Jessie Graff doesn’t just don the garb of superheroes on TV, she can convincingly play the part as well. In Monday’s installment of “American Ninja Warrior,” the 32-year-old stunt woman became the first female contestant to successfully complete a Stage 1 course in the national finals.
Graff, a former college pole vaulter, conquered the Log Grip, Propeller Bar, Jumping Spider and Warped Wall at the New Orleans course. She wore a “Green Lantern”-inspired outfit, following up on memorable “Ninja Warrior” turns as “Wonder Woman.”
Graff, who has performed stunts on “Supergirl,” “Wonder Woman,” “Heroes,” and many other TV shows and movies, not only was just one of eight to complete the course, she did it in the fourth-fastest time.
“I always knew I could do it, but I never let myself fully believe it would happen until I saw it happening,” she said afterwards via WTHR.
Graff had previously been the first woman to scale the show’s new, 14.5-foot Warped Wall during a Los Angeles qualifier, repeating the feat in that city’s finals event.
This is her fourth appearance on “Ninja Warrior,” following stints in 2013 and 2015 (she had to sit out 2014 with a knee injury), plus a run on this year’s “Team Ninja Warrior,” where she was the only female team captain.
“I hope it will show women that feminine is strong — that we can frequently do more than people think we can — sometimes even more than we believe ourselves, if we’re willing to work for it,” Graff told People.
“We may have to train smarter and harder, but if we achieve greater focus, technique and strategy, we can beat the guys,” she added. “I know I’m not the strongest or the fastest. There are plenty of women who can do what I did, but I’m honored and grateful to have been the first — to get to be a part of this huge movement in which we challenge our perceptions of what’s possible.”
