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Jessie Graff: ‘Ninja Warrior’ Like You’ve Never Seen [Video]

By Antonio J. Newell
Published on: 07:05 PST, Aug 30, 2016

Supergirl’s stunt double, Jessie Graff, made her American Ninja Warrior appearance legendary. Watch it here.

What’s so special about Jessie Graff’s run? Literally, you have to see it to believe it.

Jessie Graff is one of the few American Ninja Warrior competitors to make it to national finals. Yet, Graff runs the course with ease as if she’s in preliminary rounds.

Encouragingly, Jessie Graff is competing for a $1 million grand prize. And, according to American Ninja Warrior, Jessie’s the first woman to ever complete Stage 1 in the national finals.

The source notes that there are four stages to the national finals obstacle challenge, and each one more is daunting than the last.

However, Jessie is accepting the challenges without fear or intimidation.

Into the Mind of Jessie Graff

ESPN caught up with Jessie Graff for an interview afterward. Graff’s response was as follows.

“Throughout the night, anytime I caught myself thinking about the magnitude of how my life might change if I completed the course, I would immediately redirect my focus to calculating and memorizing the strategies for each specific obstacle. I attack each one, one at a time, and in order, so walking up to the platform, I was thinking about the first obstacle: getting all of the dust off of my shoes before the countdown starts.”

Jessie elaborated a bit more on “slippery shoes.”

“Slippery shoes will ruin a good Jumping Spider or Warped Wall run, and there’s no time to clean your shoes once the timer starts,” says Graff.

While Jessie Graff was confident she could complete Stage 1, she notes that every obstacle equally worried her.

“Every obstacle on the course is so tricky, that the odds of making one little mistake that ruins the run is high — especially when you’re rushing,” mentions Jessie. “But since this is a timed stage, with a clock counting down to elimination, there’s no time to think about strategy between obstacles.”

Where did Jessie Graff get this kind of athleticism?

You might know that Jessie Graff is no stranger to high-flying action. In “real life,” Graff is actually a professional stunt woman, as aforementioned.

According to Internet Movie Database (IMDb), Jessie has quite the extensive stunt resume. From just a simple glance at Graff’s work, it’s easy to see how she may continue to dominate American Ninja Warrior.

According to the source, Graff graduated in 2002 from Urbana High School in Frederick, Maryland. After graduation, Graff actually attended Georgia Institute of Technology.

Jessie majored in aerospace engineering, as mentions IMDb. It wasn’t until after her time at GT that she transferred to the University of Nebraska and became a Hoosier.

While attending Nebraska, Jessie Graff studied Theatre.

So, how did she become so agile?

The source notes that in high school, Graff was the track team captain. Likewise, during Jessie’s time at both GT and UN, she was part of the track team as well.

IMDb notes that she holds the pole vaulting record at both universities.

This certainly explains her undying athleticism and acting prowess.

Interestingly enough, Jessie’s stunt career started before 2002. In 1998, Jessie Graff had a small, stunt double role in Shaq’s work, Sports Theater with Shaquille O’Neal.

Yet, in 2006, Graff stunt career took off and has only progressed further throughout the years.

Here are a few movies and TV shows featuring Jessie Graff of which you might not have known she was a double.

  • The Dark Knight
  • Heroes
  • Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen
  • Transformers: Dark Side of the Moon
  • Live Free or Die Hard
  • G.I. Joe: Rise of Cobra
  • Dexter
  • Nip/Tuck
  • Iron Man 2
  • Bridesmaids
  • X-Men: First Class
  • Sons of Anarchy
  • Leverage

And many, many more.

All in all, how do you think Jessie Graff will do in Stages 2 through 4? Will she go on to become the first woman to claim the $1 million grand prize?

[Image via Twitter]

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