Isolated Paralympians unfazed by lockdown before Tokyo

The past 24 hours has thrown quite the curveball for our Paralympians ahead of their Tokyo campaign, but as they so often show us both on and off the field of play, no challenge is insurmountable.

As most of New Zealand hunkers down for the latest Alert Level 4 Lockdown, those headed to the Paralympics are gearing up to do just the opposite.

Wheel Black Cody Everson told 1 NEWS he’s packed six bags this week as he and the wheelchair rugby team leave the lockdown for Tokyo tomorrow morning.

“At first, my thoughts were, oh my, what's going to happen now?,” Everson told 1 NEWS.

“We were reassured that everything is still moving as it should be and keep preparing like you're leaving tomorrow or today.

“The excitement's still there for me and the way I look at it, nothing has changed.”

And to be fair, not a lot has changed.

Those chosen for this year’s Paralympics have pretty much been isolating for weeks in preparation for the Games.

“The last two weeks have been pretty interesting because we have been trying to isolate ourselves as much as we can,” Everson said.

“You never know - you could go to the supermarket and someone could have the common cold and you could catch that, then that could really jeopardise you going on a plane to Tokyo.”

Also making that plane are the para-cycling team who decided to stay an extra night in Cambridge to minimise the risk as best they could.

Head coach Stuart MacDonald said the team didn’t panic about the situation in the slightest.

“Ultimately, it's out of our hands,” MacDonald said.

“We have changed our plans but we're full steam ahead to get on the plane tomorrow and head up to Tokyo and looking forward to getting there.”

The downside is a 4am departure.

“We'll definitely need some caffeine in the morning,” MacDonald added, conceding flexible travel plans are just a part of this latest Covid reality.

“Following some good advice from our sports psych Rod, we make a plan and be prepared to adapt it.”