When Jessie Graff stepped on to the American Ninja Warrior Daytona City Finals course, everyone was expecting a lot from her. But no one was prepared for how much she was about to give us.
In the Qualifying rounds, Jessie had been taken out by the Rolling Thunder. The cumbersome, strenuous obstacle had only been bested by one other female competitor, Jesse Labreck in season 8’s Philadelphia Finals.
Jessie’s Daytona Qualifying run was still strong enough to put her in the 27th position overall for the night. But when she approached the course again, she knew how important it would be to defeat the obstacle.
Which brings us to the first triumph of her run. She bested her nemesis! After pulling the wheel close enough to the landing pad, she opted for a long lache to get herself to safety.
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She stopped to celebrate the accomplishment, rightfully so.
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After the Warped Wall and the Salmon Ladder, Jessie was left staring down the Ninja killer, the Giant Cubes.
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The tough and complicated new obstacle had been downing Ninjas all night. When Jessie paused to shake out her arms, there was worry that fatigue was setting in.
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Triumph number two: THIS moment! When Jessie was unsure if she could land the leap, she re-evaluated and got creative. Sticking her leg out behind her, she locked in a break for her arms and a safer transfer.
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Let’s see that again from a different angle. BAM!
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But she wasn’t done yet! Jessie carefully moved through the Circuit Board. Few had gotten to this point that night.
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But there she was, completing another dismount and putting the Circuit Board behind her.
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This is the first time in Jessie’s American Ninja Warrior career that she’s completed the ninth obstacle of the Finals. It was one more triumph for her and she made sure to take it in.
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On the Elevator Climb, Jessie just smiled wildly as she churned out the last of her grip strength and energy. She didn’t complete the climb, but she’d certainly done enough to make this one of the runs to remember in Ninja history.
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Jessie ranked fourth overall for the night, and yeah, she’s going to the National Finals!