Warning! The following contains spoilers for American Ninja Warrior. Read at your own risk.
American Ninja Warrior contestants have hit a lot of milestones in the show's recent seasons, but few were as cool as what happened tonight. For the first time in five years, a woman completed the City Finals course. The crowd was already fired up when it happened the first time, but when it happened for the second time that night, and the audience somehow blew the roof off the open air obstacle course. This was the stuff of American Ninja Warrior history. Twice in one night!
First, the magic started when Michelle Warnky took to the course with something to prove. Warnky's been around the American Ninja Warrior circuit for quite a while, and is actually the second woman ever to have successfully scaled the Warped Wall. Despite that, she had never completed a City Finals course in her ninja career, and was obviously hoping to make it happen in Cincinnati. Thankfully, things worked out for her.
The crowd, judges, and even Michelle Warnky were beside themselves as the American Ninja Warrior competitor did something that hadn't been done since Kacy Catanzaro in 2014. It was a powerful moment for Warnky, who was all smiles for the audience despite a nasty gash she got across the eye in the qualifying rounds. Another bleeding battle scar would've made this run even more epic, although we're ultimately glad Warnky made it through this run unscathed.
Just when it seemed the night couldn't get any better, Jesse Labreck proved that no one should ever assume the impossible won't happen. Labreck attacked the American Ninja Warrior course with the ferocity one expects from someone who's competed at the highest level of this competition. For all her accolades and appearances in the Finals and the Worlds competition though, Labreck still hadn't completed a City Finals course. That changed, of course, and the athlete was stoked about it.
It's a moment that's surely inspiring to athletes and fans of American Ninja Warrior everywhere, and possibly a little bittersweet for all the woman veterans who hoped to be the second or even third to complete a City Finals course. Show legend Jessie Graff, for example, still has not been able to conquer that achievement despite her various accolades and fell just short of doing so in this year's competition. Will she be at risk of going down to Michelle Warnky and Jesse Labreck in the finals?
American Ninja Warrior Contestant Becomes First Mom To Beat The Course
American Ninja Warrior is still rolling strong on NBC with new episodes airing Mondays at 8:00 p.m. ET. Stick with CinemaBlend for more details on what's left of summer television, and continue to stay tuned as fall television season kicks into full steam for all the latest relevant news.
