Pippel’s ninja journey reaches championship heights

Moorestown native Josiah Pippel is the season 18 champion of NBC’s “American Ninja Warrior” (ANW), taking home the title and the $250,000 grand prize on Aug. 31. For Pippel, the win is something that he’s always dreamed of, considering he’s been doing this for a while. Just like previous seasons, he bolted through every obstacle with ease, and at 20-years-old, he’s living proof that no matter what is thrown at you or no matter how many times you fall, you have to get right back up and keep going.

“This is something I’ve been working towards for so long, so it’s really cool to finally have all the hard work pay off,” Pippel said.

Season 18 started on June 8. To win, Pippel battled through the Qualifiers, Regionals and National Finals, outperforming more than 200 of the country’s best ninjas on a series of high-stakes obstacle courses designed to test speed, strength and endurance. The season also introduced the Tripleheader, an all-new supersized three-lane racecourse that raised the stakes with thrilling head-to-head-to-head races.

First appearing on “ANW” at 15-years-old, Pippel has competed in six consecutive seasons without ever missing the National Finals. Motivated by a disappointing early exit in the season 17 finals, he returned for Season 18 with a renewed focus on speed and precision. His title-winning journey started with a first-place finish in his Qualifying round and a successful climb up the Mega Wall. After dominating the regional rounds and securing the number 2 seed in the Final Round of 32, Pippel began an impressive championship run, winning five straight head-to-head races to claim the title. Along the way, he defeated a formidable lineup of veteran competitors, including Donovan Metoyer, Matt D’Amico, Enzo Wilson, Nacssa Garemore and defending champion Kai Beckstrand.

“Towards my later seasons, just having a lot of failures and a lot of times where I was just not competing to my fullest was starting to feel like, ‘Am I just no longer a good competitor?’ But in my head, I knew that I still had what it takes, and I just had to set my mindset in the right spot to get it done,” Pippel said.

Coming into this season Pippel focused on being the champion, not just competing. In the final race of season 18, he faced off against Beckstrand. Beckstrand fell on the Cane Lane obstacle and once Pippel completed Cane Lane, he won the race. He continued his run, going on to complete the rest of the course, hitting his 28th buzzer. Pippel not only considered Beckstrand as one of his toughest competitors this season, but also his best friend and fellow Ninja Jackson Erdo, who Pippel has always been impressed by. At the round of 32 in season 18 Erdos was taken out by Beckstrand. Seeing his best friend knocked out of the competition was tough for Pippel, but he still had one goal in mind and that was to win it all.

“As soon as I had it, I thought that it was probably the coolest thing I will ever hold,” Pippel said of his most prized trophy.

Pippel is a six-time “ANW” veteran and a five-time National Finalist. Outside of the show, he spearheads a new ninja league called Team Ninja Association (TNA). As co-founder of TNA, Pippel wears a lot of hats from obstacle design to coordinating travel and booking vendors. He also enjoys woodworking and car restoration and in 2023, he bought a car that crashed on his driveway and is rebuilding it learning from YouTube. For now, he’s leaving the trophy in the gym that he coaches at to inspire the kids that walk through the door every day. His plan for season 19 is to defend his season 18 championship, and, hopefully, win again. The same goes for season 20.

“My Ninja Warrior career has had a lot of ups and downs, but there’s always been an underlying success waiting,” Pippel said. “I felt so locked in all season, and prepared to be the champion. I was in that mindset the whole time, and so I think that was the biggest differentiator between other seasons.”