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Jesse "Flex" Labreck is a gym operator from Naperville, Illinois. Labreck currently lives with and is engaged to fellow ANW veteran Chris DiGangi. She was a former caregiver who helped take care of Emeline Sterpe, a young girl with cerebral palsy. She is considered to be one of the strongest female Ninja competitors in the world.

American Ninja Warrior 8[]

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Jesse_Labreck_at_the_Philadelphia_Finals_-_American_Ninja_Warrior_2016

Jesse Labreck at the Philadelphia Finals - American Ninja Warrior 2016

Jesse first competed in American Ninja Warrior 8 in the Philadelphia region. In the Qualifying round, she completed the first four obstacles with little difficulty, but lost her grip at the Rolling Thunder. She still made it to the city finals by placing 28th. With three other women making the top 30, she took part in ANW history as part of the Fantastic Four- this was the highest number of female competitors to advance to the Semifinals round until Episode 2 of the American Ninja Warrior 13 Qualifying rounds.

In the finals, Jesse managed to beat the Rolling Thunder and became just the fifth woman ever to scale the Warped Wall, advancing all the way to Stair Hopper before falling. She became the fourth woman in ANW history to qualify for Vegas, the third in American Ninja Warrior 8. and the first woman to qualify as a rookie. She placed 10th overall at the end of the night. In the Las Vegas Finals, she failed the Jumping Spider due to her legs not getting deep enough in between the walls.

Labreck was later chosen to represent Team Matt in the Team Competition in the Second American Ninja Warrior All Star Special. During her leg of the race on Stage One, she got her revenge on the Jumping Spider but failed the Sonic Curve when her feet touched the water while she was hanging from the rope. On Stage Two, she made history as the first woman to complete the Wave Runner and the Butterfly Wall and the first women in the All-Star history to beat the fourth obstacle. She also competed in the Skills Competition where she cleared 19 rungs out of 35 on the Super Salmon Ladder competition and scaled a 17 ft Warped Wall on the Mega Wall Competition.

American Ninja Warrior 9[]

Jesse_Labreck_at_the_Cleveland_Qualifiers_-_American_Ninja_Warrior_2017

Jesse Labreck at the Cleveland Qualifiers - American Ninja Warrior 2017

Labreck returned to compete in Cleveland in American Ninja Warrior 9. She became just the sixth woman ever to complete a qualifying course, placing 12th overall and moving on to the city finals.

In the city finals, she was one of many to fail the Nail Clipper. However, her time to the obstacle just barely landed her a spot in the top 15, placing 15th overall. She became one of only two women in ANW 9 to land in the top 15. The other was Jessie Graff.

On Stage One, Labreck cleared the first four obstacles with ease. However, she got hung up on the rope on Parkour Run, wasting energy and time, and ultimately crashed into the water on the Flying Squirrel after failing the transition to the cargo net.

American Ninja Warrior 10[]

Jesse_Labreck_at_the_Indianapolis_City_Qualifiers_-_American_Ninja_Warrior_2018

Jesse Labreck at the Indianapolis City Qualifiers - American Ninja Warrior 2018

In American Ninja Warrior 10, Labreck competed in Indianapolis this time, as she now lives in Naperville, Illinois. She moved through the course with ease and became the first woman that night to complete the Spin Hopper and attempt the 18-foot Mega Wall. Although she came up short, she easily scaled the regular Warped Wall and hit her second consecutive qualifying buzzer, becoming just the second woman that season to complete the qualifying course. She placed 10th overall at the end of the night.

In the city finals, Labreck made history by becoming the first woman to get past The Clacker. Unfortunately, she fell on Cane Lane shortly after starting when she missed the jump after the first stopper. Still, she placed 12th overall and moved on to the National Finals again.

On Stage One, Jesse had a sloppy run - she smashed her face on the dismount of Jeep Run, missed her first attempt on the Warped Wall, and crashed into the water on Twist and Fly after failing the transition to the second set of handles. Since no female competitor completed Stage One, Labreck became the Last Woman Standing (an unofficially recognized title) that season.

American Ninja Warrior 11[]

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Jesse Labreck's Historic Run - American Ninja Warrior Cincinnati City Finals 2019

Jesse returned in Cincinnati for American Ninja Warrior 11. She competed the Qualifying course, placing 6th overall. She also bested her fiance, Chris DiGangi, who failed on Slingshot. She also tied Meagan Martin's record of three consecutive qualifying buzzers.

In the city finals, Jesse was looking to do what she had never done before: complete the course. Although she did get hung up on both the Ring Swing and hit her head on the dismount Spinball Wizard, Jesse did make history as the third woman ever to complete a city finals course, after Kacy Catanzaro in American Ninja Warrior 6 and Michelle Warnky, who earlier cleared the course before she did that night. Just like in the qualifying round, she placed 6th again, qualifying for Vegas.

In the national finals, Jesse got hung up on Spin Your Wheels, wasting energy and time. For the third straight year, she crashed into the water on the final obstacle, Twist & Fly again, once again failing the transition to the cargo net. Since no female competitors completed stage 1, she once again became the Last Woman Standing that season.

At the end, it was the first time that she was bested by Chris DiGangi, as he made it all the way to Stage Three, before failing on the Ultimate Cliffhanger.

American Ninja Warrior 12[]

Jesse returned for her fifth season in American Ninja Warrior 12. As a team captain, she brought along Brittany Holterman and fiancรฉ Chris DiGangi to compete. She competed in the second episode of the qualifying rounds, looking as strong as ever. She became the first woman to catch the big ring on Ring Chaser, breezed through the Ferris Wheel, and cleared the course with the 11th fastest time overall, securing her spot in the semifinals. She once again made history by hitting her fourth consecutive qualifying buzzer (beating Meagan Martin's previous record of three consecutive qualifying buzzers) and setting the record for having the most buzzers by a female competitor at five (breaking the previous record that was held by both Meagan Martin and Jessie Graff, who later tied that record, also in the third episode of the qualifying rounds).

In the Semifinals, Jesse continued to dominate. Although she had a slight struggle on Clockwork, she made it to the back half of the course and becoming the first woman to complete Corkscrew (the only one to do so in the semifinals). She ultimately fell on The Dungeon, continuing her streak of having the same course results as DiGangi. Although Jesse just missed out on the top 12 placing 13th, she placed 1st on the Women's Top 2, advance to the Finals. However, this was the first time Jesse failed to qualify for the Finals via the normal leaderboard. Had the leaderboard been for the top 15 competitors instead of the top 12, she would have continued her streak.

In the Finals, Jesse progressed at a slow and controlled pace. She broke her streak of having the same result as Chris by completing the Falling Shelves. She then had a slight scare on Diamond Dash, as she undershot the step to the fourth diamond, causing it to tilt backwards and hit her knee. While she did clear it, she injured her leg. Despite that, she continued to progress far on the course. Labreck came very close to falling on Dragonback, as she had to regrip the bar multiple times and almost fell on the dismount. However, she managed to complete the obstacle, just barely making it over the tilting wall, taking a hard impact. She then scaled the Spider Trap, finished the course and got her 6th buzzer as well as her second extended course buzzer, setting two new records for women. She placed 7th at the end of the Finals round, which was enough to move onto the power tower playoffs. Jesse became the first woman to compete on the Power Tower in the American competition, and the second to compete overall (Olivia Vivian became the first to do so on Australian Ninja Warrior 4).

As the No. 7 seed, she faced the No. 2 seed, Daniel Gil, in the first round of the Power Tower Playoff. Labreck struggled with the stairs at the start of the tower and lost to Gil by a relatively significant margin. However, she was able to complete the tower and hit the buzzer at the end. This was also Jesse's third year in a row as the Last Woman Standing.

American Ninja Warrior: Women's Championship[]

Jesse also competed in the inaugural Women's Championship postseason special, which was taped during Season 12. She finished the course as the top woman in Round 1. In Round 2, she beat the easier version of The Dungeon, which took her out in the Semifinals. Shockingly she gassed out on the Spider Trap despite beating the obstacle twice before. She still moved onto the Power Tower where she won the first race against Tiana Webberley. Unfortunately, lost the final race against the eventual winner of the competition, Meagan Martin.

American Ninja Warrior 13[]

Jesse returned for her sixth season and competed in the last qualifying episode. Since her fiancรฉ, Chris DiGangi, surprisingly failed Block Run at Split Decision, Jesse took the other route and successfully cleared Log Runner. She went on to hit her fifth straight qualifying buzzer, as well as her seventh overall buzzer, placing 17th overall and moving on to the Semifinals.

Jesse ran as the last competitor of the last semifinals episode. As always, she put up a strong run. Like last season, she had a small scare on Diamond Dash, tripping on the dismount. However, DiGangi panicked, prompting Jesse to apologize to him. In one of the funniest moments of that season, Matt and Akbar asked if Jesse was apologizing to the Diamond Dash, to which she responded that she was apologizing to DiGangi for scaring him. She then became the only woman to clear Drop Zone and make it to the back half of the course that night. Upon reaching Split Decision, Jesse was stuck choosing between the upper body-intensive The Dungeon or the brutal Diving Boards. While she had cleared an easier version of the obstacle in the Women's Championship, many of the people watching her run were unsure if she would complete the normal version (which she had failed). However, Jesse declared that her arms weren't that pumped, and went with that obstacle. She muscled through the obstacle and got her revenge, going on to clear the Spider Trap and finish the course in 12th place, hitting her third extended course buzzer, as well as her eighth overall buzzer.

On Stage One, Jesse was the last runner once again. Prior to her run, she revealed that she desperately wanted revenge on the final obstacle, as she had failed there for the last three seasons consecutively. Jesse had a strong and efficient run, despite spending extra time on the Swinging Blades and nearly missing the first handhold on the Tire Run. Still, she made it to the final obstacle (this time being the Fly Hooks) with over 50 seconds remaining. Since she had moved through the course efficiently, Jesse was able to take extra swings to the cargo net without rushing, and for the first time, successfully got the grip and completed the transfer to the cargo net, and finished with 20.02 seconds left on the clock, hitting her ninth buzzer. She is also the first woman and so far only woman in American Ninja Warrior history to have a perfect season going into Stage Two, and also the first woman to hit both a city finals buzzer and a Stage One buzzer. It is also worth noting that Jesse finished with the 14th fastest time out of 27 competitors, finishing exactly in the 50th percentile out of those who finished, and having the fastest time out of all the female competitors to clear Stage One.

In her first run on Stage Two, Jesse easily cleared the Striding Steps, but her run ended early as she was expecting, as she missed the jump to the first set of open cradles, derailing the bar on the Double Salmon Ladder, ending her best season to date. At the end, Jesse was devastated, as she was crying to DiGangi and repeating, "I know I could have done better." Still, she became the Last Woman Standing for the fourth year in a row, and became the first woman to hit 3 buzzers in one season.

Jesse_Labreck_at_the_Vegas_Finals-_Stage_1_-_American_Ninja_Warrior_2019

Jesse Labreck at the Vegas Finals- Stage 1 - American Ninja Warrior 2019

American Ninja Warrior: Womenโ€™s Championship 2[]

Jesse returned for the second ever Womenโ€™s Championship. In Round 1, she completed the course with little difficulty, beating Zhanique Lovett for the fastest time by a minute before coming in second behind Casey Rothschild, moving onto Round 2.

In Round 2, Jesse once again sailed through the early obstacles, arriving once again at Split Decision where she went with the Inverter. Jesse became the first woman to complete it and the second women to complete the course, this time placing first.

With the fastest time, Jesse ran against Allyssa Beird in the first round of the Power Tower Playoffs, sailing to the buzzer on the Power Tower. In the final round, she raced against defending champion Meagan Martin in a rematch of last year's final. Jesse got the early lead on the Power Tower, but Meagan moved more efficiently on the Dropping Shelves. It seemed as though Meagan would just barely edge out Jesse, but the former lost her grip on the final shelf. Jesse then took her time on the final lachรฉ, easily clearing it and hitting the buzzer, winning the $50,000 prize. Jesse also admitted that the money would go towards a wedding for her and Chris DiGangi instead of a pool, which was what the couple originally agreed on.

American Ninja Warrior 14[]

Jesse returned in the third qualifying episode, being shown as the last runner. She was hoping to hit her tenth buzzer, but her fiancรฉe, Chris DiGangi put some pressure on her when he hit his tenth buzzer. Jesse moved quickly through the first three obstacles, but struggled on Kickboards, spending a lot of time on the transfer to the final spinning disc and spinning backwards upon the transfer. However, she was able to spin back into place and complete it. She then powered through the tricky Salmon Roll but nearly failed the dismount. Fortunately, she was able to twist her body sideways, throwing herself against the landing platform. She then went on to hit her tenth buzzer overall and maintain her six-year streak of completing the Qualifying course, placing 14th overall.

Jesse returned in the third semifinals episode as the last female runner. She was hoping to earn her eleventh buzzer; however, in what was perhaps the biggest shock of the season, she went out on only the third obstacle, Clockwork, despite beating it two years prior. She struggled to generate swing and attempted the transition to the second bar too early. Since she cleared the previous obstacle (Over Under) slower than her protรฉgรฉ, her training partner, and the female competitor who placed third on the Women's Leaderboard, Maggie Owen, she did not advance to the National Finals. This marked her first time failing on the front half of the extended course, and the first time that she did not advance to the national finals. This also meant that she wouldn't be the Last Woman Standing for the first time since American Ninja Warrior 9, the first time she didn't reach the Warped Wall on a course since her Stage 1 run in American Ninja Warrior 8, and the first time she failed to hit an extended course buzzer since American Ninja Warrior 10, just ending her worst season to date.

Ironically, this is just the second time that Jesse has been outperformed by Chris DiGangi, as he completed the obstacle, where she fell, but he later fell on Hopscotch, but that also means that neither of them would advance to the National Finals.

American Ninja Warrior: Women's Championship 3[]

Jesse returned for the third Women's Championship as the reigning champion. In the first round, she was the last runner, and she cleared the first stage in second, advancing to round 2. In the second round she got revenge on the Double Salmon Ladder and made it to the fifth obstacle, Hornet's Nest before falling. She placed 4th, advancing her to the third and final round, Cat Grab. Unfortunately, she lost to the eventual new champion Katie Bone in the semifinals.

Team Ninja Competitions[]

-21 The LaBreckfast Club Jesse LaBreck (Captain). Noel Reyes and Jon Alexis Jr.
Jesse_Labreck_Vs._Jeri_D'Aurelio_(S1_E13)_-_American_Ninja_Warrior-_Ninja_Vs._Ninja

Jesse Labreck Vs. Jeri D'Aurelio (S1 E13) - American Ninja Warrior- Ninja Vs. Ninja

Because she qualified for the national finals in Season 8, Labreck was chosen to form a three-person team of her own for Team Ninja Warrior 2. Labreck called her team Labreckfast Club because it was part of her last name and that she and her teammates were known for their speed. Labreck's teammates were Jon Alexis Jr. and Noel Reyes. The team ultimately was eliminated on the sixth episode in qualifying, losing to Lorin Ball's team, the Ballers, in a sudden death match.

The Labreckfast Club returned in American Ninja Warrior: Ninja vs. Ninja. The time consisting once again of her and Jon Alexis Jr., but her current boyfriend and training partner Chris DiGangi replaced Noel Reyes from TNW 2. The team went on to become the champions of the whole season of team competition.

Ultimately, Jesse's final individual race record within the two seasons of team competition was 10-0.

Trivia[]

  • Jesse's Season 13 Semifinals run was voted the best buzzer of the Semifinals round on American Ninja Warrior Nation.
  • Jesse is the first ever woman to be the last ninja to run Stage 1 and then hit the buzzer.
  • She is the first (and so far, only) women to hit both a Stage 1 buzzer in both the regular season, American Ninja Warrior 13 and the American Ninja Warrior: USA vs. The World 6.
  • She and Chris DiGangi are the only couple to hit the qualifying buzzer three times; they did so in Seasons 9, 10, 12, and 14.
  • She and Chris DiGangi are the only couple to hit the City Finals buzzer, doing so in Season 11.
  • On American Ninja Warrior 12, Jesse was the only runner to complete the finals course that did not complete the semifinal course.
  • She is the first and currently only woman to hit 3 buzzers in a single season.
  • She is the first women ninja to hit 10 buzzers in a ninja career.

Results[]

ANW # Result Notes
8 24 Failed Jumping Spider (Stage One)
9 23 Failed Flying Squirrel (Stage One)
10 32 Failed Twist & Fly (Stage One) Last Female Competitor Standing.
11 Failed Twist & Fly (Stage One) Last Female Competitor Standing.
13 Failed Double Salmon Ladder (Stage Two) Last Female Competitor Standing.
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