Crowds salute homecoming Paralympic heroes

London 2012 competitors Claire Cashmore, Hannah Cockroft, Ali Jawad and David Stone were honoured at a homecoming celebration in Leeds yesterday.

Hundreds of people turned out for the lunchtime event in Millennium Square, many waving Union flags or banners featuring “well done” messages to mark their achievements.

Having won two gold medals Hannah Cockroft also enjoyed two celebrations yesterday as she took centre stage in her home town of Halifax last night where crowds had gathered in the Piece Hall.

The wheelchair sprinter became one of the stars of London 2012 as she won gold medals in emphatic fashion in both the T34 100 and 200m finals, breaking Paralympic records in the process.

She described the homecoming crowd in Halifax last night as “amazing” and joked she thought “only two people would turn up.”

“I really didn’t expect this, it is absolutely immense, just amazing. The games were phenomenal. I loved every single second of it.”

The 20-year-old sprint star has also been given the freedom of Calderdale by the council.

Earlier she was part of the celebrations in Leeds where she trains at the John Charles Centre for Sport in Beeston

The sports stars said the warmth of their reception made the occasion every bit as special as Monday’s spectacular Olympic and Paralympic victory parade in London.

Swimming silver medallist Claire Cashmore, who is also based at the John Charles Centre for Sport said: “The parade was incredible, obviously, but I’ve been training in Yorkshire for four years and it’s a home from home for me now. It’s like the people who are here have been on the journey with me.”

Claire added: “I really hope that I have inspired someone, even if it’s just one person, to realise it’s ability not disability that counts.”

Rawdon cyclist David Stone, who won both a gold and a bronze at the London 2012 games, said: “It’s another day I’ll never forget. The turnout here is absolutely amazing – the support that has come from Yorkshire has always been fantastic.”

The crowd at the Leeds City Council-backed event included students from Leeds’s West Specialist Inclusive Learning Centre.

Behavioural support worker Lynne Thackray said: “We only found out about this on Wednesday but there was no way we were going to miss it.”

Also in attendance was a group of pupils from South Leeds Academy. One, Oskar Mcwalter, 11, said: “They (the Paralympians) have been through a lot but they’re still really determined – they are superheroes.”

Powerlifter Ali Jawad, who narrowly missed out on a medal, is based at Leeds Metropolitan University.