Heather O’Reilly has accomplished many things in her athletic career: 231 U.S. national team caps, three Olympic gold medals, a World Cup win, two NWSL titles.
But now you can add one more significant item to that list: American Ninja Warrior.
O’Reilly, now an assistant coach at the University of North Carolina, made her debut on the NBC show in an episode that aired on Monday night.
The 37-year-old entered the course, naturally, wearing her three Olympic gold medals around her neck, and had her former USWNT teammates Julie Foudy and Abby Wambach beamed in to cheer her on.
O’Reilly got past the first obstacle but, sadly, she was unable to overcome rollercoaster, the second obstacle.
Still, making it onto the show at all was no small feat, as the show’s commentators mentioned O’Reilly had only given birth to her son Jack (who was born in November 2021) three months prior.
O’Reilly explains how she became a Ninja Warrior
Appearing on the Train With the Best podcast in March, O’Reilly explained that her journey on the show started when a casting director for American Ninja Warrior sent her a message through Instagram.
“I had barely watched the show,” she said. “I think I just kind of flipped through it. And my first thought was, ‘Well, that would be hilarious. Tell me more.’
“I just filled out the application and I sent in my little video and next thing you know, I’m heading to San Antonio in a few days to a qualifier on American Ninja Warrior.
“I’ve been sort of half serious-about it. Because I am competitive – if I’m going to do something, I’m going to do it well. In this case, I have been humbled and have learned very quickly that people have been doing this for a long time, they’re very good. They’re way better and stronger than I am.
“This is a fun random life experience, we’ll see where it goes. YOLO as the kids say! We’re going roll the dice and see what happens in my American Ninja Warrior experience.”
You can see O’Reilly’s appearance on the show here, starting at the 39 minute mark.
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