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Home / Kahu

On The Up: Teen Māori athlete Lexi Fyhn to represent New Zealand at World CrossFit games

Joseph Los'e
By Joseph Los'e
Kaupapa Māori Editor·NZ Herald·
22 Jul, 2025 05:00 PM4 mins to read

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Lex Fhyn is training for the CrossFit world champs in Ohio, USA, next month.

Lex Fhyn is training for the CrossFit world champs in Ohio, USA, next month.

Lexi Fyhn is an athlete whose star is on the rise

The extremely gifted 14-year-old athlete, will represent New Zealand at the Age Group CrossFit Games in Ohio, USA, from August 21-24.

Lexi is one of the youngest competitors to represent New Zealand at the CrossFit World competition.

She booked her spot by placing fifth in the world at the 2025 CrossFit Semifinals, and third at the Torian Pro, Oceania’s premier CrossFit event, in Brisbane.

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 Lexi Fhyn juggles gymnastics, CrossFit, Kapa Haka and school.
Lexi Fhyn juggles gymnastics, CrossFit, Kapa Haka and school.

Lexi juggles gymnastics, CrossFit, kapa haka, school and friends. She attends Te Kura Kaupapa Maori o Te Kotuku in West Auckland.

Lexi has whakapapa to Te Rarawa and Ngāpuhi and Ngāti Tonga and has an older sister Sariah (19) and a younger brother Teddy (6).

She works so hard, is so humble, and has such a beautiful wairua

Monica Fhyn

Her mum Monica said the family were proud of Lexi’s achievements and her determination to succeed in everything she does.

“She works so hard, is so humble, and has such a beautiful wairua,” Monica said.

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“The amount of training Lexi does means a lot of sacrifices. She has gymnastics training for about 17 hours each week and when she’s not at gymnastics, she’s at school or CrossFit.

 Lex Fhyn (centre) at Torian Pro, with her  brother Teddy, sister Sariah, cousin Jax and aunties Aimee and Jess.
Lex Fhyn (centre) at Torian Pro, with her brother Teddy, sister Sariah, cousin Jax and aunties Aimee and Jess.

“Often this means getting up at 5am to get to her CrossFit training in before school and then straight to gymnastics after school.”

Lexi has been involved in competitive gymnastics since she was 5. This will be Lexi’s fourth year that she has qualified to represent Auckland. She has won national titles on Beam and Vault.

Lexi took up CrossFit two years ago, and she trains out of The Arena West.

This year was the first year Lexi was old enough to qualify for the Age Group CrossFit Games in the 14-15 year old female division.

She came third in the world in the CrossFit Open. The top 200 make it through to the semifinals where Lexi finished fifth.

Lexi’s netball coach suggested CrossFit to her when she was about 12.

She said she was “instantly hooked” after trying it.

Lexi has played sports “as long as I can remember”.

“Luckily, CrossFit works around gymnastics, and I can pretty much train any time of the day that works for me.

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“I am competitive but only against myself. I have goals for everything I do and I am always trying to beat my own previous performance and to do that, I just need to get better.”

She said she was “quite a driven person” who set high expectations of herself and was always out to improve.

 Lex Fhyn with her Te Kura Kaupapa Māori o Te Kotuku kapa haka group.
Lex Fhyn with her Te Kura Kaupapa Māori o Te Kotuku kapa haka group.

Away from sport, Lexi enjoys school. She goes to the Te Kura Kaupapa Maori o Te Kotuku in west Auckland.

“Toi (Māori art) is my favourite subject because I find it calming and peaceful especially when I’m preparing harakeke, weaving and making tukutuku,” she said.

“I love learning about the stories and history, and I feel it connects me to my tūpuna and whakapapa.

“I love my kura, it just feels like home with my whānau when I’m at school.”

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Kapa haka was also a huge source of pride for her.

“Preparing for a kapa haka competition is like no other; it’s the hardest, most intense training I have ever done, ā-tinana, ā-wairua. But it’s worth it! Once we hit the stage, it’s the best feeling ever, I just can’t explain it.”

The family have been fundraising for Lexi’s trip to the USA.

Joseph Los’e is an award-winning journalist and joined NZME in 2022 as Kaupapa Māori Editor. Los’e was a chief reporter, news director at the Sunday News newspaper covering crime, justice and sport. He was also editor of the NZ Truth and prior to joining NZME worked for urban Māori organisation Whānau Waipareira.

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