New Zealand's 28 Paralympic athletes are gearing up to head to Tokyo next week.
It's set to be a Paralympics Games like no other and as such, preparations are a little unusual too.
Wheel Black Barney Koniferenisi is one of 28 athletes isolating at home to keep themselves safe and well ahead of the Paralympics.
"Super excited, it's always been a dream of mine since 2012."
When Cameron Leslie pulled out of the Tokyo Games to focus on his newborn second child, Koniferenisi got a surprise last-minute call up to the wheelchair rugby team.
"It was exciting, I was excited but it was nerve-wracking at the same time," he says.
"The funny thing, when they did call me I was having a triple cheeseburger, which wasn't the best."
And he admits he wasn't match fit.
"Absolutely not, haha. I was training just to keep myself fit physically but I was not competition fit."
He had just three weeks to roll up his sleeves - not just to get fit, but also to get the COVID vaccine to help keep him and the team safe.
"For a person in a wheelchair or person with any disability, we are more immune-compromised so we are more likely to catch viruses or flus a lot quicker than our able-body counterparts."
He wants to set a good example on and off the court.
"Now that I am a Paralympian I'm sort of a role model towards our Pacific Island brothers and sisters, so if I can encourage them to get the vaccine."
And you might gather Koniferenisi is a bit of a joker.
"So the funny thing was, I did ask if I could get my jab in my leg because a few of the guys that were paralysed got their jab in their leg, and then the vaccinator was like 'we can't really do that because you don't have a leg' and I was like 'this isn't going to go well'."
But one thing he is serious about, is getting a medal - dreaming of Athens 2004 when the Wheel Blacks won gold.
The team heads to Toyko on Thursday.
