Zhanique Lovett is a personal trainer and business owner 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[]
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. Her overall ranking at the end of the city finals was 22nd overall, but Zhanique placed 2nd among the top 2 women. Thus, she was able to advance to Vegas as a rookie.
In the national finals, 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, being the only competitor to fail it that round. She did not make the leaderboard 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.
Women's Championship[]
Between the filming of her qualifying and semi-finals round, she had the opportunity to compete in the American Ninja Warrior: Women's Championship where in a digested performance, she shockingly failed the third transition on the Beehive and not moving on.
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.
Women's Championship 2[]
Zhanique competed once again in the American Ninja Warrior: Women's Championship 2 where she was able to get through the third obstacle (this time being Barrel Roll) on her way to hit the buzzer and become the fourth mom to scale the Warped Wall in American Ninja Warrior history and moved onto the next round in third place. In the second round, she failed the third jump on the Salmon Ladder and didn't move onto the 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. She ultimately went out on Slingshot. Ultimately, it was good enough for her to advance to Vegas, and was part of the "Four Moms" who managed to advance to the national finals this season.
Zhanique was expected to go far in Vegas. However, her run ended earlier than expected on the second obstacle, Three Ring Circus. On the obstacle, 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.
Women's Championship 4[]
Zhanique returned for the American Ninja Warrior: Women's Championship 4 where she got past the second obstacle (this time being the Barrel Roll) but didn't get deep enough into the shoot on the Jumping Spider, and didn't move onto the second round once again ending her run.
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 failed 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.
American Ninja Warrior 17[]
Zhanique made her seventh appearance on the show, in the fifth qualifying episode. There, she made good work on the course. Though she avoided a near fall on the dismount, she got past Ferris Wheel and faced the Warped Wall for the first time since her debut in ANW9. Ultimately, she finally managed to get her revenge on the obstacle, hitting her very first buzzer on the show in 14th place.
She later competed in the second semifinals episode, where she had another great run, as she made it to the back half of a semifinals course for the first time. She made it past the Salmon Ladder (which knocked her out back during the second women’s championship) before she ended up falling on the second wheel of Corkscrew after she lost her grip. Nevertheless, it was not only her best performance on a semifinals course so far, but it was also good enough for her to place 20th overall, once again advancing to the national finals.
Zhanique was the 60th and bottom seed in the national finals, where she went up against Nacssa Garemore. In a large upset, Nacssa shockingly failed the Swinging Frames, while Zhanique made it to the Salmon Ladder and failed it again, but ultimately won the race as a result. She then raced against Taylor Greene, and lost the race after she failed the Pole Grasper while Taylor completed the course. Zhanique then lost her third race to R.J. Roman, who completed the course while Zhanique failed Piston Plunge, thus ending her outstanding season.
Women's Championship 5[]
Zhanique returned to compete in the fifth women's championship, hoping to do well after her great season in ANW17. But unfortunately, she ended up falling on the second obstacle, going out on Lunatic Ledges after she barely made the transition from the first board to the second board and she failed on the dismount due to lost momentum, and she didn't advance to the second round as she placed 16th overall, having the worst result in this Women's special.
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).
- Zhanique is the third mom (after Sandy Zimmerman and Mady Howard) to hit a qualifying buzzer. The latter of whom coincidentally hit a buzzer the same qualifying round as Zhanique did.
Team Ninja Record[]
| Season | Episode | Round | Heat | Opponent Team | Opponent | Result | Notes | Individual Record |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team: Frostbite | ||||||||
| 3 | 8 (Qualifying) | First Matchup | 2 | Team TNT | Emily Durham | Win | 1-0 | |
| 3 | 8 (Qualifying) | Final Matchup | 2 | Phoenix Force | Cassie Craig | Win | Cassie fell at the Spin Cycle. | 2-0 |
| 3 | 10 (Wildcard) | Round One | 2 | All-American Ninjas | April Steiner Bennett | Loss | 2-1 | |
| 3 | 13 (Playoffs) | First Matchup | 2 | Labreckfast Club | Jesse Labreck | Loss | 2-2 | |
Relay Showdown Record[]
| Season | Episode | Competitor (Obstacle Attempted) | Opponent Team | Opponent (Obstacle Attempted) | Result | Notes | Relay Record |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team: Frostbite | |||||||
| 3 | 8 (Qualifying) | Zhanique Lovett (1-3) Nick Hanson (4-6) Jackson Meyer (7-9) |
Phoenix Force | Cassie Craig (1-3) Michael Torres (4-6) Najee Richardson (7-9) |
Win | Cassie fell at the Tick Tock, resulting in a 5-second penalty for Michael. Then, Najee fell at the Zig Zag Climb and suffered a cramped leg. | 1-0 |
| 3 | 8 (Qualifying) | Zhanique Lovett (1-3) Nick Hanson (4-6) Jackson Meyer (7-9) |
Phoenix Force | Cassie Craig (1-3) Michael Torres (4-6) Najee Richardson (7-9) |
Loss | Cassie fell at the Tick Tock, resulting in a 5-second penalty for Michael. However, he and Najee could make up the time penalty. | 1-1 |
| 3 | 10 (Wildcard) | Zhanique Lovett (1-2) Jackson Meyer (3-4) Nick Hanson (5-6) |
All-American Ninjas | April Steiner Bennett (1-2) Paul Hamm (3-4) Reko Rivera (5-6) |
Win | 2-1 | |
| 3 | 13 (Playoffs) | Zhanique Lovett (1-2) Nick Hanson (3-4) Jackson Meyer (5-6) |
Labreckfast Club | Jesse Labreck (1-2) Chris DiGangi (3-4) Jon Alexis Jr. (5-6) |
Loss | Nick fell at the Floating Tiles, resulting in a 5-second penalty for Jackson. | 2-2 |
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. |