Anthony DeFranco is a high school track coach from Berkeley Heights, New Jersey.
American Ninja Warrior 8[]
Anthony DeFranco at the Philadelphia Qualifier - American Ninja Warrior 2016
In American Ninja Warrior 8, Anthony competed in the Philadelphia region where he finished the qualifying course with the fastest time of the night. In the city finals, his run was digested but he failed the Flying Shelf Grab and placed 11th overall. His run on Stage One was also digested but it was shown that he failed the Jumping Spider, ending his rookie season.
American Ninja Warrior 9[]
DeFranco returned to compete in Cleveland in American Ninja Warrior 9, where his sophomore season was nearly identical to his rookie season. Once again, DeFranco put up the fastest time of in qualifying, placing 1st. He also fell on the eighth obstacle, the Nail Clipper, albeit qualifying for Vegas in 9th place this time around. He fell on the Jumping Spider on Stage One for the second straight year in a digested performance.
American Ninja Warrior 10[]
Anthony returned to compete in American Ninja Warrior 10 at the Philadelphia qualifiers. It was revealed that he was running the course for his sister, Daniela, who had recovered from ocular melanoma (eye cancer).
For finishing with the fastest times the past two years, his family and many others had massive expectations for him to do so a third time. However, he didn't even clear the first obstacle, going out on the Floating Steps, while attempting a one-foot step on each step, which could have either been a cramp or a miscalculation. His misstep on just the first obstacle was arguably one of the most unbelievable eliminations of the season.
American Ninja Warrior 11[]
Anthony returned to compete in American Ninja Warrior 11 at the Baltimore qualifiers. His qualifying run was digested, but it was shown after a disappointing season last year, he once again cleared the qualifying course. It's worth mentioning that he cleared less than 1/4 of a second behind Conor Galvin and he missed he chance at the Power Tower, but he still placed 3rd overall. His city finals run was also digested, but it was shown that he once again failed the 8th obstacle, the unbeatable Angry Birds, and his time to the obstacle placed 6th overall.
His Stage One run was digested, but it was shown that he got redemption from the Jumping Spider. However, time later ran low, as he timed out on Twist & Fly, not getting a good grip on the cargo net. He also mentioned on social media that about three weeks prior to his run in Vegas, he injured his shoulder, so he dealt with a slightly torn labrum and rotator cuff. This affected his run, especially on Spin Your Wheels.
He originally received the call to compete in Washington, D.C. for American Ninja Warrior 12, but did not end up making the list for the modified season due to COVID-19. It is currently unknown if he tried to apply to future seasons and if he will come back to American Ninja Warrior.
Results[]
| ANW | # | Result | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 8 | Failed Jumping Spider (Stage One) | Digest. | |
| 9 | Failed Jumping Spider (Stage One) | Digest. | |
| 11 | Failed Twist & Fly (Stage One) | Digest. Timed out. |