Team GB’s Olympians return to a heroes’ welcome
Team GB‘s Olympic heroes have returned home from Paris after the Eurostar train carrying the athletes pulled in to King’s Cross St Pancras.
Hundreds of fans lined the platform waving Union flags and cheering the sporting stars who have competed at this year’s Games – which came to a close at the Stade de France on Sunday evening.
The 327-strong group of athletes managed to surpass Team GB’s total medal haul from the Tokyo Olympics by claiming 65 medals in total.
However, only 14 of those were gold in Paris, compared to 22 gold medals in Tokyo.
Bryony Page, who won gold in the women’s trampoline event, was one of the first off the train to be welcomed home by London Mayor Sadiq Khan, who was one of the well-wishers in attendance at the capital’s iconic train station.
Hundreds of fans lined the platform waving Union flags and cheering the sporting stars who have competed at this year’s Games
Medalists such as Tom Daley were seen juggling bags and posing for pictures with spectators as they got off the train and made their way through the crowd
Other medalists such as Tom Daley were seen juggling bags and posing for pictures with spectators as they got off the train and made their way through the crowds.
But the iconic diver told Sky News he had left his silver medal in Paris, as he confirmed his retirement from the sport upon arrival at St Pancras.
The medal – his fifth at the Olympics – was a silver won alongside Noah Williams in the men’s synchronised 10m platform in Paris.
Daley had the honour of bearing the flag for the United Kingdom at the Opening Ceremony alongside rower Helen Glover.
For the Closing Ceremony, triathlete Alex Yee and gymnast Page were awarded the flag bearing duties.
The honour was bestowed upon the pair after being nominated by a British Olympic Association council.
Yee cemented himself as the most successful Olympic triathlete of all time when he won two medals in Paris.
The 327-strong group of athletes managed to surpass Team GB’s total medal haul from the Tokyo Olympics by claiming 65 medals in total
Shooting skeet women’s silver medallist Britain’s Amber Rutter poses for a photograph with her child and medal as she returns to London
Track cyclist Emma Finucane of Team GB, proudly wears her Olympic medals as she arrives back in the UK
Mayor of London Sadiq Khan waits to greet members of Team GB at London St. Pancras International train station
Great Britain’s Alex Yee arrives in London having carried out flag bearing duties at the closing ceremony on Sunday night
The 26-year-old took home the gold medal in the men’s individual triathlon, surpassing New Zealand’s Hayden Wilde on the final stretch to win.
Yee also helped Team GB secure the bronze in the mixed relay, taking his overall Olympic medal tally to four.
But the triathlete is not resting on his laurels just yet, as he confirmed he would be racing this Saturday, saying: ‘Well we’ve got a race on Saturday – it’s non-stop for us triathletes.’
Britain’s performance at this year’s games secured more ‘great investment’ for athletes looking to compete at Los Angeles 2028, UK Sport has confirmed.
Sally Munday, chief executive of UK Sport, said: ‘This is the absolute joy of our system. Because we’ve become so good at it [Olympics and Paralympics]… we have a consistency of investment, [and that means] the majority of these athletes are able to train full-time.
‘We’re able to give them a grant to contribute towards living costs and the national governing bodies [of the sports] are able to put programmes together that allow them to train every single day.
Athletes of Team GB arrive back in London after winning 65 medals – a haul only topped by Usa and China
The sporting stars collected their bags after their train arrived back into St Pancras International Station
Great Britain’s Lina Nielsen shows off her bronze medal after returning home on Monday
Shooting skeet women’s silver medallist Britain’s Amber Rutter with her husband and child as she returns to London
‘We’ve already been speaking to the sports about investment for the LA [2028] cycle, so some of the athletes will get some down time, then they will start looking forward to what they’ve got coming up in the next year, like championships, and beyond that to LA.’
Bosses have also vowed to launch a review to work out why Team GB had so many ‘near misses,’ as they struggled to convert bronzes and silvers into gold medals.
The 65 medals they did win gave them a haul bettered only by table-toppers USA and China, but their 14 gold medals saw them slip below Japan, Australia, France, and the Netherlands as well.
‘It’s frustrating to be seventh in the medal table. This has been an unbelievably competitive Olympic Games. The middle bit of the medal table below the United States and China feels incredibly competitive,’ said Andy Anson, chief executive of the British Olympic Association.
‘There were near misses. We’ve got to celebrate the medals. We’ve got to do that first, and then, as UK Sport, the national governing bodies, ourselves, we’ve got to sit back when we get home and just say, “Was there something? Is it sport by sport? Individual issues? Was there something more systematic?” Let’s look across the whole scene… but in a controlled way.
‘I think the breadth of success is incredibly important in terms of the resonance it has around the country – 65 medals is a brilliant achievement.
‘I, for one, can’t wait for Los Angeles, because I think it [the Olympics] is going to become even bigger by then. Bring on LA because we’re going to get back at the Aussies and get back up that medal table.’
