WELLINGTON’S OWN NINJA WARRIOR Jordan Fernandez Fulfills Her Dream By Appearing On Peacock’s ‘American Ninja Warrior Junior’ BY MIKE MAY
Sometimes, if you visualize your dream, it will materialize. Jordan Fernandez, a 14-year-old Wellington resident and current Wellington High School freshman, was seven years old when she first saw the show American Ninja Warrior on TV. It made a life-altering impact on her young life. If you haven’t heard, Fernandez was recently a contestant on Peacock’s American Ninja Warrior Junior show. But while her debut on national television is a story unto itself, what’s noteworthy is the path she followed to get from South Florida to southern California. “I was seven years old, and I was watching American Ninja Warrior for the first time on TV at my uncle’s house,” Fernandez recalled. “I liked it so much that I wanted to get on the show, but I was too young.” Fast forward to age 12. She still had the American Ninja Warrior dream, but had done very little to pursue it because of her young age. That’s when American Ninja Warrior Junior started, and she was old enough to appear on this version of the show. However, Fernandez realized that she was not yet strong enough to compete among the show’s contestants. So, Fernandez started working out at her home in Wellington, mostly in the backyard.
Wellington’s Jordan Fernandez gets ready to compete on her episode of American Ninja Warrior Junior, now streaming on Peacock. PHOTO BY PATRICK WYMORE/PEACOCK
Her goal was to get fitter, stronger and ready to compete. “I had to start working on my upper body strength, lower body strength and my balance,” Fernandez said.“In the beginning, I worked on pull-up bars, rings and monkey bars — all in the backyard.” It didn’t take long for her family to realize that she was serious about pursuing a spot on American Ninja Warrior Junior, so they built an indoor obstacle course within the family’s garage. That gave Fernandez 24/7/365 access to a workout facility. The goal was to re-cre-
ate a scenario that was somewhat similar to the obstacle course, without the water hazard, used on American Ninja Warrior Junior. In early May of this year, Fernandez was notified that casting was open for this year’s season of American Ninja Warrior Junior. She applied immediately. It was the chance she had been waiting and working for since she was seven years old. “At the beginning, I had to complete a number of forms for the producers to let them know I was serious about being on the show,” she said. wellington the magazine | december 2021 33