Alaska teen Rylan Kirby surges from 133rd to Open champion in one year
A 17-year-old from Eagle River went from 133rd worldwide to first in his age group, then 6th at Quarterfinals, and now stands on CrossFit’s world stage.
Rylan Kirby’s jump from obscure teen competitor to a name on CrossFit’s world leaderboard happened fast enough to catch the sport’s attention. The Eagle River, Alaska, homeschooled 17-year-old won the Boys 16-17 division in the 2026 CrossFit Open after placing 133rd worldwide in the same age group a year earlier, a surge that now puts him in position for the next stage of the season.
Kirby’s climb matters because it came inside a field that has never been bigger. About 210,000 athletes took part in this year’s Open, including 117,000 men, and CrossFit says the top 25 percent of individual and age-group athletes move on to Quarterfinals. Kirby cleared that cut, then finished sixth worldwide in the 2026 Boys 16-17 Age Group Quarterfinals, a result that kept him squarely in the hunt as the season narrowed.
The path behind that rise has been local and straightforward. Kirby first got pulled into CrossFit through his active family and signed up for the Open about a year earlier. He began training at CrossFit Iron Refined in Eagle River, where Shelby Fields coaches him, and the gym’s affiliate listing places it at 10901 Mausel Street, Unit #103. Kirby also has balanced CrossFit with youth hockey, a combination that helped him build the gymnastics, strength and endurance that define the sport’s test.
The next checkpoint is already on the calendar. CrossFit’s 2026 Age-Group Online Semifinals are scheduled for May 7-11, and the semifinals are the final qualifying stage for the CrossFit Games and Divisional Games. From there, the top 30 men, top 30 women and top 20 teams advance to the 2026 CrossFit Games, set for July 24-26 at the SAP Center in San Jose, California. CrossFit says this season marks the 20th CrossFit Games season.
Kirby’s coach says no Alaska resident has ever advanced that far before, which gives the run a state-level edge as well as a personal one. For a teenager from Eagle River, the leap from 133rd to first in one year is more than a leaderboard spike. It is a reminder that the teenage competitive field in CrossFit is deep, fast-moving and still open to an athlete who finds the right gym, the right coach and the right structure at the right time.
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