Lance Pekus is a rancher from Salmon, Idaho who practices obstacles at home for training.
Lance's obstacles include the Double Salmon Ladder, Ultimate Cliffhanger, Jumping Bars, and a 14 foot Warped Wall.
American Ninja Warrior[]
American Ninja Warrior 4[]
He first competed in American Ninja Warrior 4 in 2012 in the Northwest regional qualifying. Despite building one at home, he failed the Warped Wall, ending his season.
After failing it in competition, he built a new one that stood one foot higher, at 15 feet tall.
American Ninja Warrior 5[]
He returned in American Ninja Warrior 5 in Venice Beach. On the course, his newer Warped Wall proved to give him redemption as Lance scaled it in Venice qualifying, ending up with the fourth-fastest time.
In the city finals, he scaled the Warped Wall again. But after the Rope Maze, he just had nothing left for the Cliffhanger. However, he did enough to qualify for the National Finals in Las Vegas, placing 11th overall.
Pekus hoped to to win the $500,000 for college funds needed for his children, he made great work in the national finals, but couldn't stick the Jumping Spider jump on Stage One.
American Ninja Warrior 6[]
In American Ninja Warrior 6, he competed in Denver this time. He made it past the Qualifiers and made it into the Denver Finals.
In the Denver finals, he made it past the first six obstacles and Salmon Ladder, but went out on the Arm Rings after so much struggle. He was on the cusp of being edged out of the top 15, but the final runner of the night, Lorin Ball went out on the Salmon Ladder (though Ball would eventually compete in Vegas as a wildcard) and fell short of the leaderboard. So this meant that Pekus advanced to the national finals by placing 15th overall.
On Stage One, history repeated itself as he failed the Jumping Spider again.
American Ninja Warrior 7[]
In American Ninja Warrior 7, he competed in Kansas City, where he cleared the Qualifying Course.
In the city finals, he placed a bet to have Matt Iseman and Akbar wear Cowboy hats in Vegas if he finished the city finals course. Lance cleared all of the 8 obstacles. On the Body Prop, his foot slipped, but recovered and eventually finished the Finals course, for the very first time. He had the fastest time in Kansas City finals.
On Stage One, he got revenge of the Jumping Spider and cleared Stage 1 for the first time. On Stage Two, Lance started out strong but went out on the Roulette Row while reaching for the second hoop. This is his best performance to date, getting to the fifth obstacle of Stage 2 with three buzzers in qualifier, semifinals, and Stage 1 of the national finals.
Lance Pekus at 2015 Kansas City Finals - American Ninja Warrior
American Ninja Warrior 8[]
In American Ninja Warrior 8, He competed in Oklahoma City this time. Pekus had some trouble on the new Ring Swing but was able to clear it. However, on the Log Runner, he overshot the fourth log, bashed his shin and stomach into the fifth log and fell into the water, not moving onto the city finals for the first time since his first appearance.
American Ninja Warrior 9[]
With high hopes for redemption after a disastrous exit last season, Pekus returned in American Ninja Warrior 9 competing in Kansas City, Missouri. It was revealed Pekus took some time off of ninja training to regroup his bearings and mentality, ensuring it wouldn't deter his comeback this year. Like last year, he stumbled on a balance obstacle, this time being the Broken Pipes. However, Pekus managed to recover greatly after nearly tapping the water. Averting an early exit, Pekus managed to blaze through the other three obstacles in qualifying with ease and achieved the fastest time of the night, beating Brandon Mears' time by 31 seconds.
Lance Pekus at the Kansas City Qualifiers - American Ninja Warrior 2017
In the city finals, Lance was cruising through the first seven obstacles, despite another small stumble on the Broken Pipes. However, on the Floating Monkey Bars, he was having difficulties placing the bar on the rungs, which ultimately caused him to fail. He still managed to punch his ticket to Vegas by placing 6th overall.
In Vegas, he cleared Stage One and made it back to Stage Two, where he failed on Wingnut Alley when he didn't get enough momentum to reach the second wingnut. This is his second best season to date as he got to the fifth obstacle of Stage Two once again, but unlike ANW 7, he only hit two buzzers as he did not complete the Kansas City finals course. Before his Stage One run, he shared his wife Heather’s story of battling multiple sclerosis. Sharing this on the show helped him raise awareness on multiple sclerosis over the years, which also eventually got him selected as #16 of the top 20 Memorable Moments in ANW17.
American Ninja Warrior 10[]
Lance returned to compete in Minneapolis in American Ninja Warrior 10. In qualifying, he failed to scale the Mega Wall but still finished the course in 8th place.
In the city finals, he made another bet with Matt and Akbar that if he moved onto the National Finals, that they will wear cowboy hats once again. Though he fell on the ninth obstacle, Iron Maiden, he placed 10th overall and moved on to Vegas, succeeding with his bet.
In Vegas, Matt and Akbar wore cowboy hats during his run. He was expecting to do well in Vegas this season, but shockingly failed the Propeller Bar in Stage One, an obstacle he cleared easily during his last two Vegas appearances. Thus his season ended earlier than expected on Stage One.
American Ninja Warrior 11[]
He returned for American Ninja Warrior 11 in Seattle/Tacoma. In qualifying, he scaled the Mega Wall on his final attempt, doing what he could not do the previous year and won $2,500. He placed 10th overall out of 13 finishers.
Unfortunately, to the shock of many, he fell on the Lightning Bolts in the city finals, an obstacle he easily cleared in qualifying. He did not advance for the first time since American Ninja Warrior 8, as he placed 24th overall.
American Ninja Warrior 12[]
Lance returned to compete on American Ninja Warrior 12, In qualifying, his run was digested for the first time ever, but he completed the course, despite failing the Mega Wall once again.
In the semifinals, he failed the new balance obstacle, Burn Rubber, and failed to move on to the finals round of the season for the second year in a row.
American Ninja Warrior 13[]
Lance competed in the second round of qualifying in season 13. After failing Burn Rubber last season, he decided at Split Decision to take on the Broken Bridge (which he completed twice in ANW 11) instead. Though he had to make a "Superman" last-ditch effort to do so, he was able to complete the Broken Bridge. However, he eventually failed V Formation when he slipped at the peak of the obstacle, taking a hard fall on his back. He was still able to advance to the semifinals by placing 11th overall, although this became the first season since ANW 8 where he failed to complete the qualifying course.
Lance competed in the first episode of the Semifinals. His run was fast-forwarded, but he got past the fourth obstacle which took him out in the previous season. Lance once again got past the Salmon Ladder and then attempted and cleared Corkscrew, an obstacle he didn’t get a shot at last season. On Split Decision, he chose the Inverter which he ultimately failed on. He qualified for the national finals in 13th place, moving onto the finals for the first time since ANW10.
On Stage One, he made it to Tire Run, an obstacle similar to the obstacle that took him out last season. He landed off-center on the spinning tire, and couldn't get a jump to the second wheel, thus ending his season without hitting a buzzer.
American Ninja Warrior 14[]
Lance competed in the fifth and last episode of qualifying episode. After his last season’s fall, it was revealed that he started training with Elijah Browning. He managed to put a good run on the first four obstacles, but was one of the many to fail at Final Frontier, marking the first time he failed in qualifying in back-to-back seasons. His time to that obstacle placed him 23rd overall, and he advanced to the semifinals.
During the semifinals, he competed in the second episode. Pekus was expecting to achieve great heights and earn a trip to the National Finals. However, he was one of the many competitors to fall at Hopscotch. Because of this, he did not advance to the National Finals, thus ending his season.
American Ninja Warrior 15[]
Lance returned in the fourth qualifying round. For the first time, his run was cut, but it was revealed by him on Instagram that he failed the second obstacle, Greased Lightning, and didn’t move onto the semifinals for the first time since ANW8.[1] This was his worst season to date.
American Ninja Warrior 16[]
Lance returned in the second qualifying round. His run was digested, but it was shown he failed on Ring the Bells. However, his pace was quick enough to advance in 7th place to the semifinals.
Pekus raced Julius Ferguson in the fourth episode of semifinals. Both competitors went very fast across the first three obstacles, until Ferguson failed Hopscotch, with Pekus later following suit, the second time he has fallen on the obstacle. However, Ferguson reached the obstacle faster, so Pekus missed out on Vegas for the third straight year.
American Ninja Warrior 17[]
Lance returned to compete during the fifth round of qualifying, this time competing with his training partners: Dante Williams and Austin Dupuis. He started off strong, but unfortunately he once again failed on Log Runner and didn't move on to the semifinals for the fourth time in his career. He actually did slightly worse than the last time he failed the obstacle nine seasons ago, as he stumbled on the second log this time, instead of the fourth log. This also marked the fifth straight season that ended without him hitting a buzzer.
Team Ninja Record[]
| Season | Episode | Round | Heat | Opponent Team | Opponent | Result | Notes | Individual Record |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team: Wild Bunch | ||||||||
| 1 | 4 (Qualifying) | Round One | 3 (Anchor Run) | Think Tank | Noah Kaufman | Loss | 0-1 | |
| 1 | 4 (Qualifying) | Round Two | 3 (Anchor Run) | Team Ronin | JJ Woods | Loss | 0-2 | |
| Team: Team Grit | ||||||||
| 2 | 4 (Qualifying) | Round One | 1 | Phoenix Force | Dan Galiczynski | Win | Dan fell at the Pole Grasper. | 1-2 |
| 2 | 4 (Qualifying) | Round Two | 1 | Lab Rats | Arnold Hernandez (alternate for Chris Wilczewski) | Loss | 1-3 | |
| Team: Dark Horse | ||||||||
| 3 | 2 (Qualifying) | First Matchup | 3 | Midwest Muscle | Tyler Yamauchi | Win | 2-3 | |
| 3 | 2 (Qualifying) | Final Matchup | 3 | Labreckfast Club | Jon Alexis Jr. | Loss | 2-4 | |
| 3 | 10 (Wildcard) | Round One | 3 | NorCal Ninjas | Brian Kretsch | Loss | Lance fell at the Floating Tiles. | 2-5 |
Relay Showdown Record[]
| Season | Episode | Competitor (Obstacle Attempted) | Opponent Team | Opponent (Obstacle Attempted) | Result | Notes | Relay Record |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team: Dark Horse | |||||||
| 3 | 2 (Qualifying) | Tammy McClure (1-2) Karson Voiles (3-4) Lance Pekus (5-6) |
Midwest Muscle | Kirsti Pratt (1-2) Tyler Yamauchi (3-4) Ethan Swanson (5-6) |
Loss | 0-1 | |
| 3 | 2 (Qualifying) | Tammy McClure (1-2) Karson Voiles (3-4) Lance Pekus (5-6) |
Midwest Muscle | Kirsti Pratt (1-2) Tyler Yamauchi (3-4) Ethan Swanson (5-6) |
Win | Ethan fell at the Spin Cycle. | 1-1 |
| 3 | 10 (Wildcard) | Tammy McClure (1-2) Karson Voiles (3-4) Lance Pekus (5-6) |
NorCal Ninjas | Anna Shumaker (1-2) Brian Kretsch (3-4) David Campbell (5-6) |
Loss | 1-2 | |
| 3 | 10 (Wildcard) | Tammy McClure (1-2) Karson Voiles (3-4) Lance Pekus (5-6) |
NorCal Ninjas | Anna Shumaker (1-2) Brian Kretsch (3-4) David Campbell (5-6) |
Loss | 1-3 | |
American Ninja Warrior Results[]
| ANW Season | # | Result | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5 | 64 | Failed Jumping Spider (Stage 1) | |
| 6 | 22 | Failed Jumping Spider (Stage 1) | |
| 7 | 56 | Failed Roulette Row (Stage 2) | |
| 9 | 21 | Failed Wingnut Alley (Stage 2) | |
| 10 | 52 | Failed Propeller Bar (Stage 1) | |
| 13 | ? | Failed Tire Run (Stage 1) |