--- title: 'American Ninja Warrior' Wonder Woman: 'Feminine is Strong' description: Jessie Graff's run in the American Ninja Warrior national finals this Monday has already gone viral canonical: https://time.com/4472272/american-ninja-warrior-jessie-graff/ author: Megan Lasher article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-08-30T13:54:32.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-04-13T09:03:16.060Z og:title: 'American Ninja Warrior' Finalist: 'Feminine is Strong' og:description: Jessie Graff wants her flawless run to inspire other women og:url: https://time.com/4472272/american-ninja-warrior-jessie-graff/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltaa231b17734d82de/6988a427656a3f501fbcceac/american-ninja-warrior-graff.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 2952 og:image:height: 1661 og:image:alt: US-ENTERTAINMENT-NINJA-WARRIOR og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: 'American Ninja Warrior' Finalist: 'Feminine is Strong' twitter:description: Jessie Graff wants her flawless run to inspire other women twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltaa231b17734d82de/6988a427656a3f501fbcceac/american-ninja-warrior-graff.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # This 'American Ninja Warrior' Competitor Proves 'Feminine is Strong' > Sponsored content. 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It is a free newsletter available at time.com/newsletters. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-worth-2026q3/newsletters?i=5a2ac326-8278-4e76-9c3d-084dc5ece768&cr=time-nl-worth-2026q3-v1) by [Megan Lasher](https://time.com/author/megan-lasher/) ## Megan Lasher Aug 30, 2016 1:54 PM UTC  Competitor Jessie Graff attends "American Ninja Warrior" screening and course demonstration In celebration of the show's first Emmy Award nomination, at Universal Studio, in Universal City, California, on August 24, 2016. Competitor Jessie Graff attends "American Ninja Warrior" screening and course demonstration In celebration of the show's first Emmy Award nomination, at Universal Studio, in Universal City, California, on August 24, 2016. Valeria Macon—AFP/Getty Images by [Megan Lasher](https://time.com/author/megan-lasher/) ## Megan Lasher Aug 30, 2016 1:54 PM UTC Jessie Graff’s run in the _American Ninja Warrior_ national finals this Monday has already [gone viral](http://www.ew.com/article/2016/08/30/ninja-warrior-jessie-graffs-stage-1-video). The _Supergirl_ stunt woman conquers the show’s toughest obstacles with ease, and beats out most of her competitors—men and women. Now, she’s making it clear that she wants her athleticism to be proof of something much greater. “I hope it will show women that feminine is strong,” Graff [told PEOPLE](http://www.people.com/article/jessie-graff-american-ninja-warrior-las-vegas-finals). “That we can frequently do more than people think we can – sometimes even more than we believe ourselves, if we’re willing to work for it.” Graff, who previously caught eyes after [running an _ANW_ course dressed as Super Woman](http://motto.time.com/4361803/wonder-woman-american-ninja-warrior/),was also the first woman ever to complete Stage I during the Las Vegas finals. In the same interview with PEOPLE, she admitted that it’s not always easy to keep up with her male competitors: “\[Women\] may have to train smarter and harder, but if we achieve greater focus, technique and strategy, we can beat the guys,” she said. “I know I’m not the strongest or the fastest. There are plenty of women who can do what I did, but I’m honored and grateful to have been the first – to get to be a part of this huge movement in which we challenge our perceptions of what’s possible.” [_Follow Motto on Facebook._](https://www.facebook.com/mottoworkplaylive/) Watch Graff’s run below, and read the full interview at [PEOPLE.com](http://www.people.com/article/jessie-graff-american-ninja-warrior-las-vegas-finals) ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4472272/american-ninja-warrior-jessie-graff/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4472272/american-ninja-warrior-jessie-graff/"},"headline":"This 'American Ninja Warrior' Competitor Proves 'Feminine is Strong'","datePublished":"2016-08-30T13:54:32.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T09:03:16.060Z","description":"Jessie Graff wants her flawless run to inspire other women","url":"https://time.com/4472272/american-ninja-warrior-jessie-graff/","keywords":["motto","News"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltaa231b17734d82de/6988a427656a3f501fbcceac/american-ninja-warrior-graff.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Megan Lasher","jobTitle":"","url":"https://time.com/author/megan-lasher/"}],"articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltaa231b17734d82de/6988a427656a3f501fbcceac/american-ninja-warrior-graff.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"US-ENTERTAINMENT-NINJA-WARRIOR","caption":"Competitor Jessie Graff attends \"American Ninja Warrior\" screening and course demonstration In celebration of the show's first Emmy Award nomination, at Universal Studio, in Universal City, California, on August 24, 2016.","creditText":"Valeria Macon—AFP/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/tag/motto/","name":"motto"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4472272/american-ninja-warrior-jessie-graff/","name":"This 'American Ninja Warrior' Competitor Proves 'Feminine is Strong'"}}]}] ```