From Weet-bix and slushie machines to ice baths and canoes - the New Zealand Olympic team has a lot to include on their packing list for the Paris Games.
NZ Herald Focus got to look behind the scenes at a Jacanna warehouse in Auckland, where it’s all being put together.
“It’s all the things that we need to operate,” team operations manager Harley Wall explained. “And then secondly, probably most importantly, all the bits and pieces we need to support our athletes. So all the preparation, recovery, strength and conditioning, all the weights, everything that we need to help prepare them to perform at their best.”
One of the biggest challenges for Wall is to fit everything in just two shipping containers.
“It’s a puzzle, a big game of Tetris,” Wall said with a laugh. “It needs to be packed in just over a week before it’s shipped to France but I’m very confident it’ll all fit.”
Team operations manager Harley Wall has been tasked with packing everything into two shipping containers. Photo / Corey Fleming
One-and-a-half-thousand carb-heavy snack bags will also be making the trip to help fuel the around 180 Kiwi athletes competing at the Games.
HPSNZ head of nutrition Christel Dunshea-Mooij said they’re mostly used for recovery.
“After athletes compete, there is a huge need to restore the glycogen stores so we have lots of carbs in here,” Dunshea-Mooi said.
“Athletes eat the same type of food that every other New Zealander eats, it just they need to have it at certain times, and they probably have more of it, depending on their sport.”
The likes of Pic’s peanut butter slugs and Up & Go drinks are included too for a taste of home.
“That’s a key thing we consider as well,” Dunshea-Mooij said.
“For example, the rowing team during the Rio Olympic Games had been overseas for four months, so seeing some familiar products like Pic’s or Peckish, they absolutely love.”
One-and-a-half-thousand snack bags are being packed for the NZ Olympic team athletes. Photo / Corey Fleming
A few sneaky sweet treats are squeezing on too, jet planes, dinosaurs and chocolate as well as some rugs, chairs and other creature comforts to help make the Kiwi base feel a little more like home.
“The challenge is just balancing out everybody’s desires and expectations,” Wall said.
“Of course, we want to take everything we can over there and we do our very best to try and get it all in.”
The 2024 Paris Olympic Games gets underway on July 26.
