Help Lito Get to the CrossFit Games

Burpees, Barbells, and a Big Dream — Help Lito Get to the CrossFit Games!

Hi! I’m Lito — a 35-year-old Greek woman, CrossFit coach, "athlete", and English teacher living in Newcastle, UK. And… I’ve just qualified for the Masters CrossFit Games for the first time ever!

Even better? I’m the only Greek athlete heading to the 2025 Masters CrossFit Games this year.

This has been a long journey of burpees, barbell battles, pull ups, and more bruises than I can count. I started CrossFit 8 years ago and now coach and train at CrossFit Death or Glory, which might sound dramatic but honestly feels like home (just with more chalk and shouting).

Originally from Greece — the land of olive oil and philosophical angst — I’ve made the UK my adoptive home (same angst, but less olive oil), and it’s here that I’ve grown the most as both an athlete and a coach. I feel incredibly proud to be able to represent not just the country where I was born, but the one that's helped me become who I am.

Getting to the Games has been a dream I was scared to admit — even to myself. But I’ve always believed in showing up, working hard, and trusting the process. The outcome? Out of my hands. But the journey? That’s where the good stuff is.

Now I’ve got the chance to stand and compete amongst the fittest people on the planet… in Columbus, Ohio, USA — and yep, that means I need to actually get there. As a Masters athlete, this journey is 100% self-funded, and crossing the Atlantic with a suitcase full of gym gear and protein powder is, shockingly, not cheap. The competition fee alone is close to £500..

Flights, accommodation, registration, kit, food (hello, recovery carbs!) — it all adds up. Any support you can offer, big or small, will help get me to the competition floor with my heart full and my lifting shoes on.

The CrossFit community has always been full of the kindest, weirdest, most inspiring people I’ve ever met — and I’m hoping that with your help, I can represent all of us who’ve ever dared to go after something that once felt impossible.

Thank you for reading, for cheering, for believing — and for maybe helping a Greek girl from Newcastle live out her sweaty, barbell-filled dream

With love and deep squats,

Lito Kalogianni