Injured Gladiator Contestant Jessie Foster Powers Back Up

Jessie Adams Foster, a single mother of three who was injured in the first episode of season one of the American Gladiators, is rehabbing her injured knee with Chicago trainer Bob Dixon.

First in, first out.

That was Jessie Adams Foster's story on NBC's ''American Gladiators.''

The 26-year-old single mother of three was the first contestant injured on the show. She tore up her left knee about as badly as could be.

''I was in the powerball event,'' the Iowa native told Quick Hits the other day over lunch at Water Tower. ''Started off really good. Had a good, strong lead and the lovely 'Stealth' took a low tackle. We both kind of collided into the wall. When I took the blow, I landed and I rolled my left ankle is what it looked like. And my knee, I heard this pop. I felt this warm sensation run through my leg. It didn't hurt; I didn't have any pain. I knew, 'Oh, that can't be good.' I tried to get back up and I made it like maybe two, three steps, and my leg just like flopped out from under me. I think 'E! News' replayed it over and over, many other shows. My claim to fame.''

Despite taping the show months earlier, she waited until January to have surgery.

''I hobbled around until then, so I didn't give away that I did not obviously win the $100,000, let alone make it past the powerball. So now I'm back to rehabbing and training. I've done some upper body, but I haven't been able to do anything with my leg yet until [Saturday].''

She has started working with Bob Dixon, who also trains Beth Horn (''Venom'' on the show), at HiFi Personal Fitness on the North Side.

Adams (she prefers that to her former married name) impressed talent evaluators at the Chicago audition and became one of the few to make it onto the show -- albeit a bit too briefly.

''My daughter [Olivia], the 7-year-old smart-aleck, she goes, '$100,000 ripped from my hand,' Adams said with a chuckle. ''[Daughter] Ali, she said she wanted me to win 'American Gladiators' because she was tired of eating squirrel tail and deer meat. And then Jojo [son Isaac], he was so little he didn't even know or care.''

With taping for the second season of Gladiators to begin shortly, Adams will look to return for Season 3.

''Absolutely,'' she said. ''And this time I'm not going to take 'break a leg' so literally.''

Source:  Chicago Sun Times Jessie Foster, Jessie Adams, Jessie, Adams Foster, American Gladiator, Gladiators, contestant, Iowa, Beth Horn, Venom, Stealth, Bob Dixon