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Template:Infobox Competition ANW

American Ninja Warrior 12 is the twelfth season of American Ninja Warrior, and the first season after Drew Drechsel's total victory on American Ninja Warrior 11. Originally, the season would host three cities for qualifying rounds in Los Angeles, Washington DC (new city), and St. Louis, with the national finals being held in Las Vegas.

However, on March 12th, 2020, due to growing concerns about the COVID-19 pandemic, the Los Angeles taping was postponed less than 48 hours before it was scheduled to begin. As the pandemic continued to escalate in the coming days, the St. Louis and Washington DC tapings were also postponed. The producers initially reiterated their intention to film the season at a later date, but did not immediately specify when and how it would happen.

In late July 2020, some competitors shared via social media that the current season was filming with a set season debut in due time. NBC officially confirmed this on August 12th, 2020, and announced the premiere date of September 7th, 2020.

As the season was filmed during the pandemic, some significant changes were made:

  • The entire season was filmed inside The Dome at America’s Center in St. Louis, which was one of the original taping locations. There was no tour as there had been in the past, and there would be no Las Vegas national finals.
  • The season featured 50 top competitors from the previous seasons, with each choosing two people from their community to compete with them (these could be rookies or returning competitors). This made for a total of 150 competitors, much less than approximately 500 which were originally scheduled to complete.
  • The whole season was taped without any audience, and family member and close friend of the competitors. However, they were allowed to watch the taping remotely via online meeting application.
  • Safety and health protocols became mandatory for all of the competitors, including COVID-19 tests before competing, social distancing rule, and wearing mask while not competing.

The competition format was also very different. Competitors would compete in three rounds across eight episodes:

  • The first four episodes were the qualifiers episodes. The qualifiers course featured six obstacles, with the top 12 competitors from each episode advancing to the semifinals along with the top 3 women. In addition, the top 2 competitors from each qualifiers episode would face off on the Power Tower, with the winner being able to take their two fellow competitors to the semifinals regardless of whether or not they finished in the top 12.
  • The next two episodes were the semi-final episodes. Competitors who qualified would run a ten-obstacle course, with the top 12 in each episode advancing to the finals along with the top 2 women.
  • The finals would take place over the last two episodes. Competitors who qualified would run a ten-obstacle course, with the top 8 competitors being placed in a playoff bracket on the Power Tower (there was no special advancement rule for women). The winner would receive the cash prize of $100,000.

In addition, there are other important details to note:

  • Finishing a course did not guarantee advancement. If more competitors finished the course than the quota that had been set, unlike on the previous seasons, only the fastest finishers would move on (a very similar rule used on the first four seasons of American Ninja Warrior in qualifying/regional qualifiers and semi-final/regional finals).
  • The competitor groups did not actually compete as a team; the only time being significant is during qualifiers on the Power Tower, as the winner got to take their entire group to the semifinals regardless of how they fare.
  • The Mega Wall is still in play during qualifiers, but the rules were reverted to those used on American Ninja Warrior 10. Competitors were given just one attempt to scale the 18-foot Mega Wall, and would earn $10,000 upon successfully doing so, but if they failed, they were given just one attempt to complete the regular 14.5-foot Warped Wall.

Qualifiers

Episode 1

Original Air Date: September 7th, 2020.

Obstacles

Shrinking Steps
^Weight for It
~Ring Chaser
^Rib Run
*Slingshot
Warped Wall / Mega Wall

^ - New Obstacle
~ - Fan-created Obstacle (Obstacle Design Challenge Winner)
* - Modified Obstacle (Compared to Previous American Ninja Warrior's Seasons)

Top 12 Competitors

Place Name Profile Result Notes
1st Jody Avila HVAC Technician Clear (1:44.41)
2nd Tyler Gillett Barista Clear (1:45.20) Digest.
3rd Nate Hansen Business Student Clear (1:53.09)
4th Jon Alexis Jr. Clear (2:20.02) All cut.
5th Julius Ferguson Rap Artist Clear (3:07.16) Digest. Attempted the Mega Wall, but failed to complete it.
6th Mike Wright USA Diving Team Coach Clear (3:45.41) Attempted the Mega Wall, but failed to complete it.
7th Grant McCartney Flight Attendant Clear (4:01.16) Attempted the Mega Wall, but failed to complete it.
8th Allyssa Beird Fourth Grade Teacher Clear (4:15.10)
9th Flip Rodriguez Stuntman 5. Slingshot (1:13.08)
10th Jonathan Horton 2-time Olympic Medalist 5. Slingshot (1:20.75) Digest.
11th Ryan Lashoff Student 5. Slingshot (1:25.63) Digest.
12th Taylor Johnson Gymnastics Coach 5. Slingshot (2:21.53) Digest.

Top 3 Women Competitors

Place Name Profile Result Notes
1st Allyssa Beird Fourth Grade Teacher Clear (4:15.10) Part of Top 12.
2nd Taylor Johnson Gymnastics Coach 5. Slingshot (2:21.53) Part of Top 12.
3rd Sandy Zimmerman P.E. Teacher 5. Slingshot (2:25.07)

Power Tower Result

No Power Tower match-up was shown in the first qualifiers episode. The top two finishers, Tyler Gillett and Jody Avila, should have competed for the right to bring their teammates to the semifinals. However, after the final competitor finished the course, the final leaderboard was shown and the episode concluded. The Power Tower was never mentioned in the entire episode, and no explanation was given as to why it was not shown.

It was later confirmed that the reason for the Power Tower match-up not being shown is because it involved Drew Drechsel, who was edited out of the season due to NBC and A. Smith & Co permanently cutting ties with him. Likely for this reason, the producers chose to air this particular qualifiers episode first, as it would be awkward to show the Power Tower one week, then not the next week. Drechsel and Avila both competed on the Power Tower, and inside sources confirmed that Jody Avila won, while also confirming Taylor Johnson and Julius Ferguson were Drechsel's teammates (both formerly worked at his gym).

Drechsel's teammates were shown during the episode. However, their runs were digested and the sideline was not shown. Both of them advanced to the semifinals, as Ferguson finished and placed 5th, and Johnson failed on the Slingshot but was 2nd among the women. So, a win by Drechsel on the Power Tower would not have changed anything (but since Avila won, his two teammates, who both failed on the Weight for It, advanced).

Although Taylor Johnson was shown to be 12th place overall during the broadcast, this was not true in reality. The actual 12th place competitor was a male who failed on the Slingshot, but with Drechsel's participation, that competitor finished in 13th place and did not move on to the semifinals. To avoid a discrepancy in the semifinalists, the producers moved Taylor Johnson up to the 12th spot since she advanced as part of the top 3 women. This explains why there is such a large time difference between Johnson (2:21.53) and the 11th place semifinalist, Ryan Lashoff (1:25.63). It has been confirmed that at least one non-semifinalist reached the Slingshot faster than Taylor Johnson.


Episode 2

Original Air Date: September 14th, 2020.

Obstacles

Shrinking Steps
Lunatic Ledges
Ring Chaser
Rib Run
Ferris Wheel
Warped Wall / Mega Wall

^ - New Obstacle

Top 12 Competitors

Place Name Profile Result Notes
1st
2nd
3rd
4th
5th
6th
7th
8th
9th
10th
11th
12th

Top 3 Women Competitors

Place Name Profile Result Notes
1st
2nd
3rd

Power Tower Result

Place Name Profile Winning Competitor Notes
1st
2nd


Episode 3

Obstacles

Shrinking Steps
② [[]]
③ [[]]
④ [[]]
⑤ [[]]
Warped Wall / Mega Wall

Top 12 Competitors

Place Name Profile Result Notes
1st
2nd
3rd
4th
5th
6th
7th
8th
9th
10th
11th
12th

Top 3 Women Competitors

Place Name Profile Result Notes
1st
2nd
3rd

Power Tower Result

Place Name Profile Winning Competitor Notes
1st
2nd


Episode 4

Obstacles

Shrinking Steps
② [[]]
③ [[]]
④ [[]]
⑤ [[]]
Warped Wall / Mega Wall

Top 12 Competitors

Place Name Profile Result Notes
1st
2nd
3rd
4th
5th
6th
7th
8th
9th
10th
11th
12th

Top 3 Women Competitors

Place Name Profile Result Notes
1st
2nd
3rd

Power Tower Result

Place Name Profile Winning Competitor Notes
1st
2nd

Semifinals

Episode 1

Obstacles

① [[]]
② [[]]
③ [[]]
④ [[]]
⑤ [[]]
Warped Wall
Salmon Ladder
⑧ [[]]
⑨ [[]]
⑩ [[]]

Top 12 Competitors

Place Name Qualifying Place Qualifying Episode Profile Result Notes
1st
2nd
3rd
4th
5th
6th
7th
8th
9th
10th
11th
12th

Top 2 Women Competitors

Place Name Qualifying Place Qualifying Episode Profile Result Notes
1st
2nd

Results of Other Semifinalists

Name Qualifying Place Qualifying Episode Profile Result Notes


Episode 2

Obstacles

① [[]]
② [[]]
③ [[]]
④ [[]]
⑤ [[]]
Warped Wall
Salmon Ladder
⑧ [[]]
⑨ [[]]
⑩ [[]]

Top 12 Competitors

Place Name Qualifying Place Qualifying Episode Profile Result Notes
1st
2nd
3rd
4th
5th
6th
7th
8th
9th
10th
11th
12th

Top 2 Women Competitors

Place Name Qualifying Place Qualifying Episode Profile Result Notes
1st
2nd

Results of Other Semifinalists

Name Qualifying Place Qualifying Episode Profile Result Notes


Finals

Obstacles

① [[]]
Spring Forward
③ [[]]
④ [[]]
⑤ [[]]
⑥ [[]]
⑦ [[]]
⑧ [[]]
⑨ [[]]
⑩ [[]]

Top 8 Competitors

Place Name Semifinal Place Semifinal Episode Profile Result Notes
1st
2nd
3rd
4th
5th
6th
7th
8th

Results of Other Finalists

Name Semi-Final Place Semi-Final Episode Profile Result Notes

Power Tower Playoff Bracket

Round Competitor #1 Competitor #2 Winning Competitor Notes
1
2
3

External Links

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