Ginny MacColl never played a competitive sport until her 60s. From the third grade to her 30s, she was a trained dancer—eventually landing an understudy role on Broadway’s Pippin in the ‘70s.
Then, at age 63, she took up obstacle courses. “I was inspired by my daughter, Jessie Graff—who’s been on American Ninja Warrior for 10 seasons now,” MacColl says. “I saw how strong, healthy, and beautiful she looked—and I wanted to be strong, so that’s how this whole ninja thing started.”
At the behest of the American Ninja Warrior casting department, who had seen her in a segment working out alongside Graff, MacColl competed in her first Ninja obstacle course on the show six years ago.
Now 71, MacColl recently set a Guinness World Record as the world’s oldest competitive ninja athlete who is a woman.