London 2012 Olympics: Crowds flock to welcome medal heroes back to Leeds

Thousands of people turned out in Leeds last night to see triathlon gold and bronze medal winning brothers, Alistair and Jonathan Brownlee, and cycling road race silver medallist Lizzie Armitstead.

The trio attended a special reception held in their honour in Millennium Square.

The crowd of around 5,000 people cheered loudly and waved Union flags as the athletes were led through the square and welcomed on to the stage. One group held up a hand-drawn sign reading “Pride of Yorkshire” and listing the names of the medal-winning athletes.

Also present at the celebration were members of the Team GB diving squad, including Jack Laugher, Alicia Blagg, Hannah Starling and Sarah Barrow, and weightlifters Gareth Evans and Jack Oliver.

A special welcome was given to Dee Adams, mother of gold medal-winning boxer Nicola Adams.

The Brownlee brothers said they hoped their success would inspire others. Asked if they had a message for their Yorkshire fans, Alistair Brownlee said: “Thank you very much for turning out, hope you enjoyed it and be inspired to do some sport. Do some triathlon.”

Jonathan Brownlee described the turnout as “absolutely incredible”. He said: “We didn’t realise how much it would affect people back home. We come back here and see how exciting it is. It’s absolutely amazing.”

Alistair added: “It’s been a fantastic week in London but to come home to Leeds is better than anything else.” The brothers were flown into Leeds by helicopter earlier in the day after a “crazy” week which saw them being treated “like rock stars”. But they were both looking forward to getting back to training on the Otley Chevin, near their home, with Jonathan competing again soon.

Alistair said: “I’m positive we wouldn’t be where we are today without training in Leeds and Yorkshire. It’s a fantastic place to train.” Talking about his hopes for his own gold medal in the future, Jonathan said: “I don’t want to touch Alistair’s gold medal just in case there’s a little curse. I want to have my own gold medal.”

Armitstead said it was  incredible to be back home. She said: “I’m more tired now than I’ve been all season but I’m  just trying to soak up the  atmosphere and just looking forward to being at home for a week, being with friends and family.”

Thanking her fans in Leeds, she added: “I hope that it leaves a legacy, especially for young people to get into sport.”

Armitstead said the Olympics was the most special experience of her life. She said she would now be concentrating on the World Championships in six weeks time.