CEDAR FALLS — Two Cedar Valley athletes will appear on upcoming episodes of a popular obstacle-racing show.
Scott Behrends, who owns the Ninja U obstacle-training gym in Cedar Falls, and Hudson native Jackson Twait, a University of Northern Iowa student, both taped qualifying rounds of Season 11 of “American Ninja Warrior” in May — Behrends in Tacoma, Wash., and Twait in Cincinnati.
The episode in which Behrends appears will air Monday, June 24, Behrends said. Twait confirmed his episode will air Monday, July 8.
Both episodes will air at 7 p.m. on NBC.
Neither are able to say how they did on the show so as not to spoil the outcome. Behrends said the top 30 competitors will go on to the “City Final” for each location, which airs at a later date.
The men are the first from the Cedar Valley to appear on the show, which popularized the sport of ninja. Behrends’ sons — Ben, 12, and Jason, 10 — have previously appeared on its young competitor counterpart, “American Ninja Warrior Junior,” which airs on the Universal Kids network.
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Behrends has said the show inspired him to first build a backyard obstacle course, then start a YouTube channel and finally open his own obstacle-training gym, Ninja U, in Cedar Falls.
Twait has said he became hooked on the show and began training at Ninja U right when it opened.
This article was updated June 17 to reflect that the date of Jackson Twait's episode was moved to July 8 from July 1.
This article was updated June 12 to reflect that the date of Scott Behrends' episode was moved to June 24 from June 17, because of Stanley Cup coverage, according to his wife Lindsey Behrends.