After more than 100 days apart, members of the Cook Islands Olympic team are finally back home with their friends and family.
Three athletes and five team officials departed Rarotonga in July to compete in the Tokyo Olympics.
But on their way home they got stuck in New Zealand as the country went into lockdown following an outbreak of the Delta variant.
Members of the Cook Islands Olympic team are welcomed home to Rarotonga. Photo: Cook Islands Sports
President of the Cook Islands Olympic Committee Hugh Graham was expecting to spend two weeks in an MIQ facility before flying home to the Cook Islands.
"I had prepped myself for the 14 days in Christchurch, knowing that it was going to be 14 days," he said.
"I obviously didn't expect the lockdown in New Zealand and I suppose for me personally that was the hardest for me, not knowing when we would be able to fly back home."
After completing their stay in isolation, Graham and the rest of the Cook Islands delegation flew to Auckland where they spent a futher seven a half weeks in lockdown before finally boarding a repatriation flight home.
"I have to admit there were some days that I was pretty down, being on my own in a hotel room," he said.
"I was just fortunate that the hotel staff were very accommodating, always checking on me that things were ok. But once we knew that there was confirmation that we were flying back home to Rarotonga obviously the excitment started again."
Hugh Graham during his final MIQ stay in Rarotonga. Photo: Supplied/Hugh Graham
Alex Beddoes spent the Auckland lockdown staying with his grandmother and said having family support was a huge help during such an uncertain period.
"It made it that much more not so much of a bad situation," he said.
"I hadn't seen my grandmother in ages and we're quite close so it was awesome to be able to spend a lot of time with her, so I'm very grateful for that. Then it was just a matter of waiting to see when we could go back home."
The two-time Olympian was also caught up in Tamaki Makaurau's first lockdown last year and said with little else to do apart from sit around he opted to pound the pavements of East Tamaki.
"I kind of put that down to one of the reasons I ran so well in Tokyo, and probably the season before, is because I actually had a lot of training uninterrupted with no distractions."
Two repatriation flights from Christchurch and Auckland finally went ahead in October, followed by another two weeks in quarantine upon arrival in Rarotonga.
The group was allowed to leave the Edgewater Resort a few hours early on Wednesday last week and Beddoes, who first departed Rarotonga on 19 July, said it was a relief to be finally be home.
"It took us a couple of days to get there and it feels like this is like two or three months to get back," he said.
"The Games is over and done with months ago and it feels like we're just getting home now, but it feels super good to just be back and finally get out of quarantine and see friends and family. I know a lot of us have been really really looking forward to this moment."
Alex Beddoes lowered his Cook Islands national record in the men's 800m at Tokyo. Photo: Athletics Cook Islands
The Cook Islands have raised the matter with the International Olympic Committee to ensure their athletes and officials are not put in a similar situation again.
"With the Commonwealth Games coming up in Birmingham next year I have already raised this issue among others, in terms of the what ifs," Hugh Graham explained.
"Obviously we don't want our athletes or ourselves to go through what we have gone through before. We're just hoping that by the time the next Games come there are assurances for athletes in particular to make sure they are focused on what they need to do to perform for our country."
