Sunday (9 May) was a historic night for American Ninja Warrior, as it featured the first-ever women’s championship. The biggest female names in the sport competed for the top prize of $50,000.
It was such a big event that Wonder Woman director Patty Jenkins made a video appearance and rooted for her friend Jessie Graff.
Graff, who is a fan-favorite, stumbled in the qualifying round of the competition and left the door open for other ninjas to leave their mark. The final run featured young star Meagan Martin versus veteran Jesse Labreck.
Labreck led most of the final run but with just moments left, Martin made two impressive leaps to jump ahead and hit the winning buzzer.
Viewers were excited to celebrate Martin’s historic victory. But the champion herself used her moment in the spotlight to honor her competitor, Labreck.
“I have so much respect for [Labreck],” Martin said soon after her win. “She is one of the fiercest competitors, and I was playing catch-up, so I just had to take a risk. It could have gone wrong, but luckily it worked, and I’m just so … I can’t believe this is happening.” ♦
