As the sun rose over Cheltenham Beach in Auckland this morning, a special ceremony took place to mark the milestone of 100 days to Rio.
After a Maori welcome and Haka, the team's traditional cloak was handed from Sochi Winter Olympics flag bearer Shane Dobbin to New Zealand Chef de Mission Rob Waddell. It is the cloak that will be worn by the flag bearer at the opening of the Rio Olympics on August 5.
A number of athletes were there to witness the ceremony including Sevens player DJ Forbes and Dylan Schmidt who recently finished second at a test event in Rio, becoming the first Kiwi trampolinist to qualify for an Olympic games.
The next 100 days will see the already qualified athletes continue their build-up to the games, while a number of other athletes will take part in qualifying competitions in their bid to represent New Zealand at the biggest show on earth.
And while there are well publicised concerns over Rio's readiness to host the games, Waddell is confident everything will go ahead as planned.
"We understand that around 98 percent of what needs to be done is done. Obviously that last two percent is critical and they'll need to remain firmly focused on the targets to make sure they get there.
"Our biggest concern is that the athletes are safe and the playing field is fair and we've got every indication that looks like it will be just fine."
Around 200 athletes will travel to Rio, the biggest ever New Zealand team.
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