Team GB receive heroes' welcome after returning home from record-breaking display at Rio Olympics

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Team GB’s Olympic heroes arrived home today with the promise of even more success at the Tokyo Games.

The record-breaking team was welcomed by cheering groundstaff as they landed at Heathrow this morning on a specially chartered British Airways jumbo jet.

The Boeing 747, complete with a gold nose cone and a “victoRIOus” livery, carried 320 athletes and support staff who stayed in Brazil for Sunday’s closing ceremony, as well as 77 bottles of champagne and luxury three-course meals.

Britain won 67 medals at the games - the country’s biggest medal count in more than a century and two more than the remarkable haul in London four years ago, putting Team GB second in the medal table.

And the country’s athletes will be able to perform at Rio levels for the next eight years thanks to an increase in funding, the vice chairman of the British Olympic Association said.

Sir Hugh Robertson told BBC Radio 5 Live that a 29 per cent increase in funding for elite athletes at the last public spending review, combined with National Lottery investment, would allow similar success in the future.

In Pictures: Team GB's medal run at Rio 2016 Olympics

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He said: “The combination of those two things will offer us security through to Tokyo and beyond and enable us to invest in athletes in the way that we’ve done in the past to deliver success.”

He added: “This is a very competitive business - the time margins that separate success and failure at Olympic sport are tiny - but set against this, nobody ever thought that we would do better in Rio than we did in London and by the same token there is no reason, given the fundamental structure of British Olympic sport and the way it is geared to deliver medal success that we shouldn’t have a very, very good games indeed in Tokyo.”

Photo: Alex Livesey/Getty Images for British Airways
(Alex Livesey/Getty Images for British Airways)

The stars arrived home at 9.50am today having left Rio yesterday evening. There was momentary concern before they appeared as the steps for them to climb down failed to work properly, causing a small delay as new ones were sought.

Gold medallists Nicola Adams and Max Whitlock were the first to appear at the plane door, before the rest of the athletes emerged, waving and posing for pictures.

The journey home was extra special for the team’s 27 gold medallists, who were given upgrades to First Class.

Among them was world record-breaking swimmer Adam Peaty, 21, and rower Helen Glover, a double Olympic champion - who revealed Team GB’s athletes stood up for a rendition of God Save The Queen as it played over the Tannoy before the plane left the tarmac.

Photo: Alex Livesey/Getty Images
Alex Livesey/Getty Images

Gymnast Whitlock (above, with Nicola Adams) was also pictured carrying out his Olympic gold medal-winning routine on the seats in the plane’s First Class carriage, while boxer Adams and divers Chris Mears and Jack Laugher were also thought to be among those in high-end seats.

Photo: Helen Glover/Helenglovergb
Helen Glover

But athletes who finished in second or third place had to settle for slightly cheaper seats and were expected to take positions in business and premium economy seats.

Team GB’s rowers all flew out in business, while their coxes and support staff flew economy. Team GB’s Rugby Sevens flew business class.

A total of 15 athletes are believed to have been given business class seats by British Athletics, but flying all 366 athletes out in upgraded seats would have cost an unaffordable £2 million.

Many stars posted photographs from the plane of them celebrating with their medals.

However several of Britain’s gold medal winners had already left Rio, including double tennis gold medallist Andy Murray and golf champion Justin Rose.

The plane’s pilot Steve Hawkins said: “I flew one of our prime ministers around on a VIP trip and I’ve also been involved a couple of other high profile flights.

“Nothing as important as this, nothing as high profile as this, nothing as prestigious or as exciting as this. So bringing back Team GB from Rio 2016 has got to be the pinnacle of my flying in BA so far.”

The Boeing 747 also ferried pole vaults, javelins bicycles and a 6.7 metre sail.

There will now be a huge event in London in October as well as a parade through the streets of Manchester to recognise the success of Britain’s Olympic and Paralympic stars.

Prime Minister Theresa May said: “It will be a celebration fit for heroes - and rightly so, because that is exactly what they are.”

London mayor Sadiq Khan said: “Our athletes have performed heroics in Rio and their exploits have gripped the entire nation.

“My team will continue to work with the government and sports chiefs to help develop plans for wonderful celebrations.”

ITV is also planning to switch off all seven of its channels for an hour on 27 August to encourage people to take part in sport as part of the I Am Team GB campaign.

Meanwhile Whitehall sources indicated that most of the stars who have kept millions glued to their screens over the past few weeks will be recognised in the New Year’s Honours.

They are expected to include runner Mo Farah, Whitlock, who secured Britain’s first and second-ever golds in gymnastics, and cyclist Laura Trott, whose efforts were singled out for praise by Mrs May.

Gold medal winning rower Pete Reed, who was competing in his third Olympics, where he scooped his third gold in the rowing eight, was greeted by his father Leo, 66.

His father said: "This time we stayed at home and watched the race on television with friends family and neighbours.

"It made a change because we could see the whole race but it's just as stressful as when you're there.

"I'm looking forward to seeing him, he will probably hug me and crush me. He's much bigger than I am.

"It's astonishing achievement and we are very proud of him.

"Its an immense effort for four years training."

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