American Ninja Warrior 13

American Ninja Warrior 13 was the thirteenth season of American Ninja Warrior, and the second season after Drew Drechsel's total victory on American Ninja Warrior 11, disregarding Daniel Gil's recent win on American Ninja Warrior 12 due to the format change.

Due to uncertainty regarding the COVID-19 pandemic, it was initially unclear how this season's format would look like. However, in late January 2021, competitors started getting calls to compete. Shortly afterwards, details regarding filming were announced:
 * All competitors would start at Tacoma Dome for qualifiers, taped in late March. There were five qualifiers episodes. This is the 3rd straight season to have a round be filmed indoors after Seattle/Tacoma of American Ninja Warrior 11 and St. Louis of American Ninja Warrior 12
 * The Results and top 5 women in each qualifiers episode would advance to the semifinals, taped at the Universal Studios Backlot in Los Angeles in mid-April. There were four semifinals episode.
 * Finally, the Results and top 3 women in each semifinals episode would advance to the national finals in Las Vegas, taped in May. The $1,000,000 cash prize was reinstated.

While the competition did not return to the format where it "tours" in five or six cities, the national finals returned after missing out during the previous season, and more competitors had been invited to compete. During the qualifiers and semifinals, due to ongoing COVID-19 restrictions, there were no live audience and no walk-on line. For the national finals, audiences and family members/friends of the competitors in limited numbers had been allowed to attend the taping.

In addition, while the application process was still only open to those who were 19 years old and older, some competitors as young as 15 years old had received special invitations to compete (most of them were former American Ninja Warrior Junior competitors). This change was intended for the previous season, but was tabled due to the modified season.

There were several notable changes made for this season:
 * This season introduced the Split Decision, a point on the course where they had to pick between two different obstacles. This concept is based on Crossroads, a notable VIKING obstacle. It has also been used in multiple international Ninja Warrior formats such as Ninja Israel and Ninja Warrior France:
 * In the qualifiers, the Split Decision occurred at the third obstacle, in which competitors must choose between two different balance obstacles.
 * In the semifinals, the Split Decision occurred at the ninth obstacle, giving competitors the opportunity to choose between an intense upper body obstacle or a difficult balance obstacle.
 * In the national finals, the Split Decision occurred at the eighth and final obstacle of Stage One, giving competitors the opportunity to choose between a faster but more risky obstacle or a slower but safer obstacle.
 * The Power Tower was not used during qualifiers, but did return for the semifinals. The top two competitors from each semifinals episode raced on the Power Tower for the Safety Pass.
 * The Mega Wall returned for the qualifiers, with the same rules from the previous season. Competitors had one attempt to scale the 18-foot Mega Wall, and earned $10,000 if they were successful, but if they fail, they have just one attempt to complete the regular 14.5-foot Warped Wall (it was initially reported that competitors would have two attempts on the regular wall after failing the Mega Wall, but this change was later reverted).

Abbreviations
The following abbreviations are used to differentiate the episodes in between the qualifiers and semifinals for simplicity sake and to avoid confusion:
 * QF - Qualifiers
 * SF - Semifinals
 * EP - Episode

QF EP 1
Original Airdate: May 31st, 2021.

Obstacles
① Shrinking Steps

② ^Overpass

③ Split Decision (^Domino Effect or Spinning Log)

④ ^Tipping Point

⑤ ^V Formation

⑥ Warped Wall / Mega Wall

^ - New Obstacle

Trivia

 * This episode set a new record for the fewest clears during qualifiers with just five, beating Venice Beach qualifiers on American Ninja Warrior 7 which had seven.

QF EP 2
Original Airdate: June 7th, 2021.

Obstacles
① Shrinking Steps

② Weight for It

③ Split Decision (Broken Bridge or Burn Rubber)

④ ^Tipping Point

⑤ ^V Formation

⑥ Warped Wall / Mega Wall

^ - New Obstacle

Trivia

 * With five female competitors advancing within the top 30, this qualifiers episode set the new record as the most number of female competitors advancing within the top 30, beating the previous record set during Philadelphia qualifiers on American Ninja Warrior 8 at four female competitors.

QF EP 3
Original Airdate: June 21st, 2021.

Obstacles
① Shrinking Steps

② ^Overpass

③ Split Decision (^Domino Effect or Spinning Log)

④ ~Air Surfer

⑤ ^Pretzel Twist

⑥ Warped Wall / Mega Wall

^ - New Obstacle

~ - '''Fan-created Obstacle (Obstacle Design Challenge Winner)

QF EP 4
Original Airdate: June 28th, 2021.

Obstacles
① Shrinking Steps

② ^Double Down

③ Split Decision (*Log Runner or Block Run)

④ ~Air Surfer

⑤ ^Pretzel Twist

⑥ Warped Wall / Mega Wall

^ - New Obstacle

~ - '''Fan-created Obstacle (Obstacle Design Challenge Winner)

* - Modified Obstacle (Compared to Previous American Ninja Warrior Seasons)

QF EP 5
Original Airdate: July 12th, 2021.

Obstacles
① Shrinking Steps

② ^Double Down

③ Split Decision (+Log Runner or Block Run)

④ ^Tilt-A-Whirl

⑤ Sideways

⑥ Warped Wall / Mega Wall

^ - New Obstacle

+ - Modified Obstacle (Compared to American Ninja Warrior 13's Qualifiers Course)

SF EP 1
Original Airdate: July 19th, 2021.

Obstacles
① Shrinking Steps

② Lunatic Ledges

③ +Tilt-A-Whirl

④ Spinning Bridge

⑤ ^Wall to Wall

⑥ Warped Wall

⑦ Salmon Ladder

⑧ Corkscrew

⑨ Split Decision (^Inverter or *Tuning Forks)

⑩ Spider Trap

^ - New Obstacle

* - Modified Obstacle (Compared to Previous American Ninja Warrior Seasons)

+ - Modified Obstacle (Compared to American Ninja Warrior 13's Qualifiers Course)

SF EP 2
Original Airdate: August 9th, 2021 (after a three-week break due to NBC's broadcast of the 2020 Summer Olympics).

Obstacles
① Shrinking Steps

② Double Twister

③ Ring Chaser

④ Spinning Bridge

⑤ Wall to Wall

⑥ Warped Wall

⑦ Salmon Ladder

⑧ ^Padlock

⑨ Split Decision (Inverter or Tuning Forks)

⑩ Spider Trap

^ - New Obstacle

SF EP 3
Original Airdate: August 16th, 2021.

Obstacles
① Shrinking Steps

② Double Twister

③ Ring Chaser

④ Diamond Dash

⑤ ^Drop Zone

⑥ Warped Wall

⑦ Salmon Ladder

⑧ Padlock

⑨ Split Decision (The Dungeon or *Diving Boards)

⑩ Spider Trap

^ - New Obstacle

* - Modified Obstacle (Compared to Previous American Ninja Warrior Seasons)

SF EP 4
Original Airdate: August 23rd, 2021.

Obstacles
① Shrinking Steps

② Lunatic Ledges

③ Barrel Roll

④ Diamond Dash

⑤ +Drop Zone

⑥ Warped Wall

⑦ Salmon Ladder

⑧ Crazy Clocks

⑨ Split Decision (The Dungeon or *Diving Boards)

⑩ Spider Trap

* - Modified Obstacle (Compared to Previous American Ninja Warrior Seasons)

+ - Modified Obstacle (Compared to American Ninja Warrior 13's Semifinals Course)

Trivia

 * This is the most semifinals/city finals clears since American Ninja Warrior 4's Southeast Region finals, which had 18 finishers.

Stage One
Original Airdate: August 30th, 2021 & September 6th, 2021.

Obstacles
① ^Slide Surfer

② ^Swinging Blades

③ Double Dipper

④ Jumping Spider

⑤ Tire Run

⑥ Warped Wall

⑦ ^Dipping Birds

⑧ Split Decision (^The High Road or ^Fly Hooks)

Time limit: 165 seconds.

^ - New Obstacle

Stage Two
Original Airdate: September 6th, 2021 & September 13th, 2021.

Obstacles
① ^Striding Steps

② *Double Salmon Ladder

③ +V Formation

④ ^Hammer Drop

⑤ ^Epic Air Surfer

⑥ *Falling Shelves

Time limit: 210 seconds.

^ - New Obstacle

* - Modified Obstacle (Compared to Previous American Ninja Warrior Seasons)

+ - Modified Obstacle (Compared to American Ninja Warrior 13's Qualifiers Course)

Stage Three
Original Airdate: September 13th, 2021.

Obstacles
① Grip & Tip

② ~Stalactites

③ *Up for Grabs

④ Ultimate Cliffhanger

⑤ *Pipe Dream

⑥ ^Eyeglass Alley

⑦ Flying Bar

^ - New Obstacle

~ - '''Fan-created Obstacle (Obstacle Design Challenge Winner)

* - Modified Obstacle (Compared to Previous American Ninja Warrior Seasons)

Stage Four
Original Airdate: September 13th, 2021.

Obstacles
① Rope Climb (75 feet)

Time limit: 30 seconds.