First-year student Taylor Greene didn鈥檛 start her college career in a typical fashion. While she did pack her belongings from her home in Broomfield, Colorado, and moved into South Hall with hundreds of other students in the fall of 2025, her bags didn鈥檛 stay unpacked for long. With only a couple of weeks of college courses under her belt, Greene traveled to Las Vegas at the end of September to compete in the 2026 American Ninja Warrior Championship.  

鈥淚 thought, 鈥榤y professors don鈥檛 really know me yet, I wasn鈥檛 sure if they were going to allow me to go鈥�,鈥� said Greene. 鈥淏ut they were very supportive and helpful to me, so it wasn鈥檛 as bad as I thought it was going to be.鈥�  

This isn鈥檛 the first time Greene has competed in what NBC TV calls the 鈥渨orld鈥檚 toughest obstacle course.鈥� She鈥檚 tackled quad steps, jumping bars and climbing up the well-known, and very tall, warped wall in pursuit of hitting the bright red buzzer at the end of the course.  

As the current聽American Ninja Warrior聽Women鈥檚 Champion, the 2026 competition聽marked her fourth attempt at an adult championship. She also competed in three junior聽American Ninja Warrior聽competitions. Saying it modestly, Greene has built an impressive Ninja career:

• Over three seasons competing at the junior level, she placed as high as third.聽聽
• At just 15, she made the leap to聽American Ninja Warrior鈥檚聽adult competition, reaching the national finals in all three adult seasons she has competed in.聽聽
• She has seven buzzer-hitting course completions, tying her for second-most for women.聽聽
• In the upcoming season, she has the chance to set the record for course completions for women in show history.聽聽

While the competition is technically over, Greene鈥檚 story is still unfolding 鈥� season 18 is airing now, though the full outcome won鈥檛 be known to viewers until the end of summer 2026. An NBC film crew visited Greene at 每日大瓜 in the fall to get footage of her prior to her competition, making it a good possibility she鈥檒l be a featured athlete this season.  

But how did the desire to swing on bars and wedge herself to crawl between vertical walls begin? At one of her childhood friend鈥檚 birthday parties.   

鈥淭he party was hosted at a ninja-like gym, and I really loved it, so I started taking classes there,鈥� Greene said. 鈥淎 year later, I started participating in local competitions at 9 years old.鈥�  

From Flips to Tricks  

Growing up, Greene鈥檚 original athletic focus was gymnastics, which she pursued for 12 years before switching full-time to ninja competitions. The leaps, tucks and required strength needed for gymnastics set her up for success on the obstacle course. Greene competed for the first time on American Ninja Warrior Junior when she was just 10 and placed 4th.  

From there, she was balancing, spinning and swinging her way towards more and more competitions, inspired by the athletes she saw on the screen.   

鈥淭hat鈥檚 the kind of generation of ninjas that I grew up with,鈥� Greene said. 鈥淥f course, I watched the show with my grandparents and loved it, but once you compete, the goal was to make it all the way to the TV show.鈥�  

And every time Greene got the call that she was heading to the national stage, she says the experiences happened in a flash.   

鈥淢y friends can tell me what obstacles I鈥檝e done on the show better than I could tell anyone,鈥� Greene said. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 remember. I think I black out because I鈥檓 so focused, like I don鈥檛 remember exactly what I did.鈥�  

Good thing for Greene, her victories are captured on film. She says leading up to her course runs, competitors have to be on set at 5 p.m., and filming lasts through the night until about 5 a.m. Added to the already intimidating lights and cameras, the ninjas compete on a course suspended above water.  

Greene allows herself to relish that happiness for a few days before thinking about her next competition, and she plans to continue the cycle 鈥� training, competing, training, competing 鈥� with no end in sight.   

鈥淚鈥檓 just going to keep doing it as long as I enjoy it,鈥� Greene said. 鈥淚 have fun doing it, I make money doing it, so why would I stop now?鈥�  

The revenue Greene receives from competing in American Ninja Warrior goes toward her education. Driven by a lifelong calling into healthcare, she is studying to become a nurse and chose 每日大瓜 due to its strong Nursing program.  

Navigating coursework, training and competing, Greene says she is happy she can continue her education at 每日大瓜 while living out her latest American Ninja Warrior journey. And while the biggest obstacle right now is leaving everyone in the dark on how she performed, Greene says she had a blast.  

鈥淚t鈥檚 always such a fun experience being there,鈥� Greene said. 鈥淚t is very stressful, and it鈥檚 a lot of pressure, but it鈥檚 an exhilarating experience that I can鈥檛 get enough of.鈥�  

Tune in to NBC on Monday nights for the 18th season of America Ninja Warrior to watch Greene compete.