When Jessie Graff stepped up to the American Ninja Warrior Semi-Finals course, it wasn’t just about making it far enough, fast enough. For Jessie, nothing short of the buzzer on the 10-obstacle course would do.
Jessie shared with us in a previous interview this season that the extended course buzzer is an important milestone she’s trying to reach.
My goal, every season, has been to hit a City Finals buzzer. The only difference now is that it’s called a Semi-Finals buzzer. Since season six when I saw Kacy (Catanzaro) do it, that’s the course that’s most inspiring to me. 10 obstacles. The difficulty level. That’s the course that I think is the coolest that I want. Until I’m strong enough to do Stage Three.
This year is perfect. If I do well at Semi-Finals, then I get to try another City Finals course. For me, City Finals means more than Stage One.
But in order to get to that buzzer, Jessie would have to contend with some fierce obstacles. There was Burn Rubber, the balance obstacle that shockingly took out some big names. Then there was Corkscrew... The eighth obstacle was not exactly gentle on anyone’s shoulders or wrists. It was here that Jessie ran into trouble.
You can watch her full run above. And take heart, Jessie will have another opportunity to make her goal this season. She’s in the Finals that kick off on Wednesday, October 28 at 9pm on NBC!