About 10 years ago, Philip Crawford, then 70, was part of a powerlifting team at the Scotts Valley Gym called the Baby Boomers.
In January, the Santa Cruz resident, now 80, set multiple national records at a U.S. Powerlifting Coalition competition held at the same gym, 105 Whispering Pines Drive.
“I think I got more applause than anyone, even those lifting five times as much as me,” said Crawford, being modest, as the top younger athlete only deadlifted three times as much as he did.
Mikayla Barthlow, a Scotts Valley Gym trainer who was one of the judges at last month’s event, said it was truly amazing.
“I don’t think it’s something I’ve ever seen in person,” she said, referring to the success Crawford is having at his age in powerlifting. “It’s just so exciting to see—and motivating.”
Crawford joined 21 other participants (including five women) at the 2026 “Iron Blood Unleashed” event in Scotts Valley on Jan. 17.
But he was able to blaze a trail—setting the initial records for a Masters 80-plus lifter weighing under 242 pounds in America in several categories.
“It’s good for people to see someone my age doing this,” said Crawford, adding he’s a big believer in the “Use it or Lose it” philosophy.
Crawford started lifting when he was a junior in high school in northern San Diego County.
“I was a shot-putter,” he recalled, noting his gymnastics class teacher there in Vista—located between Oceanside and Escondido—recruited him for the football team’s defensive line.
While, at that time, the Olympics focused on the clean, jerk and snatch, it was the powerlifting disciplines of bench pressing, deadlifting and squatting that were more up his alley.
“I liked that it improved the physical strength more,” he said. “Nobody cared what you could press with an Olympic style movement. But how much you could bench press was a big deal. And it still is in the weightlifting community.”
A gym had opened up in his hometown. He ended up getting hired to manage the club, which allowed him to pay his way through college.
He completed a couple years at Palomar Community College in San Marcos, then moved to Northern California to study at San Jose State University. He ended up getting recruited by the San Jose Police Department.
He’s now into his 57th year teaching at San Jose City College.
When he was 29, he could lift 460 pounds. That’s about two-and-a-half times what he can lift now.
“That’s what age does to you,” he said. “I felt good about it. I feel like I’m definitely in the top 1% of fitness for people my age.”
He credits his spry nature to his ongoing passion for staying in shape. Staying healthy meant that when he crashed his bike twice in the last year, he didn’t break any bones.
“It’s been a lifetime fitness effort,” he said, adding that he wanted to buck the trend of police officers having a decade-lower life expectancy compared to the average person. “Their job is so stressful.”
Back in 2007 when he was 62, at the Iron Gladiators of the West competition in Sacramento, Crawford put up a score of 295.
This time, he came in at just under 527 combined pounds.
It’s all about strategy, since once you rack-up, you’re not allowed to decrease that amount, explained Barthlow, the judge.
“You only get three attempts,” she said. “You want to be ambitious but not too ambitious, because you might ruin your chances of getting your best total.”
Crawford started with the squat—149.9 pounds.
“I did pretty well,” Crawford acknowledged.
The next was the bench press. He lifted 178.5 pounds.
“You bring your bar down to your chest,” he explained. “You have to hold it perfectly still.”
Then, he deadlifted 198.4 pounds.
“I think I could have done another 50 pounds,” he said. “I just did what I felt was respectable.”
He ended up with four gold medals.
Sure, Crawford may not have benched 478.4 pounds like Fabian Joseph, or squatted with 685.6 pounds of pressure like Cristian Flores or deadlifted 716.5 pounds like Tony Sosa, but he made massive waves.
“He’s the topic of discussion,” said Barthlow, recalling how even her middle-aged trainees can’t help but look up to Crawford. “I want for myself to be performing until that age. It’s just nice to see that older people can have ambitions and have goals. And there are still achievements to be made all the time.”
