How Ninja Warrior helped fill the gap gymnastics left in Georgia Bonora's life

When Georgia Bonora flung herself to the top of the dreaded Warped Wall in the Australian Ninja Warrior heats, TV history was made.

In the entire time the show has been running, including in the US, there have never been three women make it up the wall in one heat - but that all changed on Sunday night.

As you might imagine, the Warped Wall is a daunting thing to face after a string of tough obstacles like the Bride of Blades and the Basket Toss.

"I did it heaps of times back at home, but when you get on the show and do it on the course after all the other obstacles, you’ve got the crowd cheering you on, you've got the lights, camera, action… I don't know what happened," Georgia tells 9Honey.

It took three attempts for the dual Olympian to make it to the top, and while she appeared calm on our screens, the 28-year-old admits she was rattled.

"My third attempt, I don’t even know what happened, my foot just got in the perfect position and I just launched for it."

With 20 years of gymnastics training behind her, Georgia will certainly be one to watch in the semi finals.

Four years ago, Georgia's plan to resume her training following a hiatus was thwarted by a hip injury, with doctors advising her to step back from the sport that had become her entire life.

The Melbourne local had developed a taste for gymnastics early, starting kindergym classes at the ripe old age of two. It was instant love.

“I just really liked learning how to move my body and jump and swing and do all those acrobatic things,” she recalls.

Georgia went on to represent Australia at the World Championships, the Commonwealth Games, and two Olympic Games - Beijing 2008 and London 2012. 

Two years later, she powered through a brutal case of “Delhi belly” to score the Commonwealth Games medal trifecta: gold, silver and bronze.

“I like to tell people I did that on purpose - instead of going for three golds, I just wanted to get one of each colour,” she quips.

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Then, in 2014, Georgia retired from the sport much sooner than she’d anticipated. Doctors and surgeons said returning to training would be too risky with her hip injury.

Adjusting to her post-gymnastics life proved challenging.

“You hear about, you know, the swimmers - Ian Thorpe and Grant Hackett - and other athletes, and they go through this period when they finish up,” she says.

The dual Olympian, then 24, spent a long time searching for another sport to throw herself into. 

That’s when she stumbled into the world of Ninja Warrior, joining a ninja gym called The Compound near her home in Victoria. It was like falling in love all over again.

“The Ninja community was really welcoming and supportive - everyone cheers each other on,” she says.

Georgia, who now works as a gymnastics coach and is studying for a degree in psychology, made her Australian Ninja Warrior debut last year and has returned for Season Two.

Despite her experience in competing on the world stage, Georgia says tackling the Ninja obstacle course is “nerve-wracking” in its own right.

“You can’t really picture what it would be like… seeing the audience all looking at you, you can see how badly they want you to get through these obstacles,” she says. 

“Gymnastics is a team sport and also individual, in a way, but Ninja Warrior is all eyes on you. You’re the one who’s gotta get up that wall. It’s a completely different experience.”