Latest news with #ANW
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
'American Ninja Warrior' Season 17 premieres June 2. What to know about Milwaukee's returning star, Taylor Amann
The lineup for "American Ninja Warrior" Season 17 is made up of new and veteran Ninjas, according to NBC Insider. One Ninja returning to the grueling obstacle-course show? Former Wisconsin Badgers pole vaulting superstar and Milwaukeean Taylor Amann. After winning "Team Ninja Warrior: College Madness" with two teammates coming up on a decade ago, Amann competed on "ANW" four times, making it to the national finals once. Not being in "the best space mentally" when she last competed on Season 15, she said in a previous Journal Sentinel interview, she fell on the second obstacle of the qualifying course, which meant she wouldn't advance to semifinals. After that, Amann thought she had retired from her time as a Ninja. But then, she kept going "back-and-forth" on whether that was how she wanted to end her "ANW" career. "As a competitive person and someone who's been an athlete my whole life, I couldn't leave it at that," Amann said. Filled with nerves and excitement, Amann flew to Las Vegas in October for filming. To see if Amann made the cut, episodes of Season 17's Las Vegas qualifiers will begin airing on June 2 on NBC. Here's what to know about Amann and Season 17 of the sports-entertainment competition show: 29 years old. Amann is a Hartland native who lives in Milwaukee. Amann is a social media manager at The Weaponry, an advertising agency. Her side hustle: A photography business in which she captures weddings, couples, families, seniors and branding. As an influencer, she has brand deals with Wantable, which has included a collection of her picks, and BYLT Basics. Amann graduated from Arrowhead High School and the University of Wisconsin-Madison. After competing and winning "Team Ninja Warrior: College Madness" with two teammates in 2016, Amann went on to compete on "American Ninja Warrior" four times: Seasons 11, 12, 13 and 15. Season 17 will be her fifth attempt (not including "College Madness"). "Team Ninja Warrior: College Madness": Won. "American Ninja Warrior": Season 11: Made it to the national finals. Season 12: Eliminated during the qualifying round. Season 13: Made it to the semifinals. Season 15: Eliminated during the qualifying round. Season 17: TBD. Last year, Amann started Ninja training again, which reminded her of "how fun it was," she said in a previous Journal Sentinel interview. That, paired with encouragement from her boss, she decided to give the obstacle course show another go. Amann applied to be a part of Season 17 at the last minute last summer. A couple weeks after submitting her "ANW" application video, Amann received a call from a show producer, inviting her to compete on the upcoming season. In general, Amann works out just about every day. She does HITT (high-intensity interval training) and circuit training focused on strength, with a little cardio. To prep for the show, she added in training at Ultimate Ninjas Oak Creek, where she practiced pull-ups, hanging, swinging and balance obstacles. She met the gym's owner, fellow "ANW" fixture Michael Silenzi, competing on the show a few years back. She also prioritized her "mental game," working on staying calm, focused, positive and confident, regardless of the obstacle at hand. That was "the toughest part," she said in our previous interview. "I've been an athlete my whole life. I like being competitive," she said. "It's just kind of like trusting what I can do. 'Cause as long as I'm training for it and working out every day, I know that my body's ready for it. It's just, my head could be holding me back. So, just staying positive about it." Amann started competing in gymnastics at 5 years old. She was a part of the Midwest Twisters Gymnastics, then competed for the Arrowhead High School team. She committed to pole vaulting after her junior year of high school. As a pole vaulter at UW-Madison, she became a three-time Big Ten champion and two-time All-American. According to NBC Insider, the show is hosted by Akbar Gbajabiamila and Matt Iseman, along with sideline co-host Zuri Hall. "ANW" Season 17 will feature a lineup of new and veteran Ninjas; the return of some fan-favorite obstacles, including CannonBall Alley; and a few surprise format changes, according to NBC Insider. "This season is really looking at the future of Ninja but also celebrating the past ..." Iseman told NBC Insider. "We saw some upsets that you never would've predicted in a million years. And then we saw redemptions that just made your heart swell. So the season was filled with so many highlights and so many incredible moments." This season's prize? $1 million. "The path to victory will demand even more mind-boggling strength and jaw-dropping speed as these Ninjas are put to the ultimate test," NBC Insider reported. "From the inspiring Ninja stories to the high-flying leaps that take our breath away, Season 17 is bringing the heat." "American Ninja Warrior" Season 17 airs at 7 p.m. Mondays on NBC. The season premiere is June 2. Episodes steam on Peacock, NBC's streaming service, the day after they air. This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: American Ninja Warrior Season 17: What to know, how to watch, Taylor Amann
Daily Mail
21-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
EXCLUSIVE I never stepped foot in a gym until age 62... but now people are stunned by my physique
A woman who had never stepped foot in a gym has revealed how she got in shape at age 62... and went on to become the oldest American Ninja Warrior competitor in history. While actor and former dancer Ginny MacColl, now 73, from Southport, North Carolina, has 'always' been active, for the first 62 years of her life, she had no interest in weight training or working out. But all of that changed in 2015, when she decided she wanted to get stronger after becoming inspired by her daughter, Jessie Graff, who had participated on the popular sports competition show America Ninja Warrior. At first, Ginny, who had 'no upper body strength,' said her goal was to do five pull-ups. She worked tirelessly with a personal trainer and it took a full year for her to achieve her first pull-up. But now, a decade on, not only can Ginny do numerous pull-ups, but she also works out six days a week and became the oldest competitor in American Ninja Warrior history in 2022. While chatting with Ginny explained, 'I've always done some sort of exercise. 'Mostly dance from age eight to adult when I moved to NYC to become a professional dancer. But all of that changed in 2015, when she decided she wanted to get stronger after becoming inspired by her daughter, Jessie Graff, who had participated on the show America Ninja Warrior 'In New York, I danced on scholarship and with a modern dance company and then onto Broadway with the hit show, Pippin, in 1974.' She continued to dance professionally until she got married and welcomed two kids, when she decided to turn her focus to acting and modeling. She starred in 'over 100 national TV commercials,' but being a busy working mom with two young children meant she had little time to focus on staying active. 'My exercising was limited to what I did with the kids,' she explained. After undergoing a divorce, she started teaching dance and worked in radio. She eventually remarried and moved to North Carolina to 'rekindle her acting career,' but at age 62, she discovered a new passion thanks to her daughter: weight lifting. 'My daughter competed on ANW and she was showing young girls how cool it was to be strong,' recalled Ginny. 'I thought she was strong, healthy, confident and graceful and I wanted to get strong too. 'I didn't have the upper body strength and eventually went to a personal trainer with a goal of five pull-ups.' Ginny admitted that weight training was extremely 'hard' and so 'different from anything she'd ever done before.' She knew that starting out at that age meant she would have to take it 'slow' and focus on her entire 'body' as to not injure herself. And while there were times she felt 'discouraged,' she never gave up. 'I'd never been in a gym, never been in sports. So I essentially started from scratch,' she continued. 'It took nine months to see definition and toning. It took a year to get one pull-up. '[There was] plenty of discouragement because I saw how so many women accomplished a pull-up and why couldn't I? 'But it made me more determined. If they could do it then I could too.' In 2016, she decided to participate in ANW with her daughter during a mother-daughter segment. 'It's never too late and you're never too old,' she told 'Let's get rid of old stereotypes, like: you can't get stronger as you age, or: it's all downhill after 50' Now, she has been on ANW three times, and in 2022, at age 71, she broke the record as the oldest female competitor on the show. She has documented much of her fitness journey online, and has seen a resurgence in her acting career in recent years. She worked as a stunt actor in Reese Witherspoon and Will Ferrell's movie You're Cordially Invited, and had a small role as a tennis player in the Sex and the City prequel show And Just Like That. 'It's never too late and you're never too old,' she concluded. 'That's why I post my progress on Instagram, so I can show people that you can do a lot more than you think you can. 'Let's get rid of old stereotypes, like: you can't get stronger as you age, or: you'll get too bulky and you won't look feminine, or: it's all downhill after 50.
