Joyce Shahboz did not complete the finals course in Las Vegas of the hit NBC show American Ninja Warrior, adapted from the wildly-successful Japanese show, to become the first American to do so. When she competed at the final in Las Vegas (taped in June, but aired for the first time on Monday night), though, she became the first woman to ever make back-to-back finals in the American edition of the show.
She successfully navigated the course’s first two obstacles, but came up short on the “jumping spider,” which required competitors to jump off of a trampoline and land by holding themselves up between two vertical walls. Yes, it’s as difficult as it sounds like.
Shahboz has strong ties with the sport of swimming. She’s a Physical Therapist and a registered health care professional for the USA Swimming Sports Medicine and Science Network who serves as the Senior Strength Coach at High Tide Aquatics in Florida. Her husband Mark coaches the team’s “Gold” group.
Shahboz did an internship at a Grand Prix meet and the Olympic training Center and is a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist.
She assists with the club’s dryland program for high school level swimmers and helps with the age groupers as well.
Her husband, Marc, also participated in the show.
See videos of the two below, including Joyce’s 2012 finals run.
