Frustrations are reaching boiling point for Kiwi athletes stuck overseas following Monday morning's release of MIQ rooms.
Nearly 30,000 Kiwis entered the virtual lottery for just 3000 rooms, and with sportspeople trying to come home to continue their careers it could force families to move overseas.
Just after battling the world's best in Jersey over the weekend, triathlete Hayden Wilde then lined up for MIQ roulette.
And like tens of thousands of other Kiwis, he missed out on a spot.
"It's gutting, which is a massive understatement to be honest," Wilde tells Newshub.
It means it's now likely he'll be overseas for nearly another year, as he tries to add to his Olympic bronze medal won in Tokyo.
"A realistic look at it is that I won't be able to come home until after the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham," Wilde adds.
And Wilde is certainly not the only one to miss out. Kiwi tennis player Michael Venus is frustrated with the lottery system.
"You speak to different people, and you hear that people who have vouchers are just coming back from holiday," Venus tells Newshub.
"You just wonder how it all makes sense."
But these athletes have to be overseas to earn a living, and now they're being denied the chance to come home.
"I just know when you're required and you have no choice but to leave the country to do your job and not be able to get back is just crazy," he adds.
Multisport champion Braden Currie is another facing the same situation as his compatriots.
After missing out on a spot, his family don't know when they'll see him next - forcing them to leave home and relocate overseas.
"We are not willing to give up," wife Sally says.
"Unfortunately, we are going to have to give up on New Zealand in order for that to happen."
That reality could soon be hitting more athletes as they try to return home.
"I'd love to come home and celebrate my medal with my friends and family," adds Wilde.
But like so many Kiwis trapped overseas, it's going to be a long wait.
