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Three years ago, Ken Ogden qualified for the national CrossFit Games while undergoing radiation therapy for skin cancer – and finished 20th out of 20 participants in his division.
“Dead last,” he describes.
The Indialantic gym rat then lost his 2019 season to shoulder surgery after tearing his left rotator cuff. Then the COVID-19 pandemic struck, wiping out last year’s CrossFit Games Masters divisions.
After months of epic workouts at CrossFit OwnIt in West Melbourne, Ogden overcame great opportunities at the CrossFit Games in Madison, Wisconsin this year. He made history by winning the newly created men’s 65+ division.
“You can see how he trains next to you. He’s as old as my father – and you literally forget that there is this guy in his late 60s walking upside down on his hands. It’s almost unbelievable, ”said Matias Rodriguez, Ogden’s trainer and co-owner of CrossFit OwnIt.
“You start to think, ‘Wow, I know my dad can’t.’ And there really isn’t any difference between my dad and Ken. It’s just discipline. It’s persistence. And it’s this mindset that keeps CrossFit ingrained in you that doesn’t take ‘no’, “Rodriguez said.
“He had every reason to stop. He had his shoulder. He had cancer. He had radiation. He had Achilles stuff. He had a torn biceps. Those are things he doesn’t even mention, things I remind him of.” said.
Ogden, who turned 67 last month, won the grueling three-day CrossFit Games competition from July 27-29 at the Alliant Energy Center.
Workouts included a 3-mile run, 300-meter swim, rope climbing, deadlift, dumbbell squats, sandbag squats, and pull-ups – to start with.
“Ken’s spirit and determination is what defines CrossFit athletes and participants everywhere,” said Justin Bergh, CrossFit vice president of sports and partnerships.
“He accepted every challenge, never gave up on himself and achieved a bold goal with the help of good coaches and a great community,” said Bergh.
“What is particularly impressive is that he has gone from volunteering for the CrossFit Games to wearing a gold medal in such a short space of time,” he said.
Ogden swam freestyle and butterfly and played water polo at Auburn University. He has retired from physical education and swimming training at Coastline Community School in South Patrick Shores and now leads a weekly group fitness class at Trinity Fitness Beachside in Indian Harbor Beach.
He joined CrossFit OwnIt in April 2017. That year, he volunteered for the national CrossFit Games for the first time and was inspired to join the field of competitors.
He said his last place finish at the 2018 CrossFit Games in the men’s 60+ division fueled his competitive fire.
“I really didn’t feel like I belonged, like I was out of my league. These guys just kill it – and I’ll just survive, ”Ogden recalled.
“But I was very motivated to come back and work hard for 2019. But my shoulder never got better. I got an MRI and found I had a torn rotator cuff,” he said.
“So it got me out of the 2019 season. And honestly, I was pretty down. And then we had the pandemic. But it’s funny the way things go sometimes,” he said.
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This was the first year CrossFit Games officials added 65+ age groups for men and women. Bergh said these athletes are redefining what it means to age well, and many are getting stronger, faster, and healthier every year.
Ogden said he focused on his diet and hired Sarah Findle, a nutrition coach at CrossFit OwnIt, in the months leading up to the event.
The result? By “eating cleaner” and swapping pizza, bacon cheeseburgers and chocolate chip cookies for chicken, rice, vegetables and fruits, it has dropped from £ 181 to £ 168. He is 5 feet, 9 inches tall.
Ogden also began an eight-week exercise program with Rodriguez – with lots of handstand walks – to strengthen his shoulders and improve his overhead squats.
“A common characteristic of champions in our sport is that they are widely accepted. They control what they can: how they eat, how they train and who they surround themselves with. Then they take on the challenges as they come.” said Bergh.
“In Ken’s case, his training at the gym prepared him for his battles with cancer and injuries outside of the gym. And the same mindset was evident in Madison as he never gave up and ended up at the top,” he said.
Ogden has been fighting skin cancer since 2016: A squamous cell carcinoma tumor on his right cheek had to be operated on and 150 stitches.
Then in 2018, while qualifying for the CrossFit Games, he underwent six weeks of radiation for squamous cell carcinoma of his left cheek. He now has basal cell carcinoma in his nose and will soon be operated on.
Ogden was invited to compete in Wodapalooza, a four-day CrossFit competition held at Bayfront Park in Miami in mid-January. He vows to focus on improving his weaknesses for the 2022 CrossFit Games, including snatches, overhead squats, and “muscle-ups” performed on a chin-up bar.
“Anyone who walks into this gym would think they are chasing the younger ones, trying to keep up with the boys. The fact is, we’re trying to keep up with him, ”said Matt Spaunburgh, co-owner of CrossFit OwnIt.
“I mean, he works out two or three times a day. He even rides his bike from the beach to the gym, from Indialantic. That’s something a young person does,” said Spaunburgh.
“We’re just trying to keep up with him,” he said.
Rick Neale is the South Brevard Watchdog Reporter for FLORIDA TODAY. Contact Neale at 321-242-3638 or [email protected]. Twitter: @ RickNeale1
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