TEAM: Fans of all ages, media and dignitaries filled Queen Street Mall in Brisbane’s CBD on Friday to Welcome Home over 60 athletes from the 2016 Australian Olympic Team.
It was arguably the biggest crowd off all Welcome Home events so far, in what was the fourth of the celebrations in the week-long national tour.
The strong pride in being a ‘Queenslander’ was strong across athletes and spectators alike.
Race walk medallist Dane Bird-Smith could not stop smiling.
“It’s so good being back home I’ve been waiting for this for a long time,” Bird-Smith said.
“It’s awesome to see the reaction and the welcome that we are getting especially from the young ones.”
Sailor Matt Belcher, who won his second Olympic medal in Rio, was loving the experience.
“It’s really nice to put on the track suit again, show off the medal and most importantly thank everyone for their support,” Belcher said.
The emotion and excitement of the day is one of the reasons he is considering a third Olympic campaign for Tokyo in 2020.
“I’ve decided I want to take a couple of months off and make a decision from there. To represent your country and come away with a second Olympic medal is a really special feeling and I absolutely love being an Olympian and striving to win Olympic medals for Australia and I would really like to have the opportunity for Tokyo (2020),” he said after signing autographs for a group of ladies in traditional Japanese dress.
With the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games happening in less than two years and a feasibility studies underway for a South-East Queensland Olympic bid for 2028, centred around Brisbane and the Gold Coast, there was a large number of media and politicians in attendance.
Women’s water polo captain Bronwyn Knox was presented with a plaque from QLD Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk and Brisbane Lord Mayor Graham Quirk awarded the Team the ‘symbolic keys to the city’.
Cate and Bronte Campbell and Ken Wallace all thanked the fans for their amazing support.
Quirk acknowledged how much work goes into being an Olympian and how proud everyone is of the Team.
“Ladies and gentlemen were are indebted to these wonderful Olympic Team members,” Quirk said.
“They have put their lives on hold for so long in the training regimes that they have been through. They have been through enormous emotional highs and lows and while we can never fully appreciate the extent of these.…we know that you gave 100 per cent effort in the name of Australia while representing all of us at the Games and we salute you here today.”
A group of athletes now travel from Brisbane to Hobart to gather with more teammates for celebrations on Saturday. Perth is the next stop on Sunday with the Welcome Home Celebrations concluding in Canberra on Monday.
Andrew Reid
olympics.com.au
