New Zealand's mixed curling team has flown out to Europe to try and nab one of two remaining qualifying spots for next year's Beijing Winter Olympics, but their build up has been anything but ice smooth.
Separated due to the lockdown, Mhairi-Bronté Duncan and Brett Sargon haven't seen each other in more than three months, something they're adamant won't stand in the way of their Olympic dream.
Preparing to embark on their 72 hour door-to-door journey to Sweden for the upcoming Olympic qualifiers, Duncan and Sargon might have to spend most of that reacquainting with each other.
"If you were to write a script on how to prepare for an Olympic qualifier it wouldn't be the way we'd done it, but we're just trying to make the best of what's in front of us," Sargon tells Newshub.
What they faced was months of training separately, with Sargon dialling in on video calls from his Auckland base and no time on the ice due to the recent national lockdown.
With just two spots left for February's Winter Olympics, the odds were quickly lengthening.
"The uncertainty of the whole thing was really getting to us at times," Duncan admits.
"We weren't sure if we would even be selected to go overseas and if we were how we would make this training work."
But despite their ongoing obstacles, the pair are determined not to let them be a hindrance.
With Duncan in Dunedin and able to access the ice, but Sargon stuck in Auckland, they adjusted their training, switching their focus from sweeping on the ice to brushing up the mental side of their game.
"We spoke with a psychologist and broke it down into what we can control and what we can't and that's how we adjusted our training," says Duncan.
But their challenges weren't just lockdown related.
"We don't have a coach coming with us so we'll be the only team over there where it'll just be the two of us," Sargon points out. "We've already discussed ways in which we can overcome that."
And they're no strangers to doing that.
"For me, that is more the spirit of the Olympics," says Duncan. "Overcoming crazy odds to have this amazing outcome."
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