Kaden Lebsack is from Castle Rock, Colorado, and trains with fellow competitors Ethan Swanson, Jake Murray and Max Feinberg, and is also the boyfriend of fellow competitor Katie Bone.
Before he competed on the main show, he competed on American Ninja Warrior Junior 2. There thanks due a wildcard, he was the runner-up of that season for the 13-14 age group. His overall record was 5-3 as he lost to Blake Feero twice and then the eventual champion Vance Walker in the finals. Prior to competing in American Ninja Warrior Junior 2, he was seen supporting many of the competitors in Seattle/Tacoma during American Ninja Warrior 11.
American Ninja Warrior[]
American Ninja Warrior 13[]
He then later competed in the second qualifying episode of American Ninja Warrior 13. He put up one of the most impressive run of the season as he was one of only seven competitors who got past V Formation that round and he cleared with fastest time out of seven finishers.
He then competed in the second semifinals episode. Surprisingly, his run was digested, but it was shown that he was one of seven competitors who got past the 8th obstacle Padlock and he once again cleared the course, and qualified for the national finals. He placed 3rd overall, missing a chance to be on the Power Tower by 4 seconds.
On night one of the national finals, he was once again shown in the final fast forward of the episode. He was shown easily finishing Stage One with 31.5 seconds remaining. On Stage Two, he cleared it with the fastest time, with 28.56 seconds remaining.
On Stage Three, he put up another good run, being able to finish the Eyeglass Alley unlike the other two who failed it, and then completed the course, being the first rookie and the youngest person to make it to stage 4. He has the best rookie attempt in American Ninja Warrior history beating Vance Walker, Seth Rogers, Brent Steffensen, and Joe Moravsky respectfully.
On Stage Four, he first went at a good pace, until midway, where he had to use his legs to get up faster, and unfortunately timed out at around 65 feet. He was still able to achieve the Last Man Standing and win the $100,000 prize. He had the best rookie season in ANW history.
American Ninja Warrior 14[]
Kaden returned for his second season in the third qualifying episode. Once again, he had no problems on the course and he once again cleared, this time doing so with the second fastest time. Kaden later competed in the third semifinals episode. There he once again had no problems on the course and despite looking tired at the end he once again cleared the semifinals course and placed 4th overall.
Kaden's run-on Stage One was once again fast forwarded. He was almost flawless throughout the course, aside from a near fall on the Tetherball. He finished the course and once again moved on to Stage Two. On Stage Two, he continued his flawless record, completing the stage along with his good friend Max Feinberg and many others. On Stage Three, he yet again continued his flawless record by once again clearing the stage, being the last of five to do so. Since he was the fastest to clear the third stage, he was the last competitor to run Stage Four. Unfortunately, history repeated itself as he once again timed out around the 70 feet mark. However, since he managed to reach the buzzer the fastest out all of the five competitors, he was once again declared the Last Man Standing, once again winning the $100,000 prize.
American Ninja Warrior 15[]
Kaden returned for his third season in the fifth qualifying round. He kept his flawless record intact and once again cleared the course. Since he cleared in under 1:20, he also got to attempt the Mega Wall for the first time in his career. Unfortunately, he fell short of completing it.
In the semifinals, he easily won against Glenn Albright and finished the course with the second fastest time. As such, he got to race Kai Beckstrand for the Safety Pass. Kaden was behind but skipped handles on the Spin Hopper to catch up, and won against Kai, securing the Safety Pass.
On Stage One, Kaden completed it with the fastest time of 48 seconds left, after which he said he didn't like speed. He had the top seed on Stage Two, going up against his friend Elijah Browning. It proved to be a close race, until in a major shock, Kaden's board slipped off the track of Epic Air Surfer, marking the first time he ever fell in the water, and giving Elijah the win. Due to Kaden's time not being enough to be in the top four non-winners, and Safety Passes not being valid on Stage Two anymore, his season was over.
American Ninja Warrior 16[]
Kaden returned for his fourth season in the third qualifier round. His qualifying run was digested for the first time, but it was shown that he cleared the course in 1:20:30, just missing out on attempting the Mega Wall by 3 tenths of a second. However, he still advanced to the semifinals, placing 2nd.
Kaden was digested once again in the semifinals, where he raced against Eric Middleton. He easily defeated the course in less than a minute and he placed 2nd once again and once again move on to the Safety Pass race, where he had a rematch with Kai Beckstrand. This time, Kai was faster as Kaden took a backswing on the Wingnuts, which costed him time. Kai ultimately cleared the course faster than Kaden, earning him the Safety Pass.
At the national finals, Kaden completed Stage One for the fourth straight season, and did it with the second fastest time of 56.57 seconds left even getting the famous yell from Ryan Stratis to send him onto Stage Two. On Stage Two, he raced against his good friend Sam Folsom and was hoping to avenge his previous failure. Unfortunately, Kaden once again failed Stage Two, this time around falling even earlier than in Season 15, namely at the Jawbreakers after he missed the left side while Sam cleared the course, marking his worst season to date.
American Ninja Warrior 17[]
Kaden returned for his fifth season in the second qualifier round. He once again cleared the course with ease, this time doing so with the fourth fastest time of 1:02.31, once again just missing out on attempting the Mega Wall.
Kaden later competed in the second semifinals episode. His run there was digested, but he still cleared the semifinals course for the fifth straight season, this time doing so with the third fastest time.
At the national finals, he won his first race against Hunter Ogden after he cleared the course before Hunter did. He then won his second race against Nicholas Coolridge after Nicholas failed on the Salmon Ladder while Kaden cleared the course. His third race against Austin Baron was cut, but he also won that one by clearing the course before Austin did, advancing Kaden to the knockout round.
At the knockout round, he first raced against Luke Dillon in the round of 32 and easily won after Luke failed on the Swinging Frames. He then raced against ANW Junior 3 champion Jackson Erdos in the round of 16. That race was close until Jackson failed on the Falling Shelves while Kaden cleared the course. He then raced against Sam Folsom in the round of 8 in a rematch from their second stage race in the previous season. Kaden won that race by clearing the course before Sam did, advancing him to the top 4. There, Kaden raced against Noah Meunier. He had the lead for most of the race, but he unfortunately ended up falling on the blind catch of the Falling Shelves while Noah did clear it, losing the race and ending his season.
He has been announced to be competing in American Ninja Warrior 18.
Trivia[]
- Kaden is the sixth rookie to complete Stage Two in American Ninja Warrior history.
- He's also the second teenager to do so, after Vance Walker.
- With his performance on American Ninja Warrior 13, Lebsack became the youngest competitor to attempt Stage Four at the age of fifteen years old during taping.
- He is the first ever rookie to get to Stage Four on American Ninja Warrior.
- Kaden's Stage Three run was voted the Best Buzzer of the national finals on American Ninja Warrior Nation.
- He is the first competitor to clear the National Finals version of the Falling Shelves twice.
- Kaden, Kane Kosugi, Geoff Britten, Isaac Caldiero, David Campbell, Mike Bernardo, Drew Drechsel, Daniel Gil, Josh Levin, R.J. Roman, Josiah Pippel, and Jay Lewis are the only twelve Americans to finish Third Stage in any SASUKE format.
- He, Josh Levin, Drew Drechsel, Daniel Gil, RJ Roman, and Vance Walker are the only ninjas to conquer Stage 3 twice.
- He, RJ Roman, Daniel Gil, and Vance Walker are the only two ninjas to have done it back-to-back in the regular season.
- With his performance on American Ninja Warrior 14, Lebsack became:
- The first competitor to attempt Stage Four more than once and also did it in back-to-back seasons.
- The third competitor to be declared "Last Man Standing" two years in a row, the first being David Campbell in American Ninja Warrior 2 and American Ninja Warrior 3 and the second being Drew Drechsel in American Ninja Warrior 10 and American Ninja Warrior 11.
- The first ninja to attempt and clear the same version of the Ulitmate Cliffhanger twice and get the fastest time on Stage Three twice.
- He is also the first ninja in history to get the fastest time twice on Stage Three (American Ninja Warrior) and Stage Four.
- The first ninja to win the $100,000 grand price twice and in back-to-back seasons.
- He had the record for most runs ever without hitting the water with 13. In addition, as revealed in American Ninja Warrior 17, he cleared a total of 99 obstacles before hitting the water.
- His record for most amount of obstacles consecutively without hitting the water was later broken by Noah Meunier, who cleared a total of 129 obstacles before hitting the water.
- He and Isabella Wakeham were the only two number 1 seeds to be eliminated in ANW15, ironically both were teenagers.
- He and Drew Drechsel are the first two ninjas to be the Last Ninja Standing, and then fail the fifth obstacle of Stage Two the next season.
- Kaden is one of thirteen to conquer the semifinals course under a minute in American Ninja Warrior 16.
- Kaden and Evan Andrews are the first #2 seeds in Vegas to be eliminated by the #23 seed and #25 seed respectively, ironically they both failed Jawbreakers.
- He is the only #1 seed to be eliminated during the Stage Two races.
- Prior to his Stage Three run in American Ninja Warrior 14, Kaden was shown getting a smaller version of his banner in his gym, thanks to the promise made by Akbar.
- Alongside Addy Herman and Noah Meunier, Kaden and Katie Bone are the first couple to attempt Stage Four, but unlike Katie, Kaden has never finished Stage Four within the time limit.
American Ninja Warrior Results[]
| ANW | # | Result | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 13 | Failed Rope Climb (Stage Four) | Timed out. About 70 feet up. Since he became the only one who reached Stage Four, he was declared as the Last Man Standing, and earned $100,000. | |
| 14 | Failed Rope Climb (Stage Four) | Timed out. About 70 feet up. Reached the buzzer in 36.77 seconds. Since he reached the buzzer faster than everyone else on Stage Four, he was declared as the Last Man Standing and won the $100,000 cash prize. | |
| 15 | Failed Epic Air Surfer (Stage Two) | ||
| 16 | Failed Jawbreakers (Stage Two) |