Team GB welcomed home after historic Olympic Games in Rio
Tuesday 23 August 2016 19:56, UK
Record-breaking Team GB were given a heroes' reception when they arrived back in the UK on Tuesday morning following their glorious efforts at the Rio Olympics.
Some 320 athletes and support staff were given the royal treatment on their 11-hour flight from Brazil in a gold-nosed British Airways Boeing 747 with "victoRIOus" emblazoned on the side.
Team GB's medal haul was its biggest for more than a century, with 67 in all, including 27 gold, putting them above China and behind only the United States in the overall standings. It was their biggest medal tally since 1908.
An extra 77 bottles of champagne and a three-course menu were on offer for the return journey and it was two champions - boxer Nicola Adams and gymnast Max Whitlock - who appeared first on the runway, showing off their gold medals.
"I think it is the best sporting achievement by any team in British sporting history," said British chef de mission Mark England at London's Heathrow Airport.
Swimmer Adam Peaty, who started the British gold rush by smashing his own world record to win the 100m breaststroke title, told SSNHQ: "This has been all about getting up at 4am and my coach always said you have to get momentum for the team and that's meant so much.
"You've got to attack and that's what we did. It was something very special. Ever since the beginning as a youngster I've been proud to be British and representing your country at the Olympics. I couldn't think of anything better to do with my life than dedicate it to my country.
"It will hopefully give inspiration to the next generation of Olympians. That is the most powerful thing that motivates me and I'm looking forward to seeing all the children, all the smiles on their faces."
Rower Katherine Grainger, who became GB's most decorated female Olympian on winning silver with Victoria Thornley in the double sculls, said she was glad the team had been a source of joy for the country after a year of political upheaval.
"The lovely thing is that after London 2012, we thought it could not be replicated, that feeling of uniting a nation, but the reaction at Heathrow is just a small taste of what is to come.
"It's felt like it's been a tough year for the country and the good thing about sport is that it unites the country with some good news, for a short time at least."
Britain also became the first country to improve on a home medal haul at the following Games, surpassing the 65 at London 2012 by two.
Hugh Robertson, Britain's sports minister at London and now a vice-president of the British Olympic Association, said: "One of the objectives was to leave a legacy for UK athletes for generations to come.
"Rio has surpassed all our expectations. This plan wasn't drawn up on the back of a fag (cigarette) packet, although that isn't perhaps the most apposite analogy to use for sports!"
Cycling saw Britain's "golden couple" of Jason Kenny and fiancee Laura Trott triumph in the velodrome.
Kenny matched Chris Hoy's tally of six golds with three wins in Rio, while Trott won two of her own to take her total to four.
Several British competitors defended titles won in London, notably Mo Farah who again won the 5,000m and 10,000m, while boxer Adams and taekwondo's Jade Jones also repeated their victories of four years ago.
BOA chief executive Bill Sweeney cautioned against hopes Britain could replace the US at the medals table summit at the 2020 Games in Tokyo.
"Topping the Americans may be a long shot, but it's just been an incredible moment," Sweeney said. "No team has done what we have - improve five Games in a row, medals-wise.
"Tokyo will be tough... Japan are stronger than the Brazilians, China will bounce back, there will be a full Russian team and Australia will be strong. However, we have a young team, so the potential is there."
Peaty, whose grandma became an overnight Twitter sensation after her grandson's pool heroics, added: "It's all about moving on and doing it again. Tokyo is already on everybody's minds.
"It's important to relax, enjoy this but we will need to move on."
