Lindsay Eskildsen remembers that near-fall as her favorite moment on the course

Lindsay Eskildsen showed us what momma-strong looks like when she took on the American Ninja Warrior Qualifying course.

“Right before I was about to run, I was really nervous. It had been three years since I’d been on that course. It was really cool to see my family up on the big screens. It kind of put me at ease,” Lindsay told us after her run.

(The video cuts off before the end of her run. Lindsay fell on the fifth obstacle, V Formation.)

Lindsay competed on seasons nine and 10 of the show before she stepped away to start her family. She returned as a mom to two little ones. Her son was born just 3.5 months before Lindsay took to the course. Her performance there was nothing short of stellar regardless of her mom-status.

Lindsay took an early slip on Domino Effect, barely landing on the safety pad and dangerously tipped back over the pool. She scrambled her way forward and charged ahead. She recalls it as one of her favorite moments on the course, actually.

“When I somehow made it past that balance obstacle. That was a close call! The whole time I was like, ‘Oh gosh. This isn’t good.’ I landed halfway on, halfway off. I rolled over. I was safe. Safe!”

Lindsay brought her run to the fifth obstacle, V Formation. It landed her in the top 30 overall and second place on the women’s leaderboard. Her accomplishment is underscored by the lengths Lindsay went to in order to be ready to compete.

“Training is very different this year. I have two babies under two,” She shared. “There’s not a lot of time. I get creative. I do what I can at home with my babies. Sometimes I have to wait until they’re sleeping at night. If I’m lucky, every once in a while, my husband can watch the kids and I can sneak out to the Ninja gym for a few hours.

The thing that helped me the most (in Qualifiers) was my experience. Muscle memory and the experience of already being out there and knowing what to expect.”

Her run also guaranteed that we’ll see Lindsay again this season. She’ll be back for the Semifinals, and she knows exactly what she wants to accomplish.

“I always get nervous before I compete. But I think nervous is a good thing. I’m excited. I want to get out there and play on some obstacles. I would really, really, really love to make it past that dang fifth obstacle.”

Lindsay will return to the American Ninja Warrior course during the Semifinals in the coming weeks.