The Olympics might be all wrapped up, but the Paralympics are just about to begin in Tokyo.
But the COVID-19 risk is greater than ever before, with Japan's cases soaring since the beginning of the 2020 Games.
The New Zealand team aren't letting that get in their way though.
For track star William Stedman, Rio was only the start of his career. He managed to bring home two bronze medals, and is determined to do it again.
"I want to medal in both of my events," he tells Newshub.
Although for athletes like Steadman, COVID-19 is currently their biggest competitor.
Nearing the end of June, Japan's COVID cases were hitting an all-time low with an average of 1433 cases a day. But as media, athletes and officials started to enter the country for the Olympics, cases started to rise to around 2000 per day.
In the last week numbers have skyrocketed, with a daily average of 16,666 positive cases.
For athletes who have compromised immune systems, the threat of COVID poses a greater threat, which is why our team is enforcing stricter arrangements than ever before.
"We have also introduced protocols that are more stringent than what the Tokyo 2020 playbook requires," chef de mission Paula Tesoriero says.
Making safety a priority, is also shown at the top.
It was hoped some spectators would be allowed in by the time the Paralympics rolled round, but the IOC has confirmed earlier this week all stands will remain crowdless.
But our team is looking at the positives.
"I managed to bet my PB at the beginning of the week, and there were no crowds there," says Steadman.
"The way in which the Olympic New Zealand team thrived notwithstanding the fact that there were no spectators gives us a degree of confidence that this can be done," adds Tesoriero.
And in the meantime, the village is getting prepared for hundreds of athletes who want to show what they are made of.
