Jessie Graff

Jessica Lauren Graff (born January 12, 1984) is an American professional stunt woman and athletics-based television personality. She is a black belt in Taekwondo, a black sash in Kung Fu, and is trained in five other styles of martial arts. She is also a championship pole vaulter and a competitive gymnast. Graff has become well known for her athletic achievements on the obstacle course show American Ninja Warrior. In 2016, she became the first woman ever to complete Stage 1 of the Las Vegas Finals course. In 2017, Graff became the first woman to compete in, and to successfully finish, Stage 2 in Las Vegas, although this was part of the USA vs. The World competition instead of a regular season, and that had no time requirement. She was the first woman representing the United States in that competition. Later on in Sasuke 34, she became the first woman worldwide to finish Stage 2 in the Sasuke/Ninja Warrior franchise, only defeated by the Ultra Crazy Cliffhanger in the third stage. She was the second woman ever to conquer the Stage 1 of the Sasuke course (excluding Kunoichi), after Chie Tanabe in Sasuke 2. Early life Jessie Graff was born to Ginny MacColl on January 12, 1984. At age 6, Graff started taking circus classes. She started doing gymnastics at age 9 and did competitive gymnastics for 6 years. She was a member of the Frederick Gymnastic Club for 6 years. By age 12 she was catching other performers on the trapeze. She has stated about her time as a 12-year-old trapeze artist, "The rule was I wasn’t allowed to catch anyone who outweighed me by more than 20 pounds."