Allyssa Beird’s gritty run will get her to Las Vegas

Allyssa Beird isn’t a rookie this season, but the American Ninja Warrior community is definitely taking serious note of her this year.

In season eight, Allyssa was one of the four women who qualified for the Philadelphia City Finals. Since last year, she’s become the women’s champion of the National Ninja League, and was part of Joe Moravsky’s Storm Team on Team Ninja Warrior. They won that championship as well.

She’s carrying that momentum into season nine now. In her Cleveland Qualifying run, she became the first woman to hit a buzzer this season. Back for her City Finals run, Allyssa got off to a rough start but still churned out a an impressive run, displaying not just her strength but her mental grit.

On the Floating Steps, Allyssa suffered a slip that almost sent her flying. She clung on and managed to save herself.

But after the Rolling Log, you could see blood on her leg from the fall. She took an extra moment to refocus herself before continuing. It seemed like she was a little shaken.

On the Ring Swing, she took quite awhile to plan her dismount. Any extra time on an obstacle like that draws from the strength the Ninjas need for the back half of the course.

But Allyssa wasn’t done yet. She still had what it took to land the difficult I-Beam Gap transition.

After the Warped Wall, which gave her no trouble, she stared down the back half of the course.

When she completed the Salmon Ladder and began the Nail Clipper, her time to the obstacle nudged Michelle Warnky out of the second place women’s position. This meant Allyssa was cleared for Las Vegas.

Allyssa wanted to make it farther, but the transition from the first cylinder to the second saw the end of her run.

Allyssa seemed a little disenchanted with the end of her run, but she’s heading to the National Finals. After all the mental distractions she overcame in Cleveland, we’re looking forward to seeing how she utilizes her fresh start in Vegas.