AMERICAN NINJA WARRIOR — “Daytona Beach Qualifier” — Pictured: Jessie Graff — (Photo by: Myron Luzniak/NBC)Jessie
Last year, she was the first woman to complete Stage 1 at Mt. Midoriyama. That alone puts her in the top tier of groundbreaking women on this show, along with greats like Kacy Catanzaro and Meagan Martin.
This year, during USA v World competition, she failed on just the first obstacle, about four steps into the whole thing. That was a stunning upset — she figured to finish, or at least get close. And then Drew Drechsel, the USA team captain, did something amazing. He gave her his spot in the Stage 2 rotation.
She took that vote of confidence and did a little better in Stage 2… watch:
Then last night, she turned in this gritty performance:
No buzzer, but she’ll be in the finals. I would not bet against her.