ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – After three years of hardship and heartbreak, Albuquerque native Katie Bone is back for season 17 of American Ninja Warrior. 

She ran her first obstacle course in 2022 and beat out 12 women in 2023 in the American Ninja Warrior Women’s Championship.

But Monday night’s buzzer sounded even sweeter as it signaled her comeback. She’s heading to the semifinals. 

“The moment that made so much PT and pain and heartbreak and tears and panic attacks and every single one of those hard days and there were more hard days than good days, it made it worth it for me,” said Bone. 

In season 17 we will see her elite athletic skills, but Bone says she had a lot of pain and self-doubt.

“I was competing, and my knee was torn up I had multiple meniscus tears they only cleaned up one of them and then my whole knee was just scar tissue. So it was a very painful season just because I could barely train,” Bone said. 

The professional speed climber has her sights on the Olympics. But a fall in 2023 forced her to change course. 

“Last boulder 30 seconds last attempt I spun off, and I took a fall and I heard four pops and completely blew out my knee. I tore my ACL, both sides of my meniscus, my MCL and LCL,” said Bone. 

She hoped surgery would get her back to full strength, but a deeper issue led to more injuries. Now, even walking can be a challenge.

“And since this happened, I’ve had to deal with a lot of anxiety and depression and figure out who I am again and also figure out who I am without my sport,” Bone said. 

Four surgeries later, Bone is hopeful she’s on the mend, but recovery could take another 15 months. 

For now, she’s celebrating Monday night’s success, proud she stayed in the fight. 

“It’s hard to go from doing the biggest competitions of my life and being on top to being at completely rock bottom. It has been the hardest thing I’ve had to go through,” said Bone. 

Along with the struggles with her knee, Bone also lives with Type I diabetes. She competes with her insulin pumps and glucose monitor visible to bring awareness to the disease. 

She recently got a diabetes service dog named “Oreo” who made his debut on the show Monday night.