David Campbell

David Campbell (デイヴィッド・キャンベル) is a musician who competes in both SASUKE and American Ninja Warrior. He is notable for being the first ever American Ninja Warrior competitor to build an obstacle course in his backyard and currently holds the fastest First Stage clear time in SASUKE. He is also one of the two American Ninja Warrior competitors to compete every season of American Ninja Warrior, with the other being Brian Kretsch.

He also became the first person to achieve kanzenseiha in SASUKE Vietnam and the third American to achieve kanzenseiha, as he completed all of the stages in SASUKE Vietnam 2.

SASUKE
Campbell made his debut in SASUKE 22, via winning the fourth and final American preliminary competition, the American Ninja Challenge. During his run, he showed good speed. However, he lost time on the Jumping Spider mentally preparing for and testing the trampoline. He was able to battle through most of the First Stage. When he got to the new Slider Jump, he initially missed the net but was able to hold on by only a foot and two fingers after he fell. While he did not touch water, his foot got caught in the net and he lost valuable time. Ultimately, he made it to the Rope Ladder before timing out. In the tournament, he went farther than all other Americans and all of the All-Stars that competed.

Campbell tried out in the first American Ninja Warrior for a spot in SASUKE 23, clearing qualifying with a fast time of 35 seconds, one of the fastest of the day. He also blazed through the semi-finals, including clearing the Tarzan Rope in just two swings. He cleared in 1:30.7 minutes overall, and placed 3rd overall, knocking Matt Marshall off the leaderboard and moving on to the finals.

However, during the finals, he struggled greatly on the course. In the first stage, he had trouble gripping the cinder-blocks and winded up in 10th place at the end of the stage. In the second stage, he struggled on the army crawl, and he committed a rules infraction on one of the beach obstacles by touching the sand on the ground. While he later noted several other competitors got away with the same rule, he nevertheless had to redo the obstacle and lost a qualifying spot as a result, placing 13th overall. However, his nephew, Travis Furlanic, did qualify and failed the Jumping Spider.

Fueled by his failures both in Japan and America, Campbell built a replica of the entire First Stage as well as several Second and Third Stage obstacles such as the Salmon Ladder, Shin-Cliffhanger, and Ultimate Cliffhanger. Campbell's course was featured on G4's Attack of the Show and on TruTV's World's Dumbest Thrillseekers (despite being vague about the course due to copyright purposes).

Campbell's practice paid off, and in American Ninja Warrior 2, Campbell once again blazed through the first two stages and made it out of Boot Camp with a qualifying spot. In SASUKE 26, he managed to avenge his failure in SASUKE 22 and clear the entire First Stage with 21.51 seconds left on the clock, even completing the Giant Swing with a new technique of grabbing the cargo net with his feet. He managed to continue his success and finish the Second Stage with the fastest time of the night: 23.4 seconds left on the clock. In the Third Stage he made an impressive attempt, and though he managed to clear the first three obstacles, he slipped off the Ultimate Cliffhanger while transitioning to the fourth ledge and failed. It was revealed that he failed to give himself enough space to properly transition, and his left hand slipped off the ledge. Once again, out of the Americans in that tournament, he performed the best.

Campbell then competed in American Ninja Warrior 3 and he made into SASUKE 27, in which he was granted number 98. He performed well yet again. In the First Stage, he had the fastest time of all the Americans, finishing with 44.32 seconds left on the clock, a new SASUKE speed record. In the Second Stage, he was a little more hesitant than in SASUKE 26 but still cleared the stage. In the Third Stage, he fought to the Ultimate Cliffhanger again and made it to the sixth ledge, being the first American to do so. However, his strength gave way as he was inches from clearing the obstacle and he fell there. Of the Americans in that tournament, he again performed the best.

American Ninja Warrior 4
In American Ninja Warrior 4, Campbell blazed through the Northwest Qualifying round with the fastest time under a minute long. His run was a little more sloppy in the Regional Finals, but he still managed to grab the 3rd place spot, and eventually the 2nd when Travis Furlanic, (who originally held the 2nd place spot) withdrew from the competition. After the finals, David mentioned that he was fed up with the number of problems with the Las Vegas course. This mixed with his fierce determination to dominate, is what led to his early downfall at Las Vegas. Forgetting about the true reason he started competing in this sport, his foot got caught on the second ball of Spinning Bridge in Stage One and was unable to recover.

American Ninja Warrior 5
Campbell returned for American Ninja Warrior 5 on the Venice course, clearing the Venice qualifier with the 3rd fastest time. He was one of only 4 people to clear the Venice Finals course, guaranteeing him a spot in Las Vegas. During Stage One, (despite slipping while grabbing the new Giant Cycle) Campbell had a good run up until the Warped Wall. He took five tries to complete the obstacle. He got revenge on the Spin Bridge, but still didn't have enough time to complete the course, and timed out on the Rope Ladder. He stated in the post-run interview that his shoes didn't have any traction in them, making it much harder to scale the Warped Wall. This started his second Stage One fail streak that ended after Season 7.

American Ninja Warrior 6
In American Ninja Warrior 6, Campbell was the most dominant competitor in Venice Beach, clearing both the qualifying course and the finals course with the fastest time, qualifying himself for another shot at Las Vegas. In Vegas, David was able to clear the first two obstacles easily. But, on the Silk Slider he shockingly slipped off the landing platform into the water making it the third consecutive year failing Stage One.

American Ninja Warrior 7
In American Ninja Warrior 7, Campbell ran the qualifying course in Venice once again having zoomed past the first four obstacles in 25 seconds, but fell victim to the Hourglass Drop. It was his first time failing on a qualifying course. Despite this, he finished in 9th place and qualified for the city finals.

In the finals, he cleared the Hourglass Drop that eliminated him earlier and made it all the way to the Invisible Ladder where he struggled on the obstacle and fell. He finished in 3rd place once again earning him a spot in Vegas. It was the second time he failed a City Finals Course since Season 3.

In the National Finals in Vegas, David put on a flawless run through the first six obstacles, where he got revenge on the Silk Slider. On the brand new obstacle, the Coin Flip, David slipped on the second coin and face planted onto the third coin causing him to plummet in the water. That fall made it David's fourth consecutive year failing Stage One despite training specifically for the stage after his previous fall.

American Ninja Warrior 8
In American Ninja Warrior 8, David shockingly did not get the call to compete. However, he was determined to still get on the show. He went to the walk-on line for 3 cities, until finally being accepted at the Oklahoma City Qualifiers. While his run was digested, it was shown that he breezed through all six obstacles and completed the course with the third fastest time.

In the city finals, David struggled with the second obstacle, the Ring Swing but ultimately managed to complete it. It seemed that David was going to breeze through the finals course, but shocked everybody when he misjudged his jump onto the landing platform on the Bar Hop and his foot skimmed the water and he failed. Then, as a huge shocker, he didn't make the top 15 for the first time in his entire career, ranking 17th overall at the end of the Oklahoma City finals.

American Ninja Warrior 9
In American Ninja Warrior 9, Campbell got the call to compete this time and went to compete in Los Angeles. In the Qualifiers he quickly got past the first four obstacles in 51 seconds but was one of many competitors who failed the Battering Ram, making it the second time he failed on a qualifying course. However, since he made it to the Battering Ram in a fast time, he was still able to make it to the top 30, placing 27th overall.

In the City Finals, Campbell was able to clear the Battering Ram, but failed on the Swinging Peg Board. His time to the obstacle landed him in 15th place, which meant he was on the verge of being eliminated for a second time in the city finals. However, because Grant McCartney shockingly failed on the Salmon Ladder as the last runner of the night, this resulted in a secured spot in the Vegas Finals.

In Vegas, Campbell had a close call on the Double Dipper but cleared it and for the first time since season 3, completed the course with 20 seconds left, thus advancing to Stage Two.

On Stage Two, he cleared the first four obstacles with ease and made it all the way to Wingnut Alley where he fell on the transition to the third wingnut. This is also the first time that Campbell failed on Stage Two.

American Ninja Warrior 10
In American Ninja Warrior 10, Campbell competed in Los Angeles once again. While his qualifying run was digested, Campbell progressed steadily through the course even clearing the Doorknob Drop that took out many veterans before him and although he was unable to scale up the new Mega Wall, he still cleared in 8th place.

His City Finals run was also digested. However, he ended up finishing the finals course for the first time since Season 6, placing 8th again and securing him a spot in the Las Vegas finals.

In Stage One, Campbell was unfortunately one of many to fail the Double Dipper, an obstacle that he almost failed, but successfully completed last season.

American Ninja Warrior 11
In American Ninja Warrior 11, Campbell competed in Los Angeles again. He performed strongly in the qualifying round and completed the course with the second fastest time, thus earning him a spot on the new Power Tower for a chance to automatically qualify for Las Vegas. There, he performed valiantly against Hunter Guerard, but came up short of hitting the buzzer.

In the City Finals, David's run was digested but preformed very well, making it all the way to the 9th obstacle, Leaps of Faith before falling. David manage to qualified to Vegas for the ninth time, placing 5th in the Finals.

In Stage One, Campbell's run was digested and he took a more slow approach, this unfortunately cost him as he ran out of time on Twist & Fly.

American Ninja Warrior 12
In American Ninja Warrior 12, Campbell competed in St. Louis (prior to the COVID-19 Pandemic, he was originally going to compete in Los Angeles). During the Qualifying round, he struggled on Lunatic Ledges, but was able to clear it by climbing up the second board and jumping from a higher distance. From there he sailed through the rest of the course and even managed to scale up the Mega Wall earning him a spot on the Top 12 at 8th place. In the Semi-Finals, his run was digested, but he was one of many to fail on Corkscrew. Unfortunately, his time up to that point was not fast enough for him to advance to the Finals.

American Ninja Warrior 13
In American Ninja Warrior 13, Campbell competed in the Tacoma Dome in the fourth qualifying episode. Once again he had no problem on the course, but while clearing the Pretzel Twist, he landed awkwardly on the tilting board with one leg on each side. Despite that and failing to scale up the Mega Wall, Campbell still cleared in 11th place.

In the semifinals, he competed in the third episode of qualifying. Here, he struggled on the fifth obstacle, Drop Zone, when the second bar slammed him in the head and causing him to bleed. He eventually came up inches short of completing the obstacle, tapping the water on the landing platform. At the end of the night, he placed 22nd overall, and did not advance to the Las Vegas national finals. His elimination in the semifinals was strikingly similar to his elimination in ANW 8, where he failed the fifth obstacle in a semifinals round by skimming the water at the end of the obstacle, both of which cost him a chance to compete in Vegas.

SASUKE Vietnam
In SASUKE Vietnam 2, he became the third ever American to achieve kanzenseiha and the first competitor to complete SASUKE Vietnam's Final Stage as he completed the Final Stage with 0.73 seconds remaining. But with Lê Văn Thực being faster than him, he was declared the winner of the show rather than Campbell.

On Vietnam VS The World 2, he was the captain of team International. On Stage 1, he falled the Hedgehog. On Stage 2, he got disqualification on the Cross Bridge. He cleared the Stage 3 with a time 12:06.02, but as team Vietnam and team Japan won 1 heat and he won Heat 5, he got for team International 3 points. On Final Stage, he was not able to scale the tower.

He returned on SASUKE Vietnam 4 and wore number 830. He cleared Stage 1B with 1:18.22 seconds left, cleared the Stage 2 with 2:10 seconds. However, he falled the Hang Climbing on Stage 3.

He made the third trip to Vietnam with SASUKE Vietnam 5. He cleared Stage 1A with 98.46 seconds left, then Stage 2 with 55.29 seconds left (also got the Run of the Night award). However on Stage 3, he failed on the Pipe Slider like many competitors, as he failed to make the dismount to the platform.

Obstacles He Built

 * Rokudantobi
 * Jumping Bars
 * Balance Tank
 * Rope Swing
 * Jumping Spider
 * Soritatsu Kabe
 * Double Salmon Ladder
 * Heavenly Ladder
 * Slider Jump
 * Ultimate Cliffhanger
 * Log Grip
 * Shin-Cliffhanger
 * Flying Bar
 * Rope Junction
 * Unstable Bridge
 * Godantobi
 * Rope Ladder
 * Tarzan Rope
 * Salmon Ladder
 * Pipe Slider

Trivia

 * With Campbell receiving number 98 in SASUKE 27, it would eventually be the second highest number given to an American in SASUKE history.
 * Drew Drechsel and Jessie Graff also managed to wear the number 98 in SASUKE 35 and SASUKE 37 respectively.
 * Levi Meeuwenberg still holds the record of receiving the highest number given to an American as he wore the number 99 in SASUKE 21.
 * Campbell is the first competitor to be declared Last Man Standing two years in a row on American Ninja Warrior 2 and American Ninja Warrior 3.
 * He is the uncle of former American Ninja Warrior competitor Travis Furlanic.
 * In an interview with American Ninja Warrior Nation for Season 11, he revealed that he had recently identified an autoimmune condition, which had affected his ability to perform over the past 5 years.[1]
 * Campbell, Drew Drechsel, Geoff Britten, Isaac Caldiero, Mike Bernardo, Daniel Gil, and Kane Kosugi are the only 7 Americans to finish Third Stage in any SASUKE/Ninja Warrior competition.
 * Campbell is the first person to achieve kanzenseiha in SASUKE Vietnam, as he finished the Final Stage with 0.73 second remaining in SASUKE Vietnam 2.
 * Overall, Campbell is the third American to achieve kanzenseiha in any SASUKE/Ninja Warrior format.
 * Campbell is one of only five competitors who achieved kanzenseiha on his first appearance. As this feat was also made by Miyake Ayako on KUNOICHI 4, Kadoi Satomi on KUNOICHI 8, Iliann Cherif on Ninja Warrior France 6, and Yogev Malka on Ninja Warrior Israel 4.
 * Out of every competitor who achieved kanzenseiha, Campbell is one of only two competitors to achieve it away from his home country. As this feat was also made by Joel Mattli on Ninja Warrior Austria 3.
 * With Campbell, Nguyễn Phước Huynh, and Lê Văn Thực achieving kanzenseiha in the same tournament in SASUKE Vietnam 2, this tournament became the one with the most competitors to achieve kanzenseiha in a single tournament of any SASUKE/Ninja Warrior format, along with Australian Ninja Warrior 4.
 * Out of every single person who competed in American Ninja Warrior, he, along with Brian Kretsch, have competed as a walk-on competitor at least once in their career, as he did in American Ninja Warrior 8. In addition, this marked the only time thus far that he didn’t compete in the California region where he lives, so he had to compete in Oklahoma City.
 * There are instances where he would obtain the obstacles used from American Ninja Warrior 3's Boot Camp and use it into his backyard course. With obstacles such as the Roulette Cylinder and Double Salmon Ladder rungs from the Boot Camp were present at his course.
 * Campbell is one of 7 competitors to share the feat of clearing the first and second stage in the fastest time in that same tournament, for David he did this in SASUKE 26. (The other 6 are Yamamoto Shingo, Nagano Makoto, Levi Meeuwenberg, Asa Kazuma, Ragivaru Anastase, and Yamamoto Yoshiyuki)