Leeds's Olympic stars have done their city proud

The achievements of the city's Olympic athletes have cemented Leeds's place in history as a hotspot for sporting talent.
By The Newsroom
Published 21st Aug 2016, 18:56 GMT
Updated 25th Aug 2016, 18:52 GMT
Great Britain's Nicola Adams with her gold medal following victory over France's Sarah Ourahmoune in the women's flyweight final at the Riocentro 6 on the fifteenth day of the Rio Olympics Games, Brazil. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Picture date: Saturday August 20, 2016. Photo credit should read: Owen Humphreys/PA Wire. EDITORIAL USE ONLYGreat Britain's Nicola Adams with her gold medal following victory over France's Sarah Ourahmoune in the women's flyweight final at the Riocentro 6 on the fifteenth day of the Rio Olympics Games, Brazil. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Picture date: Saturday August 20, 2016. Photo credit should read: Owen Humphreys/PA Wire. EDITORIAL USE ONLY
Great Britain's Nicola Adams with her gold medal following victory over France's Sarah Ourahmoune in the women's flyweight final at the Riocentro 6 on the fifteenth day of the Rio Olympics Games, Brazil. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Picture date: Saturday August 20, 2016. Photo credit should read: Owen Humphreys/PA Wire. EDITORIAL USE ONLY

As the Rio 2016 Olympic Games drew to a close in the early hours this morning, Leeds celebrated a sensational medal haul.

The city’s proud list of gold medal winners includes triathletes Jonny and Alistair Brownlee, who live in Bramhope, boxer Nicola Adams, from Ebor Gardens, and City of Leeds Diving Club’s Jack Laugher.

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And Leeds City Council chiefs say plans are now in place to welcome the city’s athletic heroes home in style with a celebration for medal winners in Leeds.

Leeds golden girl boxer Nicola Adams rounded off Yorkshire’s impressive medal count with a history-making gold in the women’s flyweight final on Saturday.

Her delighted mum Dee Adams, who lives in Ebor Gardens, said: “It does not seem real. We all knew that she could do it but watching her do it and knowing that her opponent wanted the title as much as she does was so hard.

“I still have not come down to earth. I am so happy. I must be one of the proudest mothers on the planet.”

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Adams’ victory cemented the 33-year-old’s place in the record books as the nation’s first boxer to defend an Olympic title since Harry Mallin in 1924.

Council leader Judith Blake said: “Nicola is a truly outstanding role model and ambassador for the city of Leeds and this success is testament to her tremendous hard work, dedication and commitment to the sport of boxing.”

Team GB took its Olympic medal haul to 66 – one better than the record at London in 2012 – with victories from Mo Farah in the 5,000m and the women’s 4x400m relay team on Sunday.

And Tom Riordan, the council’s chief executive, said he was contacting other Yorkshire local authorities this week about making the homecoming celebration in Leeds a county-wide event.

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He said: “We’d love to make it a cross Yorkshire celebration but need to ask others first and see what their plans are.

“For people who have got ideas, or any businesses who would like to contribute, we would be happy to hear from them.”

Sir Gary Verity, chief executive of tourism agency Welcome to Yorkshire, said he supported a homecoming celebration in Leeds for the whole region and he called on others to salute the athletes.

The council said it has not yet finalised a date for the Olympic homecoming celebration in Leeds.

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Related topics:Nicola AdamsLeedsYorkshireAlistair BrownleeSport