"Watching the Olympics, more than anything, has made me realise I am so proud to be a New Zealander and proud of the sport. It just makes me more motivated to pursue rowing and represent New Zealand in the States."
Grace Lewis (front) competing for Rutgers University. Photo: Photo / Ben Jackson / Rutgers University
Grace Lewis, a 22-year-old rower from Cambridge, is one of hundreds of New Zealanders who were signed to college sport teams when the pandemic began.
Seeing our Olympians' sporting success after a difficult 18 months, she has been reflecting on her own highs and lows.
The Rutgers University student in New Jersey chose to stay in the US with family after all competitions were cancelled and the campus closed in a matter of days.
She remains there now.
"Here with Rutgers, we just trusted our staff and people adapted so that we could compete.
"Whereas some of these Olympians had no idea that they were going to ever get to the Olympics but they kept competing at such a high level amongst themselves anyway, so that's pretty impressive."
College sports are a billion-dollar business and Aotearoa sportsmen and women have had a rapidly growing presence at US universities in the last decade, before border closures.
The number of signed New Zealand basketballers alone grew from less than 10 in 2010 to more than 100 in 2019.
College sport scholarships typically cover hundreds of thousands of dollars' worth of tuition fees, accommodation, insurance and allowances, for four years.
National Collegiate Athletic Association listings show at least 17 of our Tokyo Olympians were current or former athletes of United States universities, including some medallists.
Daniel Williamson, from the gold-winning men's eight, was at Yale University before returning last year.
Women's eight silver medallists Kristyn Goodger and Phoebe Spoors have both rowed for the University of Washington.
Hannah Osborne, who took home silver in the women's double sculls, formerly competed for the University of Virginia.
And tennis bronze-medallist Michael Venus went through the University of Texas and Louisiana State University.
Seeing former college athletes succeed at the games is motivating for rower Ella Cossill, who is part of both the University of Washington squad and was named in New Zealand under-23 team for 2021.
She has split her time between Australia, the New Zealand training base in Cambridge and her team in Seattle over the past 18 months, including a stay in managed isolation.
Despite the dramatic times, she has come through tougher.
"I think as a New Zealand athlete I will be better off for it, and as a college athlete I will be better off for it. So now that I've come out the other side I am really glad that I made those decisions."
Cossill is grateful she could compete in this year's college events - a rare opportunity for international competition in the Covid-19 sporting world.
"I was lucky to have that college racing season to look forward to."
Erik Panzer is now coaching for Loyola Marymount University. Photo: Photo Supplied / LMU
Erik Panzer, from Nelson, went through Quinnipac University as a student soccer player and returned to the US for a professional contract with Chattanooga Football Club in Tennessee last year.
Just weeks later, games and group training shut down.
He decided to stick it out, despite later getting Covid-19 and having to isolate and recover when the season restarted.
Now, he is coaching at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles.
Panzer says the Kiwi "problem-solving mentality" has got him through hard times.
"I've coped with a lot of up and down and round and round in my career as a whole, most athletes do if they're on the brink of pro level."
In 2019 - just months before he headed to the US - his mother died, and his sister has had a baby while he has been away, so Panzer hopes to get an MIQ space to see his family later this year.
"I keep checking the server and there are no spots available. That's become a massive challenge for me and I know it's been a massive challenge for a lot of other athletes in New Zealand."
For Imogen Hull, responding to the pandemic has meant coming home and staying home.
The 23-year-old runner from Kerikeri had just finished at McNeese State University in Louisiana and was completing a work-study programme in March last year when she packed her bags.
She hasn't returned to the US and is now working as an auditor for KPMG in Christchurch and training for the Auckland Half Marathon.
Lockdowns last year gave her time for a breather, and she is pleased our Olympians got that chance too.
"You can see everyone is really doing their best because they probably had a bit more rest and they weren't so structured, they got to reflect a bit."
Our Olympians will now have more time to rest, arriving this week to two-week stays in MIQ, from our most successful Olympics to date.
