Ken Phillips is going to San Jose

Ken Phillips is going to San Jose.

The 71-year-old Steamboat Springs resident has secured his spot in the 2026 Masters CrossFit Games. He finished first in the Latin America Masters Division in Medellin, Colombia, to earn the invitation.

Phillips doesn’t look like the typical elite athlete. He walks into CrossFit Steamboat and fits right in among the rigs, kettlebells, and barbells. But his path to the world stage wasn’t paved with natural talent.

“I dabbled with CrossFit a little bit before I moved to Steamboat,” Phillips said. “When I moved here I was overweight, I hadn’t been working out, and I was actually pretty sick.”

He started slow. Two days a week. Then he kept coming back. The results were immediate and drastic. His weight dropped from 194 pounds to 148. His health improved. He didn’t just get fit; he got obsessed.

He set a goal: make the semifinals. He did.

The CrossFit Games are the Super Bowl of the sport, according to Ronni Waneka, owner of CrossFit Steamboat. Athletes face a gauntlet of physical tests. Weightlifting. Gymnastics. Strict adherence to movement standards judged by certified officials. Points are awarded for time, rounds completed, or weight lifted.

The road to the finals is brutal. It starts with The Open, a worldwide online competition. Top finishers advance to quarterfinals, then semifinals, then the finals.

Phillips broke out of The Open. He finished in the top 50 in the world for several consecutive years. That’s elite. But he knew he needed more to reach the next level. He asked Waneka for help.

“She brought in another coach and the two of them set up a training program and extra training programs, as well as nutrition,” Phillips said.

The next two years were a grind. He just missed the semifinals twice. Then, the rules changed. The CrossFit Games added a 70-plus division. Phillips jumped into that new grouping and placed sixth.

The top five get automatic berths. Phillips needed to win his regional qualifier to get in. He won that too.

“It takes so much as for an athlete like him to make it this far because it’s not just about being fit,” Waneka said. “He has to be mentally smart as far as what type of athlete he is, he needs to...”

The sentence trails off in the report, but the implication is clear. Fitness isn’t enough. You need strategy. You need discipline. You need to outlast the competition.

Phillips ran track in high school. He never considered himself an athlete. He’s now preparing to compete against the best in the world, at 71, in California.

Locals know the gym. They know Waneka. They know Phillips shows up every day. This isn’t a fluke. It’s the result of a decade of showing up when others stayed home.

The Games are a multi-day event. Phillips will face the same rigorous tests: weightlifting, gymnastics, endurance. The only difference is the venue. Instead of a local gym in Steamboat, he’ll be in San Jose.

He’s ready. The weight loss was only the start. The mental shift was the key.

Waneka notes the mental aspect is crucial. Phillips agrees. He’s not just lifting weights anymore. He’s managing his body, his nutrition, and his strategy.

The qualification process is complex. Five regional events are held worldwide. Winners earn invitations. Phillips won his.

There’s no guarantee of winning in San Jose. But there’s no doubt he belongs there.

The Steamboat community has watched him grow from a sick, overweight retireee to a global competitor. The transformation is visible. The effort is documented. The result is undeniable.

Phillips will compete in the 2026 Masters CrossFit Games. He’s 71. He’s from Steamboat. He’s going to San Jose.

That’s the story.