Superhero stuntwoman just made ‘Ninja Warrior’ history
Before this year, no woman had ever completed Stage 1 in the national finals of NBC’s American Ninja Warrior.
Enter: Jessie Graff, superheroine.
The 32-year-old stuntwoman, who wowed viewers by completing a top-speed Los Angeles qualifying run in a Wonder Woman outfit this year and competed on the show last year, expertly navigated the Log Grip, Propeller Bar, Jumping Spider and Warped Wall (translation: should-be-impossible obstacles) on the Las Vegas course Monday. And she had 12 seconds to spare. And she did it all in an awesome Green Lantern outfit. (She’s into superheroes — she’s done stunts on Supergirl.) And we want to be like her when we grow up.
So, USA TODAY chatted with Graff, and learned five things about the most successful female Ninja Warrior competitor ever. HER SUPERHERO OUTFITS ARE CUSTOM-MADE. Graff ’s Wonder Woman sports bra/skort ensemble was made for her by “a friend who sews,” says Graff. After that one proved successful (Graff was a Top 3 qualifier out of all girls and guys), Graff wore a green version Monday. That second outfit she’s calling the Green Lantern outfit, which had the finishing touch of a marker-drawn Green Lantern ring on her finger. Next? More superhero outfits that she’ll wear and sell to the public, via the Pi Movement website. SHE’S THE MOST WELL-ROUNDED ATHLETE WE’VE EVER ENCOUNTERED. After taking circus classes at age 6 and performing for neighbors, Graff started catching other kids on the flying trapeze when she was only 12. “The rule was I wasn’t allowed to catch anyone who outweighed me by more than 20 pounds,” she says. After that, she did competitive gymnastics, was a high school and college pole vaulter and earned black belts in Taekwondo and Kung Fu. She’s a stuntwoman who does everything from tumbling on Make It or Break It to trampolining on
Another Period and “anything on rooftops, sides of buildings or bridges, dramatic wipeouts.” GRAFF CREDITS INJURY FOR GETTING HER NINJA-READY. “The reason I am currently good at Ninja Warrior, is because I blew out my knee” in 2014, she says. Graff tore her ACL, TCL and meniscus, and couldn’t participate in her regular workouts. She thought, “I need a goal. I need something to focus on, put my physical energy into. I’m looking at Ninja Warrior.” So, Graff spent eight months focused primarily on her grip strength and pull-ups. “Without that knee injury, I never would have changed focus,” she says. JACKIE CHAN IS HER HERO. “Jackie Chan is No. 1. I wanna be just like Jackie Chan,” she says. “The first movie of his that I saw was Shanghai Noon. There was a musical fight scene, and it was brilliant.” SHE’S ON THE SHOW TO EMPOWER WOMEN, AND HERSELF. “My first year doing Ninja War
rior, I didn’t really know what it was about. After that, when so many people were like, ‘I didn’t know women could do that,’ I thought, ‘Then, we better show you,’ ” she says. “The main thing is just testing my limits, seeing how much you can do. Seeing how much you’re capable of.”
After more contestants go through Stage 1 on Ninja Warrior next week, Graff returns Sept. 12 on NBC to compete in Stage 2.