American Ninja Warrior: it may sound redundant, but this show is a big deal to a lot of people. If you haven’t heard about American Ninja Warrior, it is a spinoff show in America based off of a Japanese show called Sasuke, more commonly known around the world as Ninja Warrior. Essentially, it is a grueling obstacle course laid out in stages for contestants to complete. But in reality, it’s a community event showcasing some of the hardest working athletes you’ll ever see. Since we are big fans of American Ninja Warrior here at Rebounderz, and in fact have our own ninja warrior course here in Grand Rapids, we would like to go over one of the top athletes in the show: Kacy Catanzaro.

Who is Kacy Catanzaro?

Kacy Catanzaro is a New Jersey girl, born in Glen Ridge. She grew up there, attending Belleville high school near the area. Of Italian descent, she is relatively small, standing at about five feet and weighing 95 lbs. That doesn’t stop her from being an athletic powerhouse, though. She has been a gymnast since age five, and got in to Towson University in Maryland on an athletic scholarship, where she studied early childhood education.

In 2012, Kacy was awarded the Southeast Regional Gymnast of the Year for competing Division 1 of the National Collegiate Athletic Association. She also received the Eastern College Athletic Conference Gymnast of the Year award, ranking in the top spot for that conference.

Competition Career

Since before she competed officially at American Ninja Warrior, Kacy has worked at an obstacle course gym in Texas called Alpha Warrior. In 2013, she was invited to American Ninja Warrior as a wildcard, where she fell short on the Giant Ring.

It wasn’t until 2014 when Kacy gained some notoriety on the American Ninja Warrior course, becoming the first woman to finish the qualifying course on Season 6. Perhaps the most impressive part of this feat was her making it up the warped wall on her second try, the first woman to do so in competition.

Also in 2014, Kacy became the first woman ever to complete the city finals course for American Ninja Warrior, and the second woman to ever attempt it (with credit for the first going to Jessie Graff). What makes this feat so amazing is the fact that Kacy has a relatively shorter stature than most of her competitors, and yet still beat them all out. The extra effort this requires is visibly apparent when watching her course runs compared to other contestants. Her achievement here went viral on Twitter, getting over 100 million views and earning her the moniker #MightyKacy. While she still hasn’t yet finished the course, her deeds have earned her the adoration of many, and she has a multitude of fans cheering her on to victory.

Are you interested in becoming an American Ninja Warrior? If so, you’ll need a place to train. Here at Rebounderz, we have our very own ninja warrior course in Grand Rapids. In fact, we’ve got them all over the nation! While features vary, generally there are three levels of obstacles just like on the show. Give us a call today to find out more, and take the next step to becoming America’s next top Ninja Warrior!