The qualifiers took place at the
Tacoma Dome in
Seattle/Tacoma. Athletes who conquered the 18-foot Mega Wall in
bold and women who finished in the top 30 in
italics.
Night 1 The first qualifying round featured three new obstacles: Overpass, Tipping Point, and V Formation, along with 'Split-Decision' (Domino Effect & Spinning Log). Notable ninjas running the course included
NASCAR driver
Jade Buford, two-time Olympic basketball gold medalist
Ruthie Bolton, and 2008 Olympic gymnast
Jonathan Horton was back for his 6th season. This episode set a record for the fewest finishers in a qualifying episode with only 5. Notable ninjas who did not advance were Mathis "Kid" Owhadi, Thomas Stillings, Barclay Stockett (who returned after missing Season 12), Maggi Thorne, Jeri D'Aurelio, Casey Shuchocki, Nate Burkhalter, Quest O'Neal, John Loobey, and Ben Wilson.
Night 2 The second qualifying round featured the same course as the first qualifier, but with two new Split-Decision obstacles: Broken Bridge and Burn Rubber. Overpass was switched out with Weight For It from season 12. Notable ninjas running the course were former Olympic hurdler
David "Crush" Payne and Alex Weber, the host of
American Ninja Warrior: Crashing the Course award-winning web-series. This was also the first time in the show's history where 5 women finished in the Top 30. Also, "The Weatherman" Joe Moravsky was the first to make it up the 18-foot Mega Wall this season.
Night 3 In this episode, two new obstacles were introduced: Air Surfer and Pretzel Twist. Notable ninjas running the course were former Olympic speed skater
K.C. Boutiette, freestyle motocross rider Zach DiPaolo, and former pro wakeboarder Austin Hair. Two rookies, 19-year-old Brett Hernandez Strong and 16-year-old Vance Walker (a two-time
American Ninja Warrior Junior winner), both scaled the Mega Wall. Notable ninjas who didn't advance were Grant McCartney ("Island Ninja"), Nick Hanson ("Eskimo Ninja"), one half of the "Towers of Power" Brandon Mears, who after falling on his fifth balance obstacle in the past five seasons, announced his possible retirement, Bootie Coothran, Grace Sims, and Michelle Warnky Buurma after falling in the 3rd obstacle.
Night 4 Another new obstacle was introduced, called Double Down. Notable ninjas running the course were super-lightweight champion professional boxer
Melissa St. Vil, former
NFL player
Andrew East (trained by his wife, Olympic gold-medal gymnast
Shawn Johnson), and
PLL lacrosse player
Rob Pannell. However, schoolteacher Allyssa Beird was among the notable competitors who failed to advance to the semifinals. With Lorin Ball absent for season 13, veterans David Campbell and Brian Kretsch became the only two competitors to have appeared on every single season of
American Ninja Warrior. Additionally, this was only the second time five women made the top 30.
Night 5 Another new obstacle was introduced, this one called Tilt-A-Whirl. Among the notable ninjas was former NFL quarterback
Jake Heaps. Brian Beckstrand and his son, Kai (who previously competed on American Ninja Warrior Junior), became the first ever father-and-son duo to hit the buzzer in the qualifying round. The "Cat Daddy", Jackson Twait, made it up the Mega Wall. Jesse "Flex" Labreck joined Meagan Martin as one of only two women to hit a buzzer in the qualifying round this season. One competitor from this episode, Nick Hanson (who made it to Sideways), is a different Nick Hanson from the "Eskimo Ninja"; his nickname is the "Rugby Ninja". Among the notable veteran ninjas not advancing to the semifinals was Labreck's fiancé, Chris DiGangi, as well as Michael Torres.
Seattle/Tacoma Qualifying Leaderboard ==Los Angeles Semifinals==