsky – a ninja favorite who has competed in every season of the show since Season 5. Moravsky, who has made it to the third stage several times, fell over the same obstacle as Beckstrand that night. There are ups and downs, Moravsky told the teen, but the most important thing is not to let them get you down.

“I kind of had the same idea (in season 15) when I fell on the jumping spider,” Beckstrand recalled. “That's when I just knew it was OK, I was going to get this second chance.”

For Beckstrand, a chance for redemption came just two days later, when the show deviated from its usual schedule and filmed seasons 15 and 16 back-to-back. For the teenager, that was the best-case scenario: He was already in the mood and knew he had what it took to pull it off.

“A lot of people think about it for a whole year when they crash (until the next season), but I knew it was a fluke. I just went at it a little too fast,” Beckstrand said. “So when I went in the second time, I just paused for a second, made sure I was aligned properly, and once I did that, I decided to go full throttle for the rest of the course.”

Beckstrand completed Phase 1. And then he did what he had really set out to do: get through Phase 2, because he had never gotten any further than that.

Then he just kept going. Before he knew it, he was standing at the bottom of a 75-foot rope for the first time on American Ninja Warrior.

At that moment, he wished he could have trained a little more between seasons.

The rope ascent

Beckstrand stood on the platform, holding onto the rope, looking up as the commentators went over the rules. The opening at the top of the tower, through which he would climb and hit the buzzer, loomed high above him.

For the first time, Beckstrand said, he realized how far away 75 feet actually was.

“I’m not the best at rope climbing,” he said, laughing.

That's partly because he doesn't have access to a rope that size (he's only climbed a 75-foot rope twice in a competition in Colorado). Beckstrand uses a 30-foot rope in training, and although he climbs the same distance 2.5 times, he has to climb back down each time. That takes a lot of energy and doesn't give him the same momentum.

When he first stood at the foot of the 75-foot rope on “American Ninja Warrior,” he felt “intimidated,” Beckstrand says.

And although he couldn't reveal the result of the climb, the teenager said this much: “It felt like it took a lot less than 30 seconds.”

If Beckstrand is the only contestant to make the climb in 30 seconds, the million dollars is his – and he would be only the fourth person in the show's history to win the prize.

If several participants manage to climb within 30 seconds, the prize money goes to the person with the fastest time.

The teenager already knows what he would do with the money: “I would probably buy another car,” he says. “I'm sure my mother wouldn't be very happy about that.”

Beckstrand recently completed a six-month course at the fire academy and is now in the process of applying to join the fire department, but still plans to return to “American Ninja Warrior” for season 17, which begins filming later this month.

And this time, it's going to be a big family affair. According to a family Instagram post, he's competing with his brother Luke, sister Baylee and mother Holly.

And even though they're technically competing against each other, they're also each other's built-in cheerleaders.

“We have the best support team every time we compete at ANW,” said the Beckstrands.