Karsten Williams, A.K.A. The Big Kat is a Personal Trainer from McKinney, Texas.
American Ninja Warrior[]
American Ninja Warrior 5[]
Karsten first competed in Denver in American Ninja Warrior 5, where he tried to one-step the Quintuple Steps and fell early on just the first obstacle.
American Ninja Warrior 6[]
Karsten later competed in Dallas in American Ninja Warrior 6, this time taking a more methodical approach on the course. In qualifying, he became the first competitor that cleared the course. He cleared the city finals course as well and moved onto the National Finals. On Stage One, Karsten was the first runner of the season and failed the Silk Slider becoming one of the many competitors who failed that obstacle.
American Ninja Warrior 7[]
Karsten returned to compete in Houston in American Ninja Warrior 7. In Qualifying he failed the Swinging Spikes but he placed 22nd in the top 30. in the city finals he was only one of five competitors that cleared the Walking Bar, but he failed the Crazy Cliffhanger. Karsten still managed to place 4th overall and moved onto the national finals for the second year in a row. On Stage One, his run was digested but it was shown that he failed the Propeller Bar.
American Ninja Warrior 8[]
Karsten returned to compete in Oklahoma City in American Ninja Warrior 8. His run was digested in Qualifying but it was shown that he finished the course placing 12th. In the city finals, Karsten ran as the final runner and eliminated his friend Tremayne Dortch from the Top 15. Though eventually Karsten failed the new Window Hang, he placed 8th overall and moved on to the national finals for his third year in a row. His run on Stage One was digested but it was shown that he failed the Jumping Spider, midway through the Spider Walk portion of the obstacle.
All Stars Special 2[]
In the American Ninja Warrior: All Stars Special 2 competition that took place after the regular season in ANW 8, Karsten was one of the competitors who competed on the Super Salmon Ladder skills challenge. Karsten raced up all 35 possible rungs on the ladder, and even managed to do four additional rungs downward, scaling 39 total rungs. His performance later beat the defending champion, Mike Bernardo, who fell on the last possible rung this time around, and was crowned the new champion of the Super Salmon Ladder. This victory later innovated high confidence for him in the next season.
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American Ninja Warrior 9[]
Karsten returned to compete in San Antonio in American Ninja Warrior 9. His run in qualifying was digested but it was shown that he cleared the qualifying course with the 5th fastest time. In the city Finals, Karsten became the first athlete of the night that conquered the Hourglass Drop but he failed the new Spinball Wizard, making it the third year in a row that he failed the 9th obstacle on a city finals course. Karsten did place 5th overall and he moved on to the national finals again. On Stage One, Karsten was looking strong early but failed the Domino Pipes making it the 4th year in a row that he failed Stage One.
American Ninja Warrior 10[]
Karsten competed in American Ninja Warrior 10 in Dallas. His qualifying run was digested, but he surprisingly slipped on the fourth obstacle, the Tuning Forks, being the first of several to do so (and the first time since ANW7 that he failed the qualifying course) But given that only 26 competitors passed the Tuning Forks, Karsten made it to the obstacle at a fast time, thus securing him a spot in the top 30. He placed 27th overall. In the city finals, his run was digested but it was shown that he failed the Nail Clipper (marking the first time he didn’t make it to the ninth obstacle in the City Finals.) but placed 10th overall and moved on to Vegas.
His run on Stage One was digested, but it was shown that he failed the Double Dipper (an obstacle he cleared easily last season). but this marked the fifth year in a row that he failed Stage One.
American Ninja Warrior 11[]
After training countlessly with his mother beforehand. Karsten was determined to take on the Mega Wall in ANW 11. He had a major scare on the Wing Swing, knocking the second pair of handles accidentally with his foot and causing it to swing, but was able to save himself and keep going onto the Mega Wall. He scaled it on his second attempt, winning $5,000 and placed 4th in the top 30.
During the city finals, he put a blazing pace through the course. After being roadblocked by the ninth obstacle several time previously, he became the first to conquer Snap Back, and later finished the course marking the first time he cleared the course since ANW6. He had the 3rd fastest time, just behind Daniel Gil and Mathis Owhadi, so he just missed out on the Power Tower. In fact, Kid beat his time by .34 of a second.
During Stage One, he cruised through the eight obstacles and made it to Stage Two for the first time. His Stage Two run was digested, but he completed it and made it to Stage Three. On Stage Three, he fell on Pipe Dream.
USA vs. The World 6[]
During American Ninja Warrior: USA vs. The World 6, Karsten was announced to be competing on Team USA (which he later revealed on Instagram to be one of the goals that he set out for this season). He competed in the final heat of Stage Two where he was racing to beat the time set by Bryson Klein but Karsten shockingly failed the Grim Sweeper (becoming just the second to fail that obstacle). ending his run early getting 2 points for Team USA. He was the only ninja on the team to not hit a buzzer during the competition.
All Stars Special 5[]
Karsten was also announced to be competing in American Ninja Warrior: All Stars Special 5 as a part of Team Matt. On Stage One, Karsten got his team off to a fast start with helped his team finish just two seconds ahead of Team Zuri and moved them onto Stage Three. On Stage Three, Karsten attempted the final two obstacle of the course and he had to beat Cane Lane to win the competition which he was able to do so and then became the third that season to beat the Flying Bar and win the team competition for Matt for the second straight season. While this was his last shown event during the competition, Karsten competed in the Super Salmon Ladder where even though it wasn't shown he won the competition getting his second skills medal.
American Ninja Warrior 12[]
Karsten competed in American Ninja Warrior 12. He was blazing very fast on the first 4 obstacles, but in a shocker, he failed on the fifth obstacle, Sideways. He shockingly did not qualify to the semifinals marking the first time since ANW5, that he didn’t move onto the semifinals.
Unfortunately, due to an ankle injury, he was not able to compete on American Ninja Warrior 13. However, he was still seen on the sidelines supporting some of his mentees and fellow competitors. He did not return for American Ninja Warrior 14 as well in light of new vaccination requirements.
American Ninja Warrior 15[]
After missing the previous two seasons, he returned in the 7th qualifying round of American Ninja Warrior 15. Despite being over twice the age of some of the teenagers competing, he showed he was still a very skilled competitor, making a great save on Log Runner, and he later made it to the fifth obstacle, Lasso Launch, before his run ended there. He placed 5th overall and once again advanced past qualifying.
During the semifinals he raced against Abel Gonzalez. Throughout the course, Karsten was way ahead of Abel, and ultimately, Williams completed the course, advancing to the national finals for the seventh time.
Unfortunately, his Stage One woes continued as he struggled on The Gambler because he wasted about twenty seconds on the rotating card before the dismount and ultimately ran out of time on Thread the Needle and he didn't place in the Top 24.
American Ninja Warrior 16[]
Karsten returned for his tenth season in the seventh round of qualifying. He managed to beat the fifth obstacle this time, and subsequently finished the course in 3rd place, becoming the oldest to finish the qualifier that season at 43 in addition to one of just four finishers that night.
Karsten later raced against Nick Hanson in the last semifinal episode. Karsten had the lead early on, but then he shockingly failed the Wingnuts while Nick cleared the obstacle and later the course as a whole. As a result, Karsten didn't advance to the national finals. This was also his first time being eliminated in the semifinals.
American Ninja Warrior 17[]
Karsten returned for his eleventh season in the fourth round of qualifying. His run was digested, but he once again cleared the course, this time doing so in 9th place.
Karsten competed in the first semifinals episode. There, he was looking good until he hit his face on the Battering Ram, causing his left eye to swell. Despite that and also missing his first attempt at the Warped Wall, he kept going until he ended up falling on the ninth obstacle, going out on the dismount of the Doorknob Arch. Nevertheless, he placed 17th overall and he once again advanced to the national finals.
During the first round of the national finals, Karsten faced Evan Lavallee in his first race and quickly failed the Devil Steps, losing the race. He then lost his second race to Daniel Gil, and finally lost his third to Carter Ray after failing the Devil Steps again, ending his season.
Team Ninja Record[]
| Season | Episode | Round | Heat | Opponent Team | Opponent | Result | Notes | Individual Record |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team: Karsten's Fast Kats | ||||||||
| 2 | 5 (Qualifying) | Round One | 3 (Anchor Run) | Team Alpha | Brent Steffensen | Win | 1-0 | |
| 2 | 5 (Qualifying) | Round One | 4 (Sudden Death) | Team Alpha | Dillon Gates | Win | 2-0 | |
| 2 | 5 (Qualifying) | Round Two | 3 (Anchor Run) | Flowmingo | Alan Connealy | Win | 3-0 | |
| 2 | 9 (Wildcard) | Round One | 3 (Anchor Run) | Lab Rats | Brian Wilczewski | Win | 4-0 | |
| 2 | 9 (Wildcard) | Round Two | 3 (Anchor Run) | Towers of Power | Brandon Mears | Win | 5-0 | |
| Team: Fast Kats | ||||||||
| 3 | 3 (Qualifying) | First Matchup | 3 | All-American Ninjas | Jonathan Horton | Loss | Karsten fell at the Tilting Ladders. | 5-1 |
Relay Showdown Record[]
| Season | Episode | Competitor (Obstacle Attempted) | Opponent Team | Opponent (Obstacle Attempted) | Result | Notes | Relay Record |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team: Karsten's Fast Kats | |||||||
| 2 | 5 (Qualifying) | Joy Strickland (1-3) Kevin Klein (4-6) Karsten Williams (7-9) |
Storm Team | Allyssa Beird (1-3) Joe Moravsky (4-6) Josh Levin (7-9) |
Loss | Allyssa fell at the Swing Jump, resulting in a 10-second penalty for Joe. | 0-1 |
| 2 | 9 (Wildcard) | Joy Strickland (1-3) Karsten Williams (4-6) Kevin Klein (7-9) |
NorCal Ninjas | Anna Shumaker (1-3) Sean Bryan (4-6) David Campbell (7-9) |
Loss | Joy fell at the Ring of Fire, resulting in a 10-second penalty for Karsten. Then, Kevin fell at the Dueling Salmon Ladders. | 0-2 |
| Team: Fast Kats | |||||||
| 3 | 3 (Qualifying) | Lauren Keen (1-2) Kevin Klein (3-4) Karsten Williams (5-6) |
All-American Ninjas | April Steiner Bennett (1-2) Paul Hamm (3-4) Jonathan Horton (5-6) |
Loss | Karsten fell at the Flying Monkey Bars. | 0-3 |
American Ninja Warrior Results[]
| ANW | # | Result | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 6 | Failed Silk Slider (Stage One) | ||
| 7 | Failed Propeller Bar (Stage One) | Digest. | |
| 8 | Failed Jumping Spider (Stage One) | Digest. Fell at the Spider Walk portion of the obstacle. | |
| 9 | Failed Domino Pipes (Stage One) | ||
| 10 | Failed Double Dipper (Stage One) | Digest. | |
| 11 | Failed Pipe Dream (Stage Three) | ||
| 15 | Failed Thread the Needle (Stage One) | Did not place in the Top 24 at the end of Stage One. |