Football Fern Hannah Wilkinson is representing New Zealand at the Tokyo Olympics … here’s her tournament diary written for Friends of Football:
By Hannah Wilkinson
Everyone in the squad is buzzing to be on tour again, our first chance to represent New Zealand after a year apart.
We feel connected and confident and are continuing to work hard in the lead up to our first match which is against Australia on Wednesday July 21.
To get here, we had a 10-hour flight to Singapore, then seven hours to Tokyo (a bit of a dog-leg due to limited flight options in a pandemic), followed by a four-hour adventure of COVID testing and protocols, and topped off with a two-hour bus ride to Atsugi.
Once settled, we eased into training, gentle on the legs at first and adjusting to the raging heat and humidity before launching into some rigorous strength work in the gym and higher intensity training sessions.
Hydration/body cooling protocols are being practised.
The people of Atsugi have been so accommodating and wonderful; we couldn’t be more grateful to have such amazing hosts.
More later … keep following our campaign and thanks for your support!
