Anna Shumaker looks back on the City Finals and forward to Las Vegas

Anna Shumaker had a relatively quiet rookie season on American Ninja Warrior. An early exit on the Fly Wheels of the LA Qualifiers in season nine meant that she didn’t get much face time with the fans. Anna has adjusted that for season 10. She came back as one of the strongest women in the Los Angeles Qualifiers, falling at the Doorknob Drop.

She followed that up with a stunning performance in the City Finals that moved her on to Las Vegas. The run saw Anna defeat the fifth obstacle and move all the way to the Giant Cubes.

We asked Anna to look back on her first two runs of the season.

“My season has been really good so far. I’m really excited to be in Vegas this year!

I was really excited to get up the Warped Wall, but I think I was even more excited to get up the Salmon Ladder. I think that was my favorite memory of all time, getting up the Salmon Ladder. That’s what I wanted, I knew I could do it. Once I was on it, I was going to be able to get up no problem. I did. I was really excited that I did it the way I knew that I could.

It’s surreal (to be going to the National Finals). I’m trying to soak it all in the best that I can.”

“I would have spent less time on the Sky Hooks in City Qualifiers. I think I would have finished the course and hit a buzzer if I’d paid more attention to the technique on the Sky Hooks. That’s the one thing I would have changed. Spent less time on the Sky Hooks.

But I feel like my mentality going into the course was the best that it could have been. I felt very good and very calm, which is important for me. I can’t get too excited or I over-do things. That’s what happened to me in season nine. I need to just stay calm. I think I’ve done a good job of that over the season.”

On the Giant Cubes, Anna twisted herself into a split between the middle and third portion of the obstacle that was staggering to witness. However, because Anna’s back foot was so much higher than her front foot, she couldn’t maintain the hold when she jumped for the transition.

The stellar run earned her a place at the National Finals for the first time. In the weeks between the Los Angeles City Finals and the Las Vegas competition, Anna had some time to make a few tweaks in her training.

“The only thing I’ve changed is more endurance training. I started running more stairs and sprints. Doing more course runs trying to get my endurance up since Vegas is a timed course. I wanted to make sure endurance wasn’t going to be a problem for me. I did not want that to be a reason I didn’t finish the course.

Endurance is not my strength. I would love it to be a little bit better, but I think between the time that I had to train, it’s as good as it can be. Having watched Stage One a couple years past, I feel I have the capability to complete it. It’s just about doing it in the moment and the first time.”

We’ll find out how Anna does on Stage One when the National Finals debut on Monday, August 27. The fans won’t be forgetting her name any time soon.