Flights and more flights all in vain
DUNEDIN firefighter Joe Dobson is trying to get to the Olympics — but sickness and health are getting in the way.
It is not his own health — the former New Zealand age group rugby player says he has never felt better — but measles in Samoa and then the Covid19 pandemic have put paid to his two latest trips.
His latest journey led him to racking up 60 hours in transit and flying right round the world.
He did manage to get overseas in August last year, to, somewhat ironically, China, to compete in the World Police and Firefighter Games at Chengdu where he won a gold and bronze in his under97kg weight division.
Dobson (33) was next set to travel to Samoa for the Oceania championships at the start of this year.
‘‘So I had booked all the flights and was about to hop on the plane when I was told it is not going on,’’ he said, as measles swept across Samoa.
‘‘So I lost on those flights and all the money.
‘‘The top two from the Oceania champs were going to go to the OceaniaAfrican Olympic qualifiers but because they didn’t happen they started a long list to go to the qualifiers in Morocco.’’
Dobson booked his tickets for Morocco for the championships, set for the middle of last month. But at the same time Covid19 was emerging from China and quickly sweeping round the world.
‘‘So I rang my coach just before I was going to get on the plane and said ‘this thing is getting bad. I have seen a message saying they want to ban sport.’ But he said just hop on the plane and it will be fine.
‘‘But then one of my flights got cancelled and I ended up going through Japan and over Russia before getting to London. I was awake for 48 hours as I can’t sleep on planes.
‘‘When I got to London I got a message when I landed from my coach — ‘Where are you?’. I said in London. He then texted back — this thing has been canned.
‘‘As you would imagine I was not best pleased.
‘‘I was a bit dizzy at that stage with all the flying. To fly all that way and then within 45 minutes of landing to be told it is all off... Yeah, it wasn’t great.’’
He had planned to go to Morocco a week before the championships for a training camp but that never happened.
In the end he got in contact with a close friend from The Netherlands and went there to have a few days of wrestling.
‘‘Then I thought I should go to Morocco for a few days and do some surfing at least. I was at the airport and they closed down northern Italy and they started closing borders. So I thought I just need to get home. I hopped on a plane back to London and then got the first plane home.’’
He has spent 60 hours in transit all up and was glad to see home, although it was not a total welcome.
Dobson has now had two weeks on top of everyone else in isolation and is with his two children, Angus (6) and Della (4), while wife Sally is in selfisolation.
As part of the Olympic qualifiers, competitors had to pay about $1500 to stay inhouse at the qualifiers so food and training could be controlled.
He has not got that money back and if and when the qualifiers take place is up in the air.
Dobson still wants to go to the Olympics and feels he is making progress.
He is a latecomer to the sport, having played rugby and done other sports.
But with coach Caleb Steven helping him out immensely, Dobson is making strides — so much so that he has his firefighting colleagues working out with him and wrestling every shift.
‘‘I’m lucky enough that I can do a job at the moment which enables me to also do some training.’’
❛ To fly all that way and then within 45 minutes of landing to be told it is all off... Yeah, it wasn’t great