Five local youth athletes head to Ireland for Obstacle Course Racing World Championships

Posted July 24, 2026 7:48 pm

Submitted by Lori Lauff

Swinging through rings, gliding on ropes, and running up warped walls is only part of the sport of ninja warrior, and these skills transfer to obstacle course racing, which will be part of the modern pentathlon in the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles.

This summer, five Chicago area youth athletes will be taking these skills to Ireland to represent the USA at the OCR (Obstacle Course Racing) World Championships.

Nearly 5,000 athletes from 70 countries will participate at the OCR World Championships in Limerick, Ireland on Aug. 6-9. The local athletes who will be competing in Ireland are Anthony Battaglia of Warrenville, Jeremy Lauff of Naperville, Claire Mattern of Naperville, Henry Mihajlovic of Libertyville, and Savannah Serio of Riverside.

All five athletes just returned home from Pennsylvania where they competed at the Obstacle Sports Expo in events similar to what is seen on the TV show “American Ninja Warrior,” and all five athletes earned podium spots for their efforts on the courses. Next summer, Chicago will be the host city for the Obstacle Sports Expo.

In Ireland, athletes will compete in the events such as the 100-meter, 400-meter, 3k, and 12k races. All five of the local youth athletes will be making their OCR debut in Ireland and hope their ninja skills will help them have a successful first experience as they represent Team USA.

Get to know the Chicagoland Team USA youth/junior athletes:

• Anthony Battaglia, age 17, is a rising senior from Warrenville. He will be competing in the 100-meter and 400-meter events in the junior age category at the OCR World Championships in Ireland. He started training at Ultimate Ninjas Naperville in 2018 and now trains at both Ultimate Ninjas Naperville, where he also coaches, and at Big Time Ninja in Bolingbrook. This summer, at the FINA World Championships, Battaglia competed in the Young Adult division and earned 5th place in the FINA overall World Championship ranking. In the Young Adult division, he received 2nd in the Ninja vs. Ninja competition and seventh in the Speed competition. In the Ninja World Cup, Anthony competed in the 16-19 age division and earned sixth place overall. In addition to ninja, Anthony is a roller coaster enthusiast, so while he was competing in the world finals in Pennsylvania, he visited Hershey Park and rode his 150th roller coaster.

• Jeremy Lauff, 16, is a rising junior at Neuqua Valley High School in Naperville. He started doing ninja at age 8 at Ultimate Ninjas Naperville, was on Season 2 of “American Ninja Warrior Junior," and currently trains at Big Time Ninja in Bolingbrook. In Ireland, Lauff will be competing as a junior athlete in the 100-meter and 400-meter individual events as well as the 400-meter mixed relay team with Cameron Godbout (Rhode Island), Savanna Salinas (Nevada), and Payton Myler from the Ninja Kidz TV Family (Utah). At the recent Obstacle Sports Expo in Pennsylvania, Lauff earned the gold medal in the Ninja World Cup (Ages 16-19 Division) for the third time in a row and third place in the Federation of International Ninja Athletics Elite Ninja vs. Ninja head-to-head competition. Lauff was also a finalist in this year’s professional Ninja Sport Championship (NSC) in Bellingham, Washington, as well as the Team Ninja Association finals in Windsor, Connecticut. Back home in Naperville, Jeremy plays cello and piano, and he is on his high school’s math team where he went to the state finals.

• Claire Mattern, 11, started ninja warrior when she was 6 years old. She lives in Naperville and trains at Ultimate Ninjas Naperville and Big Time Ninja. In Ireland, Mattern will compete in the individual 100 meter and 400 meter as well as mixed relay teams for the 100 meter, 400 meter, and 3k. This summer at the World Ninja League (WNL) World Finals in Greensboro, North Carolina, she earned first place as the World’s Strongest Ninja for Mature Kids and third place as the World Champion also for Mature Kids. For the Federation of International Ninja Athletics World Championship in Pennsylvania, Mattern also earned fourth place in the 11-U division. Outside of ninja, Mattern plays soccer with the Naperville Soccer Association, plays piano, enjoys crafts, and builds Legos.

• Henry Mihajlovic, 11, resides in Libertyville. He started ninja warrior at age 5 and currently trains at Ultimate Ninjas Libertyville and Oak Creek (Wisconsin) as well as Big Time Ninja (Bolingbrook). In Ireland, Mihajlovic will be competing in the 100-meter and 400-meter individual races as well as the 100-meter and 400-meter mixed relay. Highlights from this season in ninja warrior include earning first place in the world for season points in the 11-U Division of Ultimate Ninja Athlete Association, first place in the North Central Region for WNL in the Mature Kids Division, and 11th place in the WNL World Finals. Outside of ninja, Mihajlovic enjoys playing percussion in his school’s band program and loves math. As a rising sixth-grade student, Henry will continue to play percussion in his middle school’s band and will be taking eighth-grade math.

• Savannah Serio, 12, is going into seventh grade at L.J. Hauser Junior High School in Riverside, IL. She has been doing ninja for 6 years and started at Flipside. She currently trains at Big Time Ninja. In Pennsylvania at the Obstacle Sports Expo, Serio won the overall FINA World Championship for the 11-U females division. She also won second place on the Ninja vs. Ninja races as well as third place on the FINA Endurance course. In Ireland, she will be competing in the 100-meter and 400-meter individual races as well as on mixed relay teams for the 100 meter, 400 meter, and 3k. Outside of ninja, Serio does flag football and cross country. She also loves to craft, bake and cook.