Tokyo 2020 Olympics: Team GB athletes given warm welcome as they return home after winning 65 medals
Boxer Galal Yafai's friends and family celebrating his return from Tokyo after an Olympic gold medal win
Team GB Olympians were given a warm welcome as they returned home after winning a total of 65 medals for the nation in the Tokyo 2020 games.
The last of the athletes arrived back in the UK on Monday morning, triggering the start of celebrations with friends and family after the games came to an end on Sunday.
The Queen praised the “skill, determination and hard work” of the athletes as Great Britain finished fourth in the medal table, with 65 medals - 22 of them gold.
Boxing gold medallist Galal Yafai had one of the biggest welcomes with family and members of his boxing club running to congratulate the men's flyweight champion as he arrived at Heathrow Airport.
Friends chanted "there's only one Galal Yafai" as they flung the boxer into the air in celebration.
Yafai told ITV News afterwards: "It was a bit of a shock, obviously everyone greeting me and other athletes, seeing my mum and my brothers, all my friends, it was nice to be welcomed back."
He said he was glad to represent Birmingham as a gold medallist.
Brother Kal Yafai, who is also a boxer, said the big welcome was needed "because he's an Olympic champion, you ain't get bigger than that".
He continued: "We gotta make sure the welcome's good and proper. We all turned up, we all made some noise. You better get used to it."
Describing how he felt as he watched Yafai win gold, he said: "I can't even explain it, it's unbelievable, emotional. Just everything just.. seeing him win gold was the best day of my life."
Yafai added that he and his brothers "used to fight as youngsters, but as you can see, it's put us in good stead now".
In her message congratulating the Olympians, the Queen said: “I send my warmest congratulations to the competitors from Great Britain and Northern Ireland, and across the Commonwealth, following their success at the Olympic Games in Tokyo in recent weeks.
“The skill, determination and hard work shown by the athletes and their support teams throughout the unique and challenging circumstances of the last year has been an inspiration to us all.
“I extend my very best wishes to everyone who has played a part in this extraordinary achievement.”
The Tokyo Olympics came to a close on Sunday with the United States topping the medal table.
Team GB 65-medal win, 22 of which were gold, is the fourth-best performance ever by a British team.
The medal haul in Japan matched the number earned at Team GB’s home Olympics in London in 2012 and is just two short of the record number at Rio in 2016.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson said the nation’s successful Olympians have demonstrated “there is no limit to what we can achieve”, while the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge said the athletes have shown “strength, passion and determination”.
Just hours before the closing ceremony, Jason Kenny’s victory in the men’s keirin final made him the most decorated British Olympian in history.
Kenny, 33, with seven Olympic golds, is now one ahead of former British cycling great Sir Chris Hoy.
Meanwhile, his wife Laura Kenny is Great Britain’s most successful female athlete with five golds.
The closing ceremony in Tokyo featured the handover to Paris, which will host the Olympics in 2024.
People were gathered in front of the Eiffel Tower while president Emmanuel Macron was filmed on top of the monument.
A flypast took place leaving a trail of red, white and blue smoke in the sky of the French capital.
In his message to Team GB’s Olympians, Boris Johnson said: “This team has shown that even in the most difficult circumstances, sport brings people together and changes lives. You have shown grace in victory and amazing courage in defeat.
“And whilst you may not have heard the roar of the crowd in Tokyo, every one of you has given us a reason to cheer back home - in living rooms, pubs, parks and offices across the land.
“Above all, you have again revealed the central truth about this country: that when we put our minds to it, there is no limit to what we can achieve.
“Thank you Team GB. We are so, so proud of you. Now bring on Paris!”