Zhanique Lovett is a personal trainer who first competed in Los Angeles in American Ninja Warrior 9. Zhanique is a mother of two who has grown up from a tragic childhood, with her mother being an alcoholic. Lovett currently raises two kids with her husband, Joseph.
American Ninja Warrior 9[]
During her qualifying run, Lovett made an impressive first attempt in competition, where she made it to the Warped Wall before failing to scale it three times. However, Zhanique placed 24th overall in qualifying, and had additionally placed the best among the women in Los Angeles qualifying. Zhanique later failed the Warped Wall again in the city finals even though she placed 22nd overall, Zhanique placed 2nd among the top 2 women. Thus, she was able to advance to Vegas as a rookie. She failed the Double Dipper on Stage One.
American Ninja Warrior 10[]
Zhanique Lovett at the Los Angeles Qualifiers - American Ninja Warrior 2017
Zhanique returned to compete in LA in American Ninja Warrior 10. She was the first competitor to run the course in qualifying and fell on the Doorknob Drop but placed 2nd in the women's top 5. In the city finals, she failed the Doorknob Drop again and did not advance to the national finals as she placed 25th overall and 3rd among women. But Tiana Webberley was injured and could not compete in Las Vegas, so Zhanique replaced her. Her run was all cut in Vegas, but it was revealed that she failed the first obstacle, Archer Alley.
American Ninja Warrior 12[]
Zhanique returned to compete in St. Louis in American Ninja Warrior 12 after not competing in last season due to an injury. Her run was digest and she fell on the Spinning Bridge. Despite that fall, she placed 2nd for the women and advanced to the Semi Finals, where she was taken by another balance obstacle, Burn Rubber.
American Ninja Warrior 13[]
She competed in American Ninja Warrior 13 in the second qualifier episode. Although she failed Burn Rubber last season, she decided to aim for redemption by taking it on during the Split Decision route. This time, she was able to achieve redemption as she completed Burn Rubber this time around. She put a valiant effort afterwards, being one of two female competitors that round to complete Tipping Point and though she couldn't complete V Formation, she went fast enough to place 19th overall. She was also one of five women that qualifying round to make the top 30 (a first in ANW history), ranking the highest out of the five overall.
She returned for the first semifinal episode, where she shockingly went out on just the third obstacle, Tilt-A-Whirl. However, because she was one of only three women to complete the Lunatic Ledges, she earned a spot in the national finals.
She returned for the second night of the National Finals where for the first time this season her run was digested. She got by the first obstacle which took her out back in Season 10, the Double Dipper which took her out back in Season 9, becoming one of the few women to clear the Jumping Spider in that season, and then Zhanique attempted the Tire Run where she started leaning forward which made her to miss the handle and head straight downward into the water, ending her best run ever at the national finals.
American Ninja Warrior 15[]
Zhanique returned to compete in the final qualifying episode. She completed the first four obstacles easily, but failed the fifth obstacle, Mutant Mayhem. Despite this, she still earned 1st place among the women, advancing to the semifinals. In the last semifinal round she raced Dara DePoalo. The race was digested, but it was over quickly, with Dara touching the water on Home Run. As such, Zhanique advanced to the national finals, but kept going trying to hit her first buzzer in her career, but went out on Slingshot. Zhanique was expected to go far in Vegas; however, on Three Ring Circus she didn't turn her body and grabbed the disc facing forwards. She didn't get a good grip of the disc and tried to regrip, only to slip off.
American Ninja Warrior 16[]
Zhanique made her sixth appearance in ANW 16 on the second round of qualifying. Her run was digested, but it was shown that she surprisingly failed on Duck Duck Goose, making it only the second time she didn't make it to the fifth obstacle in qualifying. Still, it was enough to place 3rd among the women and move on to the semifinals. In the final round of the semifinals, she raced against Jennifer Sanders. Zhanique had the lead early on, but then she failed on Wingnuts while Jennifer cleared the obstacle and as a result, Zhanique didn't advance to the national finals for the first time in her ninja career.
Zhanique is set to compete in American Ninja Warrior 17.
Trivia[]
- Her son, Joseph Jr, was known by many for his "sideshow performance" on the sidelines. On multiple instances when Zhanique was on the course, Joseph would do a backflip.
- Zhanique is usually nicknamed "Zhanique Magnifique!" by Akbar.
- She and Lance Pekus are the only ninjas to fail both Burn Rubber (both in Season 12) and Tire Run (both in Season 13).
- She was a part of the four moms in the National Finals in ANW15.
Results[]
| ANW | # | Result | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 9 | Failed Double Dipper (Stage One) | ||
| 10 | Failed Archer Alley (Stage One) | All cut. Replacement for Tiana Webberley. | |
| 13 | Failed Tire Run (Stage One) | Digest. | |
| 15 | Failed Three Ring Circus (Stage One) | Digest. |