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Khalipa

Jason Khalipa

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Jason Khalipa is a former American professional CrossFit Games athlete and 2008 CrossFit Games champion. He also received the Spirit of the Games award at the 2009 CrossFit Games and was selected to participate as a member of Team USA at the CrossFit Invitational in 2012, 2013, and 2014. Khalipa is the founder and CEO of NCFit, headquartered in Campbell, California.

Khalipa was born in San Jose, California, and attended Archbishop Mitty High School, where he played for the varsity football team as a nose guard. He also participated in track and field for the shot put event. Khalipa began his fitness career in high school by working part-time as the front desk representative at Milpitas Health and Fitness, a gym in Milpitas, California.

After high school, he attended college at Santa Clara University in Santa Clara, California, but he did not participate in organized sports. Instead, he continued working full-time at Milpitas Health and Fitness, where he trained for his first CrossFit Games and devoted the rest of his time to his education, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts in Business Management.

Khalipa opened his first gym, CrossFit Santa Clara, nearly a month after winning his first CrossFit Games in 2008. Khalipa's recognition grew in the CrossFit world, and he wrote As Many Reps As Possible about his career. He became dedicated to learning more about health and fitness as a competitor and a coach. He renamed CrossFit Santa Clara to NorCal CrossFit in 2011 and then renamed it again in 2017 to NCFit.

In January 2016, Khalipa's daughter Ava was diagnosed with Leukemia. After Ava's final treatment in 2018, Khalipa and his wife Ashley have since focused on spreading awareness for pediatric cancer. In June 2020, Khalipa announced NCFits' disaffiliation from the CrossFit brand following then-CEO Greg Glassman's controversial posts on Twitter 2020.

Khalipa competed in eight CrossFit Games competitions throughout his professional career, winning his first in 2008, where he placed first. As the 2008 CrossFit Games champion, he automatically qualified in the 2009 CrossFit Games, where he placed fifth and earned the Spirit of the Games award. From 2010 to 2015, Khalipa continued to put first in CrossFit Regional events and once during the CrossFit Open, a worldwide event, but he did not place first in another CrossFit Games.

In 2015, he competed as a team member with his affiliate, NorCal CrossFit, in the team competition. However, he decided not to compete in the 2016 CrossFit Games to take care of his daughter following her diagnosis of Leukemia. He briefly participated in the 2017 Open but withdrew after one event. In 2016, Khalipa began training in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. He placed first in the adult 208lb division of the US Open Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu at the Kaiser Permanente Arena in Santa Cruz, California, on October 23, 2016.