In this episode

Greta Lymberopoulou describes entering sport after 40, already with three children and thirty years in sports journalism. She began running, completed a marathon and did her first triathlon in Psatha in 2014, at the same race as Jenny Boulmeti.

The discussion covers her Ironman Greece athlete-services work, Costa Navarino course changes, the new world-championship qualification system and Athlitries, the group created in response to low Greek women’s participation.

Quick navigation

  • 00:00 — Introductions and the Psatha photo
  • 03:18 — Triathlon after 40 and academies
  • 12:22 — Journalism, Antenna and the 2004 Olympics
  • 20:00 — From marathons to triathlon
  • 26:07 — Ironman Greece and Costa Navarino
  • 43:19 — Slots and the new qualification system
  • 50:17 — Athlitries and women’s participation
  • 01:03:53 — Finishing with her daughter and closing remarks

Detailed show notes

Starting after 40, without a childhood in competitive sport

Greta Lymberopoulou began exercising after 40, once her three children were older. She grew up in a sporting household: her father was a decathlete and sports journalist who covered six Olympics. She spent thirty years in journalism without being an athlete herself.

She sees herself as an active age-grouper. She likes triathlon because one sport helps her recover from another. She believes Greek triathlon’s participants are getting older and that youth programmes, families and schools are needed.

From the National Garden to Psatha

Her entry was practical: her mother stayed with the children in the afternoons while she went to the garden. Walking became 5 and 10 km runs, then her first marathon in 2013, without a coach or watch. In 2014, she did her first triathlon in Psatha after encouragement from her cousin, Eddy Alexiou, and meeting Giannis Psarelis.

She has not raced Ironman distance. Her progression was gradual: sprint and Olympic distance, then her first middle-distance race around 2018 in Katerini.

Athlete services, rather than race director

She entered the first Ironman event in Greece in 2019, but an accident ruled her out. She stayed as an announcer and has since worked in athlete services for the event organiser. She is not exactly the race director. Entry pricing is set by Global Ironman; the first edition was put together in two months.

At Costa Navarino, the start moves to the W, the swim to a sheltered bay, the bike becomes straighter with less climbing, and the run is almost flat. The core team consists of five people.

Athlitries: from 5% to 20%

At the first Ironman event, Greek women made up around 5% of entries. This led to the Facebook group Athlitries (“Women Athletes”): now approximately 850 members, around 150 of them active triathletes, without a sponsor or commercial transactions.

Participation has reached around 20%. She links the gap to women’s role in Greek family life: a four-hour training session on Sunday is not a privilege they can take for granted. The shared message is that sport is essential, with understanding for each other’s wishes.

Hand in hand with Athina

Her daughter Athina did triathlon at UCLA. They raced Ironman 70.3 together without planning a shared finish, meeting during the run. What stays with her is the resource sport gives them: on a difficult university day, her children end FaceTime and go for a run.

Key takeaways

  • You can enter triathlon after 40 without childhood sporting credentials; progress from the garden to a marathon and then middle distance can be slow and gradual.
  • Greek triathlon needs academies and a new generation; age-groupers alone are not enough.
  • Organising an Ironman is more than putting on a race: price, standards and experience are linked, and the first edition was built on an extremely tight schedule.
  • Growth in Greek women’s participation came through an unsponsored community: statistics, conversation and mutual help.
  • The most lasting resource for children is not equipment, but learning to put on their shoes when they are struggling.