USA Swimming Coach BJ Reynoso Competes on American Ninja Warrior

You may be familiar with the NBC television show ‘American Ninja Warrior,’ which holds competitions to see who can take on intense, physically-demanding, and limit-pushing obstacle courses across the nation. Eventually, those who make it to the final round in Las Vegas are faced with an ultimate four-stage course; the winner gets their hands on the grand prize of one million dollars.

BJ Reynoso, a club swimming coach with the Manhattan Makos in New York, was recently seen on the show as he attempted to get through the Pittsburgh regional course and qualify for finals. Reynoso’s Instagram (@sl33pinclass) gave his followers some sneak peak photos of him on the course before the episode aired on June 29th. Take a look below:

Ultimately, Reynoso lost his balance on the qualifying course and fell off, meaning he would not be moving on to the finals to compete for the grand prize. Still, he kept his head high and let everyone know on Instagram that he would be back next year to fight for a spot in finals.

“I can’t wait to get back to training and go back next year to reclaim the Glory my feet stole from me. Fell down, but I’m getting back up, again and again. As many times as it takes.”

Reynoso, who currently coaches for the Manhattan Makos, grew up training for the Asphalt Green Unified Aquatics (AGUA) swim team, the club that 2012 U.S. Olympian Lia Neal grew up training with. After that, he swam and pursued an education at the University of Maryland and came back to NYC to swim for Borough of Manhattan Community College (BMCC). At BMCC, he set the City University of New York (CUNY) record in the 50 yard freestyle. Reynoso also teaches swimming at the Imagine School of Swimming in NYC.