Ben Behrends is the son of Scott Behrends. He is a ninja coach at Ninja U in Cedar Falls, Iowa.
He and his family also have a YouTube channel called "Backyard Ninja Kids".
American Ninja Warrior Junior[]
Ben first competed on the inaugural season of American Ninja Warrior Junior in the 11-12 age division. His runs were shown in Episode 14. In the seeding round, he lost to Addy Herman and entered the knockout round in the losing seed. However, in the knockout round, he defeated Sophie Stuart to advance to the final showdown. But there, he lost the rematch against Addy Herman, and his season was over.
American Ninja Warrior 14[]
Ben confirmed that he was competing in season 14 along with his cousin, Chris, and his dad, Scott. They all competed on the third night of qualifying. Ben's run was all cut from the broadcast, but he shockingly failed the second obstacle, Rollercoaster, and did not make the top 30.
His dad did not fare much better, going out on the same obstacle. Chris, however, finished the qualifier with the fastest time.
American Ninja Warrior 15[]
Ben returned to compete on American Ninja Warrior 15 in the fifth qualifying round alongside his dad. His run was digested, but he made it past the second obstacle this time. He later failed on the fifth obstacle, Ring the Bells. This was good enough for him to place 7th overall and advance to the semifinals this time around. His dad, however, completed the course with the 4th fastest time.
He later competed in the first semifinal episode, racing against Tyler Yamauchi. They both fell on the Slingshot, but Ben got there faster and advanced to the national finals in his second season.
On Stage One, he made a great save on the Jumping Spider, tying with Tyler Yamauchi for the shortest male competitor to complete the obstacle. He then completed The Gambler, which knocked out his dad earlier, but then didn't have enough time to finish and timed out on the cargo net on Thread the Needle. However, since only 18 athletes completed the course, Ben advanced to Stage Two, placing 21st overall. In Stage Two, he went up against RJ Roman. He fell behind RJ in the race and eventually failed Epic Air Surfer, ending his second season.
American Ninja Warrior 16[]
Ben returned on ANW 16 in the third qualifying round with his cousin Chris and dad Scott. His run was digested, but he successfully completed the course, hitting his first buzzer on ANW, and placing 4th overall. His cousin and dad also advanced to the semifinals with Scott reaching the fifth obstacle and Chris also finishing the qualifier.
Ben was up against Colton Skuster in the first round of the semifinals. Both completed the course, though Colton won the race as he did so faster than Ben. However, Ben made the cut for the top two non-winners, so he advanced to the national finals.
He returned in the first half of the National Finals on Stage One in a digested performance, where unlike the previous season, he shockingly failed The Gambler, ending his season.
Ben is set to compete in American Ninja Warrior 17. along with his brother Jason.
Trivia[]
- He and his dad Scott Behrends are the first father-and-son duo to advance to the national finals. They are also the third overall father-son duo to advance to a semifinals round together after the Yarters in season 7 and the Beckstrands in season 13 and the first father-son duo to advance to a semifinals round in back-to-back seasons.
Results[]
| ANW | # | Result | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 15 | Failed Mega Air Surfer (Stage Two) | Failed Thread the Needle on Stage One, but was allowed to advance due to the change in format. | |
| 16 | Failed The Gambler (Stage One) | Digest. |