Australian fans turn out to greet Olympians in Adelaide
18/9/2008 18:05
The capital city of South Australia Adelaide today gave their national
Olympic athletes an enthusiastic welcome during the city's homecoming
parade.
Some 2,000 people lined King William St, Adelaide's main
thoroughfare, to watch about 40 Beijing Olympians parade following similar
events in Sydney and Melbourne over the past two days.
The crowd then flocked
to Victoria Square in the heart of the city to greet athletes, including gold
medal winning pole vaulter Steve Hooker and South Australia's silver medal
winning women's basketballer Laura Summerton.
Hooker said his achievement in
winning Australia's first track and field gold medal in 40 years was slowly
sinking in, but when he saw the crowd in the street, it was still unbelievable
to him.
Other athletes in the parade included gold medal sailors Nathan
Wilmot, Malcolm Page, Tessa Parkinson and Elise Rechichi.
According to a
report by Australian Associated Press, South Australian Premier Mike Rann and
Deputy Lord Mayor Sue Clearihan hosted a civic reception for the athletes at the
Adelaide Town Hall before the parade.
The homecoming parade moves to Brisbane
tomorrow, ahead of events in Darwin and Hobart on Saturday, Perth on Monday, and
Canberra on Tuesday.
Xinhua
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