A journey from wanderlust to stellar athletic achievement

"The journey of a thousand miles begins with one step," the 6th century Chinese philosopher Lao Tzu is often quoted as saying. In the case of the Massialas family, this first step was taken by a husband and wife in the southern Athenian suburb of Kalamaki who were consumed by wanderlust. The journey, which took the pair to the United States, has since been marked by Olympic-caliber athletic accomplishments by their grandchildren, with stops at the London and Rio Olympics, and an eye on Tokyo.

It was during the 1960s when Frixos Massialas and his English wife Margaret decided to pack up the family and leave Athens for the US, without a return ticket. Grigoris (or Greg), aged 10 and a swimmer with the Kalamaki Yacht Club, and his sister Christina said goodbye to their friends and took off with their parents on this unplanned journey.

The first leg of their trip took...