Brian Arnold is a maintenance director from Brighton, Colorado who has competed in seven consecutive seasons of American Ninja Warrior.
American Ninja Warrior[]
American Ninja Warrior 4[]
Brian made his debut in American Ninja Warrior 4 where he competed in the Midsouth Region. His run was digested, but it was shown that he completed the qualifying course in 14th place. His run was also digested in the regional finals, but it was shown that he completed the course in 3rd place.
In Vegas, his run was once again digested, but it was shown that he completed Stage One with 11.84 seconds remaining. However, he failed the Balance Tank in Stage Two.
American Ninja Warrior 5[]
In American Ninja Warrior 5, Arnold competed in Denver where he finished the qualifying course in 12th place. He also completed the city finals course in 3rd place, advancing to Vegas for the second straight year.
In Vegas, Arnold cut it close but was able to finish Stage One with 3.64 seconds left. He then completed Stage Two with 26.23 seconds remaining.
On Stage Three, he was the only competitor that day to defeat the Floating Boards but failed the Ultimate Cliffhanger due to the fact that a ledge broke off. Arnold was granted a second attempt, and this first attempt was cut from the broadcast.
On his second attempt, Arnold went on to complete the Ultimate Cliffhanger and made history as the first American to complete the Hang Climb and the Spider Flip. Arnold failed the Flying Bar, due to the left side of the bar not landing in the fourth cradle. He was the Last Man Standing in that tournament.
USA vs. Japan[]
During the American Ninja Warrior: USA vs. Japan special, he beat Matachi Ryo in the first Stage Two match upon defeating the Double Salmon Ladder, the obstacle Ryo fell on. In Stage Three, he was again matched up with Matachi falling at the exact same spot Matachi fell on: the 2nd rung on the Flying Bar, but because he was a second late, he lost the match.
American Ninja Warrior 6[]
In American Ninja Warrior 6, he competed in Denver again. He finished the qualifying course in 14th place and the city finals course in 3rd place.
On Stage One, he finished the final obstacle with 20 seconds remaining, but waited until he only had 1.5 seconds left before hitting the buzzer. His strategy was so he could run early on Stage Two in order to allow for more time to rest for Stage Three (bearing in mind that in this tournament the order of Stage 2 runs was determined by slowest Stage One performance going first). However, this backfired as the first obstacle was a new obstacle that he had never seen before, the Rope Jungle, and only saw JJ Woods struggle on this obstacle before attempting it himself. He spent more than 30 seconds on the obstacle, causing him to tire before the Double Salmon Ladder, where he struggled, and by the time he reached the Unstable Bridge he was exhausted and couldn't make the jump between boards, ultimately failing there. The rest of the Wolf Pack, who had all finished Stage One, all failed Stage Two. He stated in a post-run interview that he regretted his Stage One strategy.
USA vs. The World[]
He later redeemed himself by passing Stage Two in the American Ninja Warrior: USA vs. The World competition, though not in the original 125-second time allowed in the regular season. In the final heat of regulation, he forced a Tiebreaker-Final Stage by defeating his nemesis, the Flying Bar. In doing so, Arnold completed the Third Stage, becoming the first American to do so in the history of American Ninja Warrior.
American Ninja Warrior 7[]
He came back in American Ninja Warrior 7 and placed 31st in Kansas City out of the 38 finishers. The rest of the Wolf Pack (Noah Kaufman, MD, Ian Dory and Isaac Caldiero) also finished as well. In the city finals, his run was digested, but he surprisingly went out on the Body Prop. This was his first time failing on a finals course. Like many that night, he still ended up placing 12th and was able to move on to Vegas for the 4th time. Ian Dory was the only member of the wolf pack to complete the Body Prop, and finish the course.
On Stage One, he blazed through the course with a time 22.85 left, but almost slipped on the Jumping Spider. Learning his lesson from last season Brian pressed the buzzer immediately. On Stage Two, he got past the first four obstacles, but on the new Roulette Row, he wasn't able to reach the second cycle and fell in the water. He later stated in a post-run interview that he will no longer be training full time due to his failures from the past two seasons.
American Ninja Warrior 8[]
Brian returned in American Ninja Warrior 8, this time in Indianapolis. He completed the qualifying course placing 5th in the top 30. He was one of four competitors that completed the city finals course, placing 3rd overall. In Vegas, he completed Stage One with 14.10 seconds left, But on Stage Two, he was one of four competitors that failed the Double Wedge.
Brian Arnold's Return at the 2016 Indianapolis Finals - American Ninja Warrior
USA vs. The World 3[]
Brian then represented Team USA in American Ninja Warrior: USA vs. The World 3, marking his third appearance in the tournament (second only to Drew Dreschel with five appearances most ever by any ANW competitor).
He first competed in Stage Two and went up against Sean McColl of Team Europe and Diego Gonzalez of Team Latin America. Arnold once again failed the Double Wedge when the left side got wedged in and he couldn't pull it out. He tried to go backwards, but it slipped out of the panels, taking Arnold with it. He ultimately lost the heat to McColl (who completed the stage).
Brian was looking to redeem himself and clinch the victory for Team USA in Stage Three but surprisingly fell off of the landing platform on the Ultimate Cliffhanger after basically completing the obstacle. It was later shown he kicked off the wall dismounting, which caused him to overshoot the landing. He would unfortunately lose the round to Stefano Ghisolfi but Team USA still managed to win the tournament after Drew Drechsel cleared Stage Three in the next heat.
American Ninja Warrior 9[]
In American Ninja Warrior 9, Brian competed in Denver for the third time.
He failed the Rail Runner in qualifying, when he overshot the transition, slamming his nose into the rail, breaking it in the process. The subsequent disorientation caused him to lose his grip on the apparatus. This was the first time he failed the city qualifying course. Brian did place 9th and moved on to the city finals.
In the city finals, Brian got his revenge on the Rail Runner but once again failed the dismount on The Wedge, making him the only person to fail both versions of The Wedge. Arnold placed 11th overall, which granted him his sixth straight trip to the national finals.
In Stage One of the national finals, Brian's run was digested, but it was shown that he cleared the stage with 19.85 seconds remaining, marking his sixth consecutive Stage One clear. However, Brian's Stage Two failures continued as he couldn't make the transition to the third Wingnut of Wingnut Alley.
American Ninja Warrior 10[]
In American Ninja Warrior 10, Brian returned to Indianapolis for the second time. His qualifying run was digested, but he was shown to once again fail on the fifth obstacle, this time being the Spin Hopper. But like last year, he still qualified for the city finals, by placing 13th.
In the city finals, his run was put in the corner to watch during the commercials. It was shown that he got his revenge on the Spin Hopper but failed Cane Lane. His time to that point was enough to place 13th and move on to Vegas for the seventh straight time in his career.
On Stage One, his run was once again put in the corner to watch during the commercials (August 27th). It was shown that he shockingly failed the transition to the cargo net on the final obstacle, Twist & Fly, thus ending his streak of hitting six consecutive Stage One buzzers. This marked the first time he failed to complete Stage One, as well as the first time he failed to hit a buzzer.
Brian revealed on Instagram that he's taking at least a 1-year hiatus from the show, which means he won't be competing on American Ninja Warrior 11 and is now taking a break from American Ninja Warrior.
._Jake_Murray_and_Jennifer_Tavernier.JPG){kind=link}
Trivia[]
- Brian Arnold had the highest number of consecutive Stage One clears in Vegas at 6 clears in a row, but Daniel Gil currently holds the record for the highest number of consecutive Stage One clears in Vegas at 7 clears in a row, achieving it during American Ninja Warrior 16.
- In American Ninja Warrior 9's Denver city finals, Arnold was responsible for one of the closest differences in ANW history, in which he cleared the Salmon Ladder .14 seconds faster than Yancey Quezada.
- Brian is the only ninja to fail both variants of the Wedge: the Double Wedge in American Ninja Warrior 8's Stage Two and the Wedge in American Ninja Warrior 9's Denver city finals.
Team Ninja Record[]
| Season | Episode | Round | Heat | Opponent Team | Opponent | Result | Notes | Individual Record |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team: Party Time | ||||||||
| 1 | 6 (Qualifying) | Round One | 3 (Anchor Run) | Rahnaways | Jamie Rahn | Win | 1-0 | |
| 1 | 6 (Qualifying) | Round Two | 3 (Anchor Run) | InvincAbels | Abel Gonzalez | Win | 2-0 | |
| 1 | 8 (Finals) | Round One | 3 (Anchor Run) | ExpendaBulls | Kevin Bull | Loss | Kevin beat Brian to the buzzer by 0.07 seconds. | 2-1 |
| 1 | 8 (Finals) | Round One | 4 (Sudden Death) | ExpendaBulls | Kevin Bull | Win | 3-1 | |
| 1 | 8 (Finals) | Round Two | 3 (Anchor Run) | Storm Team Moravsky | Joe Moravsky | Win | 4-1 | |
| 2 | 1 (Qualifying) | Round One | 3 (Anchor Run) | NorCal Ninjas | David Campbell | Loss | Brian fell at the Floating Tiles. | 4-2 |
| 2 | 1 (Qualifying) | Round Two | 3 (Anchor Run) | Golden Hearts | Grant McCartney | Loss | 4-3 | |
| 3 | 3 (Qualifying) | First Matchup | 1 | Brazi Bros | Alexio Gomes | Loss | Alexio beat Brian to the buzzer by 0.4 seconds. | 4-4 |
| 3 | 3 (Qualifying) | Final Matchup | 1 | All-American Ninjas | Paul Hamm | Win | Paul fell at the Rumbling Dice. | 5-4 |
| 3 | 14 (Playofffs) | First Matchup | 3 | Hashtag Ninjas | Jesse La Flair | Win | Jesse fell at the Hanging Staircase. | 6-4 |
| 3 | 14 (Playofffs) | Final Matchup | 3 | Tri Hards | Sean Bryan | Win | Sean fell at the Zig Zag Climb. | 7-4 |
| 3 | 16 (Finals) | First Matchup | 3 | Labreckfast Club | Jon Alexis Jr. | Loss | 7-5 | |
Relay Showdown Record[]
| Season | Episode | Competitor (Obstacle Attempted) | Opponent Team | Opponent (Obstacle Attempted) | Result | Notes | Relay Record |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team: Party Time | |||||||
| 1 | 6 (Qualifying) | Jennifer Tavernier (1-3) Travis Weinand (4-6) Brian Arnold (7-9) |
Real Life Beasts | Erica Cook (1-3) Drew Drechsel (4-6) James McGrath (7-9) |
Win | Erica fell at the Log Grip, resulting in a 10-second penalty for Drew. | 1-0 |
| 1 | 8 (Finals) | Jennifer Tavernier (1-3) Jake Murray (4-6) Brian Arnold (7-9) |
Lab Rats | Michelle Warnky (1-3) Brian Wilczewski (4-6) Chris Wilczewski (7-9) |
Win | 2-0 | |
| 1 | 8 (Finals) | Jennifer Tavernier (1-3) Jake Murray (4-6) Brian Arnold (7-9) |
Team TNT | Joyce Shahboz (1-3) Adam Arnold (4-6) Travis Rosen (7-9) |
Champions | 3-0 | |
| 3 | 3 (Qualifying) | Barclay Stockett (1-2) Jake Murray (3-4) Brian Arnold (5-6) |
Brazi Bros | Brittany Reid (1-2) Alexio Gomes (3-4) Lucas Gomes (5-6) |
Win | Alexio fell at the Tilting Ladders, resulting in a 5-second penalty for Lucas. | 4-0 |
| 3 | 14 (Playofffs) | Barclay Stockett (1-3) Jake Murray (4-6) Brian Arnold (7-9) |
Tri Hards | Rebekah Bonilla (1-3) Adam Rayl (4-6) Sean Bryan (7-9) |
Loss | 4-1 | |
| 3 | 14 (Playofffs) | Barclay Stockett (1-3) Jake Murray (4-6) Brian Arnold (7-9) |
Tri Hards | Rebekah Bonilla (1-3) Sean Bryan (4-6) Adam Rayl (7-9) |
Win | Adam fell at the Salmon Ladder. | 5-1 |
| 3 | 16 (Finals) | Barclay Stockett (1-2) Jake Murray (3-4) Brian Arnold (5-6) |
Labreckfast Club | Jesse Labreck (1-2) Chris DiGangi (3-4) Jon Alexis Jr. (5-6) |
Loss | 5-2 | |
American Ninja Warrior Results[]
| ANW | # | Result | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4 | 86 | Failed Balance Tank (Stage Two) | |
| 5 | 69 | Failed Flying Bar (Third Stage) | Third jump/fourth rung. Second Attempt. Last Man Standing. |
| 6 | 73 | Failed Unstable Bridge (Stage Two) | Failed Transition to second board. Waited approximately 15 seconds before hitting the Stage One buzzer. |
| 7 | 18 | Failed Roulette Row (Stage Two) | |
| 8 | 25 | Failed Double Wedge (Stage Two) | |
| 9 | 60 | Failed Wingnut Alley (Stage Two) | Digest. Transition to third wingnut. |
| 10 | 21 | Failed Twist & Fly (Stage One) | First time failing on Stage One. Full run was shown over commercial break (August 27th). |
American Ninja Warrior: USA vs. the World[]
| Competition | Stage | Heat | Run | Result | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| USA vs. Japan | Stage Two | 1 | 2 | Clear (1:14.63) | Won the heat for Team USA. |
| Stage Three | 1 | 2 | 8. Flying Bar | Missed the jump to the third cradle. Completed the jump to the second cradle about 1.5 seconds slower than Matachi Ryo and lost the heat. | |
| 1 | Stage Two | 1 | 3 | Clear (2:55.57) | Won the heat for Team USA. |
| Stage Three | 3 | 3 | Clear (4:39.90) | Fourth competitor and first American to complete American Ninja Warrior's Stage Three. Won the heat for Team USA. | |
| 3 | Stage Two | 1 | 1 | 5. Double Wedge | Jammed the left side of the bar. Attempted to complete the obstacle backwards, but failed. Lost the heat to Sean McColl and Team Europe. |
| Stage Three | 2 | 3 | 3. Ultimate Cliffhanger | Completed all the ledges, but failed to make the dismount. Completed the Floating Boards slower than Stefano Ghisolfi. |