These Olympians faced empty stands at Tokyo, so Londoners stepped up to the plate

Thunderous cheers erupted from a crowd of hundreds who came out to London, Ont.'s Saturday celebration at Labatt Park for London Olympians who competed at Tokyo 2020. 

The star-studded cast of the event included gold medallists Damian Warner, Maggie MacNeil and Susanne Grainger, as well as Olympic rower Jennifer Martins and women's basketball team member Miranda Ayim. 

For swimmer Maggie MacNeil, who won Canada's first gold medal of the games in the 100m butterfly and a silver in the women's 4x100m Freestyle Relay, getting to celebrate her success in the pool with people at home is another sweet victory. 

"I love London and I love saying that I'm from London," said MacNeil. "We felt the support in Tokyo, but it was even more special to share this moment with [everyone] in person and it means so much."

Olympic athletes faced empty stands in Tokyo because of COVID-19 restrictions. Spectators were banned from attending Olympic competitions and athletes' families weren't allowed to go either, with few exceptions.

Director of Sport Tourism at Tourism London Zanth Jarvis says Saturday's event was London's way of bringing the cheers that went unheard during the Olympics to the ears of the Olympians, now back home and ready to celebrate. 

"What they achieved over there in Tokyo is remarkable," said Jarvis. "I don't think any city can say that they have so many gold medallists at one Olympics from one city, so we knew we had to do something a little bit different and a little bit larger to showcase their accomplishments."

Fans in the stands got to listen to stories about Grainger's heat training to withstand Tokyo summer temperatures, how Martins' rowing team dealt with the year-long delay of the games and the moment Ayim got to carry Canada's flag into the opening ceremony with rugby sevens athlete Nathan Hirayamaalong.

For Ayim, a seasoned athlete who says she's now retired from her Olympic career — she also played women's basketball for Team Canada at London in 2012 and Rio in 2016 — being surrounded by family and supporters more than made up for the silence of these last games.

"We knew going into [Tokyo] that there weren't going to be any spectators," said Ayim. "It's really nice to be back here in London with all our friends and family and the fans here who we knew were supporting us from afar."

From the beginning of the event to its close, excitement buzzed among fans and family who came out to Labatt Park to show their support for their favourite athletes. 

Decathlon Olympic champion Damian Warner had a large entourage of family members who came down from Windsor, Ont. to cheer for their own. 

They described watching Warner push through the 1500m of the decathlon competition in Tokyo as their favourite Olympic moment — one they can't wait to celebrate now that they're all in the city.

"I think we were all screaming at the TV," said cousin Shavaun Jordan.  "It was just an amazing moment for Canada, an amazing moment for the family, it was beautiful."