MISSOURI — A longtime athlete has been selected to represent Special Olympics Missouri and Special Olympics USA at the Special Olympics World Games Berlin 2023, according to a release from SOMO.
Twenty-six-year-old Charlie Phillips, of Savannah, Missouri, was chosen to compete for SO USA after qualifying at the Teams Trials in San Antonio just last year. There, he beat out all SO USA powerlifters in the squat and deadlift categories. His stats from the trials below:
| Kilograms (kg.) | Pounds (lbs.) | |
| Deadlift | 182.5 kg | ~402 lbs |
| Squat | 227.5 kg | ~502 lbs |
| Bench Press | 130 kg | ~287 lbs |
Phillips was the only SOMO athlete to be nominated for the SO World Games Berlin 2023. He first learned about his nomination in this heartwarming video from September.
Before coming to Missouri, Phillips started his Special Olympics journey 15 years ago while living in Pennsylvania. In his career, Charlie has participated in five different sports: basketball, track, soccer, flag football and powerlifting.
“I want to thank all the people who helped me get here,” Phillips said.
