Kacy Catanzaro’s City Finals run is still thrilling to watch all these years later

It’s just as impressive today as it was back in 2014.

By Nikki Lee@anwnation Apr 24, 2020, 10:17am PDT

Recently we took a trip down American Ninja Warrior memory lane while we prepared the “Greatest Buzzer” brackets. The process required watching a LOT of older runs, which we certainly didn’t mind doing.

When we got to the 2014 Dallas Finals from season six, we were struck by Kacy Catanzaro’s historic run. That’s when she became the first woman to clear a City Finals course (shortly after becoming the first woman to clear a Qualifying course). The accomplishment wouldn’t be matched until season 11 when Jesse Labreck and Michelle Warnky completed the Cincinnati City Finals course.

We were reminded that Kacy’s run is timeless. There’s a lot of talk about how the American Ninja Warrior courses get harder every season and questioning if that devalues some of the older runs a bit. We think this run is proof that the answer to that is no. Kacy’s run is just as jaw-dropping today as it was back in 2014 when it went viral and lifted the show to a new level of fame. The feats she had to accomplish back then still hold weight today.

Kacy could barely lock on to the Log Grip but she made it work.

We STILL gasp when she misses that one transition on the Ring Toss, like we don’t know what happens next.

Kacy floats up the Warped Wall. It looks so effortless this time around.

Staring down the back half, you can feel the focus and drive coming from Kacy.

After bopping up the Salmon Ladder, she had to deal with the Swinging Frames, which definitely tested her due to her smaller size. Kacy had to make some leaps of faith and really trust herself.

But that was nothing compared to her work on the Pole Grasper. Unable to reach across the largest gap, she had to jump and turn in midair to snag the pole behind her.

With ALL of that done, there was no way the Spider Climb would stop her.

Boom. Buzzer. One that will never, ever be forgotten.

Kacy’s run is still as powerful today as it was in season six and it still blows us away every time we see it.