Kenny Niemitalo

Kenneth "Kenny" Niemitalo is a Construction Worker from Trinity, North Carolina.

Around 2016, when his newborn daughter, Hazel, was born, she suffered from a kidney disease. As such, Niemtalo's appearance on ANW had led to a kidney donation to Hazel, saving her life.

American Ninja Warrior 6
Kenneth first competed in Miami as a walk-on in American Ninja Warrior 6, his run was cut in qualifying but he finished the course, placing 13th out of 42 finishers.

In the city finals, he finished the course and moved on to the national finals with the second fastest time. His run on Stage One was cut, but it was revealed that he failed the Spinning Bridge.

American Ninja Warrior 7
Kenneth returned to compete in Orlando in American Ninja Warrior 7. His run was cut in qualifying but he finished the course placing 11th.

In the city finals, he failed Cannonball Alley, but on the review, he was DQ'd on the Paddle Boards for touching the Center Axis. Because of this, Niemtalo placed 27th overall and did not return to the national finals. Had he made it to Cannonball Alley without a disqualification, his time would likely have made the top 15.

American Ninja Warrior 8
Kenneth returned to compete in Atlanta in American Ninja Warrior 8. It was revealed that this season, his newborn daughter, Hazel, was suffering from seizures and needed a kidney.

On the course, he finished the qualifying course in 10th place, His run in the city finals was digested, but it was shown that he failed the Big Dipper. He placed 28th overall.

American Ninja Warrior 9


In American Ninja Warrior 9, he competed in San Antonio. His run was all cut, but it was revealed he failed the Pipe Fitter, an obstacle he was able to complete last season in Atlanta qualifying. He still moved on, as he placed 21st overall.

In the finals, he failed the Hourglass Drop and was too slow to make the top 15. His time to that point placed him 17th overall, which made it his third consecutive year missing out on Vegas.

It was revealed that this season, a woman identified as Amy Schlee from Oneonta, New York had donated one of her kidneys to Kenny's daughter.

American Ninja Warrior 10


Kenny returned to compete in Miami in American Ninja Warrior 10. After his daughter's kidney donation, Niemtalo has advocated to raise awareness for kidney donations for Liza Foster and Dillard Ramirez Lawrence, two other kids that Niemtalo knows locally battling rare kidney diseases.

His run was digested in qualifying but it was shown that he attempted the Mega Wall, but failed to complete it. He still cleared the course, finishing with the 2nd fastest time of the night behind Drew Drechsel.

In the city finals he dominated the course and made it to the buzzer for the first time since Season 6, and also advanced to Vegas for the first time since that season, placing 1st overall.

In the national finals, he dedicated his Vegas run to Liza, as her kidneys were rapidly scarring. Kenny got redemption from two years ago, beating the Big Dipper's modified version, the Double Dipper, but rammed his knee hard on the landing platform. As such, he struggled to finish and ultimately, he timed out on the final obstacle, Twist and Fly.

American Ninja Warrior 11
Kenny was able to compete in Atlanta and was able to clear the qualifying course in 8th place, but failed the Spider Trap during the city finals. However, he still advanced to Vegas in 8th place again. On Stage One, he injured himself on the dismount of Spin Your Wheels and ultimately timed out on the Warped Wall.

On December 2019, Niemitalo announced that he is taking American Ninja Warrior 12 off. His post can be found here.