April 28, 2020 – What to do when you are an Australian water polo player living in Dalmatia and preparing for Tokyo 2020 as the European flight ban loomed? Nathan Power on his whirlwind life change from Split to Sydney.
For the last four years of my life I have had the pleasure of living in Croatia. That was brought to an abrupt, unceremonious ending due to the COVID-19 outbreak. I had been playing water polo professionally in Croatia, first for VK Primoje Rijeka and then three years with VK Jadran Split. 2020 was intended to be a big year for Jadran as it marks their 100 year anniversary. Our season had just gone into an international break when the outbreak was blowing up in Italy. We had been on a great stretch of games, including two wins in our final two games against big name team Jug Dubrovnik and Szolnok. Confidence was high and the anticipation was that we could use the free month for hard training, while the various nations yet to qualify for the Olympics were competing, and then we would return to games and make a strong push into the finals.
Because of the scheduled break in the season, my girlfriend and I had planned a weekend getaway to London. The plane was half empty, the airports barely populated and the security checks at Heathrow were insanely quick. These were all a touch harrowing because while the rest of the world had begun feeling the effects of the coronavirus in how their day to day lives were affected, life in Croatia at that point was still regular programming. Although for all the alterations to our travel experience, London was still fully functioning. We were very lucky to be able to attend the Premier League match that we had come to see, given it was the last match day to be played, even luckier that it was a 4-0 victory to Chelsea.
When we returned to Croatia there had still been no movement towards a lockdown from the government, however, my Jadran coach had shifted training to once a day which felt like an ominous sign of what was to come. By the end of that week, it became official that sporting teams and competitions were to stop for an indefinite period. As the Olympics, at that time, were still to proceed, this meant I needed to get myself back to Australia so that I could continue my training.
On a Monday afternoon, we booked my flight for Wednesday morning, just 40 hours away. However, as news broke on the Tuesday that the EU would be closing its borders by noon on the day of my flight (which was meant to leave Zagreb for Doha at 2:30 pm), I needed to find an alternative, which really only meant me leaving ASAP.
My girlfriend and I scrambled to find flights, most of which meant me bussing to Zagreb that night and leaving the European Union on any flight possible Wednesday morning. I called the Australian Embassy in Croatia to see if they had any information, and with so much confusion about what was to come, taking the risk seemed like the best thing to do. I had the Australian Water Polo Federation write me a note requesting my arrival back in the country just in case.
The next 15 hours were spent packing up my life in Croatia and the Split apartment I had been living in for the last two years.
In what was a whirlwind of emotions, I was finally beginning my departure at 5 am on a Wednesday from the country I had called home for 4 years. What made this so much tougher was that there were so many friends I had been unable to say a proper goodbye to.
The flying experience on my London trip had been different but nothing like what it was a week later as I tried to get home to Australia. As I flew the day the EU had shut its borders, naturally, there was so much uncertainty and nervousness around how commercial airlines would react. It was scary to see how poorly executed some of the security measures were at airports. In Doha we disembarked our plane from Zagreb and got onto a bus, only for it not to move for the next hour as the 1 doorway they had set up for health screenings was overwhelmed with passengers. To be crammed onto a bus at such close quarters for so long seemed the peak of stupidity, raising the risk of potential transmissions, when the health check was only relevant for passengers staying in Doha of which our plane had one. My flight to Sydney felt different to any flight I had experienced before. There was an air of relief and small joy permeating through the cabin as everyone on board was an Aussie returning home, knowing they could be with their families for the tough period that lay ahead.
When I landed I was immediately taken home to Newcastle where my two weeks of self-isolation was to begin. The first week I was able to use the Olympics as a motivating factor and it sped fast, however at the beginning of the second week the announcement was made to postpone the Games and I was left looking for a new motivation to get me through. By the time I was out of isolation, Australia had also instigated the social distancing rules that remain in place currently. It is a surreal feeling for me to be home and not burdened by responsibilities yet still be unable to see my closest friends. Like everyone else, I’m looking forward to when we can start getting some semblance of normalcy returning to our lives. Until then, it’s a matter of staying healthy and keeping distant.
For the latest on coronavirus in Croatia, follow the dedicated TCN link.
