Allyssa McGrath is an elementary school teacher from Marlborough, Massachusetts who is one of the three women competitors known for clearing Stage One of American Ninja Warrior. She's currently married to American Ninja Warrior all-star, James McGrath.
American Ninja Warrior[]
American Ninja Warrior 8[]
She first competed in Philadelphia in American Ninja Warrior 8 and even though she failed Rolling Thunder, she did manage to grab the final spot in the top 30 and help make history as one of four women that advanced to the city finals.
In the city finals, she failed the Rolling Thunder again but was selected to compete in the national finals as a wildcard.
Her run on Stage One was digested, but it was shown that she failed the Propeller Bar.
American Ninja Warrior 9[]
Allyssa returned to compete in Cleveland in American Ninja Warrior 9, where it was revealed that she was currently dating fellow competitor James McGrath.
In qualifying, she had a close call on the I-Beam Gap, but she became the first competitor that night that cleared it. She became just the sixth woman ever to scale the Warped Wall and the fifth woman ever to complete a qualifying course. Akbar even tossed her an apple from where he was in the host stand. Allyssa placed 14th and moved on to the city finals. At the end of the qualifier round, she was one of two females to finish the course, with the other being Jesse Labreck.
In the city finals, Allyssa had a close call on the first obstacle, the Floating Steps, but eventually cleared it and later made it all the way to the Nail Clipper before falling, but made it into the women's top 2 and advanced to Vegas.
Allyssa Beird at the Cleveland Qualifiers - American Ninja Warrior 2017
In the National Finals, she became the second woman to complete Stage One in ANW history and just the third woman to do so in any SASUKE/Ninja Warrior competition, the others being Jessie Graff in the last season and Tanabe Chie on SASUKE 2. Also Allyssa became the second women after Jessie Graff to beat the Warped Wall on Stage One and Allyssa finished with 8.48 seconds left on the clock and advanced to Stage Two where she failed on the Criss-Cross Salmon Ladder's second transition across to the top where the bar became lopsided which is the second best a women has done on Stage Two only second to Jessie Graff where she made it all the way to the next obstacle, The Wave Runner.
Allyssa Beird at the Las Vegas National Finals- Stage 1 - American Ninja Warrior 2017
Allyssa Beird at the Las Vegas National Finals- Stage 2 - American Ninja Warrior 2017
American Ninja Warrior 10[]
Allyssa Beird at the Philadelphia City Qualifiers - American Ninja Warrior 2018
Allyssa returned to compete in Philadelphia in American Ninja Warrior 10. But this time, she competed along with her mother Daria Beird. While Daria failed the Spinning Bowties, Allyssa reached the Warped Wall where she failed to scale the mega one on her one attempt but managed to scale the regular 14’6’ wall and hit the buzzer making history as one of three women that hit the buzzer in Philadelphia. She placed 11th overall at the end of the night. Akbar even tossed her another apple from where he was in the host stand.
In the city finals, Alyssa fell on the Captain's Wheel but she placed 11th again and moved on to Las Vegas for the third year in a row.
On Stage One, she was expected to do well after coming off of her best season to date last year. But in a huge shock, she failed the first obstacle, Archer Alley, ending her season early in Vegas.
American Ninja Warrior 11[]
Allyssa returned to complete in Baltimore in American Ninja Warrior 11. Once again she competed with her mother Daria Beird. While Daria failed the Shrinking Steps and was cut from the broadcast, Allyssa ended being the only woman who get past the Hazard Cones, and she failed Crank It Up on the transition from the second set of handles to the third set of handles but she placed 25th overall.
In the city finals, Allyssa got revenge on Crank It Up, and then she later failed the Angry Birds, like everyone else who made it to the obstacle did. She placed 21st overall, but advanced as she was the top women competitor of the city finals.
In Vegas, she got revenge on the Archer Alley but she later failed the Tire Run.
American Ninja Warrior 12[]
Allyssa returned in American Ninja Warrior 12, bringing Robert Moffitt and John Huie with her as part of her support group. While her two friends were knocked out by Rib Run, Allyssa cleared the course successfully, placed 8th and advanced to the semi-finals.
She competed in the first episode of the semifinals. In a surprising twist in the semi-finals, she failed the third obstacle, Clockwork, and she missed out on the finals. She was one of two competitors to fail there during that round. This was her first time since ANW8 that she didn’t make it to the eighth obstacle during the semifinals.
Women's Championship[]
Allyssa competed in the Women's Championship, taped during American Ninja Warrior 12. She completed the first four obstacles, but went out on the fifth obstacle, Sideways and didn't advance to the next round.
American Ninja Warrior 13[]
Allyssa returned to compete in the fourth qualifying episode of American Ninja Warrior 13. Her run was digested, but it was shown that she failed Pretzel Twist. This time, since five other women got to the obstacle faster than her, she unfortunately didn't qualify for the semifinals for the first time in her career. She placed 31st overall, being on the bubble and eventually placing 6th out of the womens' after Meagan Martin completed the obstacle.
It should be noted that in the fourth episode of qualifying, she was one of only two (the other being Ethan Swanson) to attempt Block Run on Split Decision. The rest of the competitors that made it at least to the third obstacle that round all chose the Log Runner.
However, it was revealed on ANWNation that Allyssa actually competed in the second semifinals episode as an alternate for a competitor who withdrew, having been just one spot away from being in Top 30 in her qualifier round. Her run was cut with no mention that she competed, but it was known that she failed the Spinning Bridge and didn't move on.[1]
Women's Championship 2[]
Allyssa competed in the second Women's Championship which was taped during Season 13. Her run was digested, but she took a hard hit on the platform of Barrel Roll, and then took a hard hit on Wall to Wall, and then had an awkward dismount. Nonetheless she cleared the course in 5th place and advanced to the next round. During Round Two, Allyssa was the first runner. She made it to Split Decision, where despite James saying she should consider Diving Boards she said that’s how this happened (pointing at her knee where she had severely injured it during her Team Akbar run during the American Ninja Warrior: All Stars Special 5) and she chose the Inverter which she ended up failing. Still, she placed fourth and advanced to the Power Tower, where she lost to eventual champion (and her friend), Jesse Labreck in the first round.
American Ninja Warrior 14[]
Allyssa returned to compete in American Ninja Warrior 14 on the first qualifying episode. Her run was again digested, but it was shown that she was one of few to attempt the Serpent at Split Decision, which she ultimately failed, making it the second straight time that she failed to make the top 30 in qualifying. This was also the first time her season concluded in the qualifying round, marking her worst season to date.
The night was not a total loss for Beird, though. Shortly afterwards, she was shown to become engaged to her boyfriend and fellow competitor James McGrath (who competed for the first time since American Ninja Warrior 10). McGrath had intended to propose to her if he completed the course, which he did.
Women's Championship 3[]
Allyssa competed in the third Women's Championship, taped during the American Ninja Warrior 14’s National Finals. Her run was digested, but after clearing the first five obstacles with ease, she struggled on the Warped Wall, timing out and not advancing to the next round.
Couples Championship[]
Allyssa competed with James in the American Ninja Warrior: Couples Championship. In the first round, they were the first runners, where Allyssa got through the first two obstacles with ease but she failed Air Surfer while James cleared the final three, earning 5 points for them and moving onto the second round. Allyssa got through the first three obstacles this time (getting revenge on Air Surfer), and when James failed Kaleidoscope (which he got through during the first round), it all came down to her, where she got through the Salmon Ladder before once again failing on the eighth obstacle (for the fourth time), this time being Ghost Town. They earned 5 points, which wasn’t enough at the end of the round.
American Ninja Warrior 17[]
In an Instagram post, Allyssa revealed that she injured her rotator cuff, and as a result, she didn't compete either in American Ninja Warrior 15 and 16. She would later make a return for her eighth season in the sixth qualifying round in American Ninja Warrior 17. There, she took extra swings on Lunatic Ledges. Due toa combination of fatigue from the Lunatic Ledges and her injury still being in recovery, she once again failed on Crank It Up, where she went out on the lache to the final bar. Nevertheless, she managed to place 18th overall, advancing her to the semifinals for the first time since ANW12.
During the third round of the semifinals, Allyssa's run was digested but she had a close call on the dismount of Lunatic Ledges. Though she survived the obstacle, her run ended one obstacle later as she failed the Log Runner, once again ending her season on a balance obstacle.
Women's Championship 5[]
Allyssa competed in the fifth's Women's Championship, which was taped during season 17. Her run during the first round was digested, but she once again failed on Log Runner. She ended up placing 13th overall, thus she once again didn't advance to the second round.
Allyssa is set to compete in American Ninja Warrior 18 along with her husband James.
Other Appearances[]
Beird would have an appearance on Team Ninja Warrior 2 as part of Joe Moravsky's Storm Team in which they became the champions of the whole competition.
Trivia[]
- Beird was the second woman to ever complete Stage One in the Vegas finals, doing so during American Ninja Warrior 9.
- She also holds the record for shortest amount of attempts to finish Stage One, managing to do so in her second season competing. In comparison, Jessie Graff took three attempts to complete Stage One, and Jesse Labreck took four attempts.
- She is also the second women to beat the fourth obstacle on Stage Two during the All Star Special during Season 11, with Meagan failing it twice before and Allyssa failed it herself during the Season 9 All Star Special.
- Allyssa held a competitor AMA session on the American Ninja Warrior subreddit in 2019, shortly after the Baltimore finals airing.
- Allyssa and James hold the record for most combined buzzers for a ninja couple with 28.
- James and Allyssa are in second (behind Jesse Labreck and Chris DiGangi) for most qualifying buzzers as a couple with two times.
- Allyssa holds the record for shortest amount of attempts to finish Stage One with two (as Jessie Graff took three attempts to do so and Jesse Labreck took four attempts).
- Allyssa (along with Michelle Warnky-Buurma and Jesse Labreck) are the only women to ever attempt the Mega Wall.
- Allyssa has hit four buzzers in her ninja career (but if the Women's Championships and Ninja vs. Ninja are counted, she has hit six buzzers).
- She is tied with Michelle Warnky-Buurma and Meagan Martin for fourth most buzzers amongst the women.
- She is the only one out of the three who have cleared Stage One.
Team Ninja Record[]
| Season | Episode | Round | Heat | Opponent Team | Opponent | Result | Notes | Individual Record |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team: Storm Team | ||||||||
| 2 | 5 (Qualifying) | Round One | 1 | Flowmingo | Luci Romberg | Loss | Both of them fell at the Ring of Fire. However, Luci reached the obstacle first. | 0-1 |
| 2 | 5 (Qualifying) | Round Two | 2 | Team Alpha | Kacy Catanzaro | Loss | Allyssa fell at the Swing Jump. | 0-2 |
| 2 | 10 (Finals) | Round One | 2 | Iron Grip | Barclay Stockett | Loss | 0-3 | |
| 2 | 10 (Finals) | Round Two | 2 | Think Tank | Asya Grechka | Win | 1-3 | |
Relay Showdown Record[]
| Season | Episode | Competitor (Obstacle Attempted) | Opponent Team | Opponent (Obstacle Attempted) | Result | Notes | Relay Record |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team: Storm Team | |||||||
| 2 | 5 (Qualifying) | Allyssa Beird (1-3) Joe Moravsky (4-6) Josh Levin (7-9) |
Karsten's Fast Kats | Joy Strickland (1-3) Kevin Klein (4-6) Karsten Williams (7-9) |
Win | Allyssa fell at the Swing Jump, resulting in a 10-second penalty for Joe. | 1-0 |
| 2 | 10 (Finals) | Allyssa Beird (1-3) Joe Moravsky (4-6) Josh Levin (7-9) |
Iron Grip | Barclay Stockett (1-3) Scott Willson (4-6) Daniel Gil (7-9) |
Win | 2-0 | |
| 2 | 11 (Finals) | Allyssa Beird (1-3) Joe Moravsky (4-6) Josh Levin (7-9) |
Team TNT | Marybeth Wang (1-3) Brett Sims (4-6) Travis Rosen (7-9) |
Champions | Marybeth fell at the Ring of Fire, resulting in a 10-second penalty for Brett. | 3-0 |
Power Tower Record[]
| Season | Round | Opponent | Result | Notes | Individual Record |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| WC2 | Semifinals | Jesse Labreck | Loss | 0-1 |
American Ninja Warrior Results[]
| ANW | # | Result | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 8 | Failed Propeller Bar (Stage One) | Digest. | |
| 9 | Failed Criss Cross Salmon Ladder (Stage Two) | Tried to skip a rung on the final transition across. Second woman to attempt Stage Two in American Ninja Warrior history. Last Woman Standing. | |
| 10 | Failed Archer Alley (Stage One) | ||
| 11 | Failed Tire Run (Stage One) |