James McGrath (2024)

James "The Beast" McGrath (ジェームス・マクグラス) is an American, who has competed eleven times in the American Ninja Warrior tournaments. He is currently engaged to fellow competitor Allyssa Beird.

SASUKE[]

McGrath earned a spot in SASUKE 27 via American Ninja Warrior 3's try-outs. In the tournament, he was able to blaze through the first two stages with little trouble, completing the First Stage in with 22.24 seconds to spare and had SASUKE 27's fastest Second Stage time with 18.84 seconds left on the clock. However, he ultimately failed on the Third Stage's Ultimate Cliffhanger after failing the transition to the small fifth ledge. He also wanted to competed in SASUKE 37, but couldn't figure out how to make an application in time.

American Ninja Warrior[]

American Ninja Warrior 2[]

McGrath made his debut in American Ninja Warrior 2. However, his run ended early when he failed on the Quad Steps.

American Ninja Warrior 3[]

In American Ninja Warrior 3, McGrath was a walk-on competitor from Seattle, WA who slept in a van. In that competition, he placed 29th in the Qualifying Round and 13th in the Semis. He would also earn a spot in SASUKE 27 as he became one of the ten competitors to complete Boot Camp, eventually getting as far as the Ultimate Cliffhanger on Stage 3.

American Ninja Warrior 4[]

In American Ninja Warrior 4, McGrath was one of the favorites to earn total victory. He had the second fastest time in the Northwest Regional Qualifiers, and the fastest time in the Northwest Regional Finals, giving him a late run in the Las Vegas Finals. He easily beat Stage One with just under 19 seconds to spare, making him of the 24 finalists to advance to Stage Two. However, his downfall came at Stage Two, where he surprisingly failed on the Slider Drop by making the bad choice of jumping before the drop, shifting his weight to one side and not landing the left side.

American Ninja Warrior 5[]

In American Ninja Warrior 5, McGrath completed the Venice Beach qualifying course with the fifth fastest time and was one of only four competitors to finish the finals course, clearing with the fastest time. He then cleared Stage One in the Las Vegas finals with 38.47 seconds left. In Stage Two, he blazed through all the obstacles and finished with the second fastest time on the stage with 35.66 seconds left on the clock. In Stage Three, however, he wasn't able to hang on while transitioning to the second board on the Floating Boards and failed.

USA vs. Japan[]

In American Ninja Warrior: USA vs. Japan, James was a part of team USA. In Stage One, he went up against Yamamoto Shingo, and he won the heat when Yamomoto couldn't make it up the Soritatsu Kabe. Then, in Stage Two, he went up against Asa Kazuma, he also won that heat, as Asa failed the Double Salmon Ladder and James did a victory lap on the stage. In Stage Three, James went up against Urushihara Yuuji, where he went out on the Floating Boards again, but Yuuji also went on the same obstacle and James won the heat barely by beating him to the second board by a few seconds. He was the only competitor to attempt all three stages in USA vs. Japan.

American Ninja Warrior 6[]

In American Ninja Warrior 6, McGrath completed the Venice Beach qualifying round in the second-fastest time. In the Venice Finals, he failed the Body Prop but still finished in 3rd place, qualifying for the Las Vegas Finals. In Vegas, he shockingly failed the Silk Slider in Stage One after failing to get purchase on the mat. This is his first time ever failing Stage One.

American Ninja Warrior 7[]

In American Ninja Warrior 7, McGrath competed in the Orlando Qualifiers alongside his roommate Drew Drechsel. He managed to finish the course with the second fastest time, guaranteeing him a spot in the finals. In the Orlando Finals course, he had breezed through the deadly Cannonball Alley and was one of only two finishers (the other being Adam Arnold) to complete the course, finishing with the fastest time. In the Vegas finals, McGrath got his revenge on the Silk Slider but shockingly failed the Jumping Spider. It was shown that his technique was very poor on the jump, as he did not get far enough into the walls and his feet hit them at different times, costing him greatly.

American Ninja Warrior 8[]

In American Ninja Warrior 8, McGrath was the last runner before Drew Drechsel, where he finished the Atlanta qualifying course in 4th place, moving on to the Atlanta City Finals. At the Atlanta City Finals, he finished the course with the top time of 5:01, and moved on to Vegas once again. Unfortunately, history repeated itself as just like last season, he couldn't stick the Jumping Spider, making it his third consecutive season falling on Stage One.

American Ninja Warrior 9[]

In American Ninja Warrior 9, McGrath competed in the Cleveland Qualifiers. It was revealed that season that he was dating fellow competitor Allyssa Beird. In Qualifying, he had no difficulty on the newer obstacles and even completed the I-Beam Gap with a new splits technique on the transition, finishing with the fifth fastest time. However, it was revealed during the Cleveland Finals that McGrath was recovering from shoulder surgery (after having injured it during Team Ninja Warrior 2) and struggled with the first half of the course due to pain. He managed to battle his way to the new Nail Clipper, and while he finished all four cylinders, his dismount to the platform, (as he made the jump similar to the jump used on the Crazy Cliffhanger) was too short and sent him straight into the water. Unfortunately, Joe Moravsky (who was the last runner of the night) knocked him out of the top 15, meaning that for the first time since his debut in season 2, he missed out on the national finals, as he placed 16th overall.

American Ninja Warrior 10[]

In American Ninja Warrior 10, McGrath competed in the Philadelphia Qualifiers. Despite failing to scaling up the Mega Wall, McGrath completed the course with the fifth fastest time.

In the city finals, McGrath, became the first competitor to clear the Spinball Wizard this season, but he failed on the Spider Trap after struggling to get traction on the walls and also getting his fingers pinched on the second doors, but still placed 4th overall and moved on to the national finals.

Sadly, history repeated itself once again in Vegas as McGrath failed the Jumping Spider for the third time, doing a corkscrew flip into the water. Although not apparent at the time, when he failed the obstacle McGrath tweaked his shoulder which ended up becoming a major injury.

This injury ultimately kept McGrath out of American Ninja Warrior 11, and he also didn't compete on the following season. However, he did watch his girlfriend Allyssa Beird's run virtually. He attempted to apply to ANW13, but was not selected to compete.

American Ninja Warrior 14[]

James returned to competition in ANW14 with a rather exciting comeback in the first qualifying episode. In his qualifying run he was able to complete the obstacles easily and without showing a hint of aging. When he completed the fifth obstacle he opted to try the Mega Wall and was successfully able to scale it, clearing the course and placing 13th overall. After winning the $10,000, he slid down the wall and headed over to fellow competitor and girlfriend Allyssa Beird. Before his run McGrath stated that if he were to finish the course he would then propose to Allyssa, to which she said yes. He later competed in the fourth semifinals episode. There he was hoping to make it back to the national finals, but unfortunately while he looked good through the first four obstacles, he ended up falling the fifth obstacle, going out on Kaleidoscope. He was very devastated and frustrated in himself as he didn't qualified for the national finals for the second time in his career since season 9, after years of fighting his way back, just ending his comeback season.

American Ninja Warrior 15[]

James returned in the first qualifying episode. There, he was one of only five to complete the fifth obstacle, Lasso Launch, and he subsequently finished the course in 4th place, hitting the 20th buzzer of his storied career.

He later competed in the second semifinals episode, going up against Evan Bomengen. Both of them cruised the first four obstacles, but McGrath made it to the Slingshot first and subsequently completed the course (hitting the 21st buzzer of his career) at the same time as Bomengen fell. It was his first semifinals buzzer since ANW8, and he also advanced to the national finals for the first time since American Ninja Warrior 10.

On Stage One, his run was digested. He finally got past the Jumping Spider again, but later he had troubles on The Gambler, wasting valuable time and causing him to time out on Thread the Needle. Since he made it to the obstacle in a slow time, he didn't make the top 24 and was once again eliminated on Stage One.

Team Ninja Record[]

SASUKE Results[]

American Ninja Warrior Results[]

External Links[]