Mike Bernardo



Michael "Mike" Bernardo is a firefighter and paramedic in the District of Columbia. He is originally from Cleveland, Ohio, where he worked as a paramedic, but currently serves as a firefighter for the Washington D.C. fire department.

He has competed in every season of American Ninja Warrior except for the first season.

American Ninja Warrior 2
In his first season, he failed the Warped Wall in qualifying.

American Ninja Warrior 3
In season 3, he finally was able to make it up the Warped Wall in qualifying, but he took 2 tries. His time came out to be approximately 1:20.76 seconds, which according to the ANW3 leaderboard would have placed him 33rd, but his run was neither shown in-broadcast nor acknowledged in-leaderboard for unknown reasons.

American Ninja Warrior 4
He returned for ANW 4, where he completed the Northeast Qualifying round. However, he failed the Jumping Bars in the finals and did not qualify for Vegas, despite beating it in the Northeast Qualifying round.

American Ninja Warrior 5
He then returned for American Ninja Warrior 5 in Baltimore, where he passed the qualifying round, placing 13th. However, in the finals, he failed the Rumbling Dice when he tried to dismount too early. Although he was not part of the top 15, he advanced to the National Finals as a wild card. He failed the Half-Pipe Attack in the First Stage.

American Ninja Warrior 6
Bernardo returned for American Ninja Warrior 6 and competed in St. Louis. Unfortunately, he failed the Cross Bridge in the qualifying round, when he tried an unorthodox method of standing on one panel.

American Ninja Warrior 7
In American Ninja Warrior 7, he competed in the Pittsburgh region. After failing the third obstacle last season, he got redemption on Snake Crossing, not overthinking the obstacle. Bernardo continued to complete the city qualifying course, placing 17th.

In the city finals, he failed the Doorknob Arch but still advanced to the National Finals in Las Vegas, as he placed 7th overall. He cleared the First Stage for the first time in his career but failed the Roulette Row in the Second Stage. This was his best season to date.

American Ninja Warrior 8
In American Ninja Warrior 8, Bernardo competed in the Philadelphia qualifying round but failed the Rolling Thunder when he dismounted too early, tapping the water. He advanced to the city finals placing 10th, as he got to the obstacle at a quick pace. He later advanced to the Stair Hopper in the Philadelphia finals before failing, finishing fifth overall and qualifying to Vegas for the second consecutive season. Unfortunately, he failed the Propeller Bar, just the second obstacle in the First Stage, despite clearing it last season.

American Ninja Warrior 9
In American Ninja Warrior 9, Bernardo competed in Cleveland and completed the qualifying course, placing 9th. In the city finals, his run was digested but it was shown that he failed the Nail Clipper, which was good for 8th place and a third consecutive trip to Vegas.

His run on Stage 1 was digested, but he finished with 24.90 seconds left, completing stage one for the second time in his career. In Stage 2, Bernardo was one of only two competitors to fail the Swing Surfer.

American Ninja Warrior 10
Bernardo returned to compete in Philadelphia in American Ninja Warrior 10. He completed the qualifying course, placing 8th, even though he failed to clear the Mega Warped Wall. In the city finals, however, he shockingly failed the Wingnuts and did not move on to Vegas for the first time since American Ninja Warrior 6. He placed 25th overall.

American Ninja Warrior 11
After a disastrous fall at his work prior to this season, Mike was hurled into a world of fear as possible diagnoses like ALS and Parkinson’s were put on the table. Many were shocked to see the possibility of this happening to him, including his fellow Ninja companions.

However, he still competed in Cincinnati. Although it was speculated that this might be his last appearance, he was able to beat the qualifying course and redeem himself on the Wingnuts. He was the first finisher shown, placing 7th.

Unfortunately, his city finals run was a repeat of last year, where although it was once again digested, he failed the Wingnuts again. Just like last year, he placed 25th, and so he failed to move on to the Las Vegas Finals for the second year in a row.

SASUKE Vietnam 2
In SASUKE Vietnam 2, Bernardo has the fifth-fastest time in Stage 1B, and one of the five fastest times in Stage 2. Bernardo was one of the 12 to clear Stage 3 but unfortunately timed out on Stage 4. Despite that, fellow American David Campbell achieved kanzenseiha that tournament.