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Town welcomes Olympic gold hero | |
(about 17 hours later) | |
A hero's welcome is under way in honour of double gold medal winner Rebecca Adlington in her home town. | |
Thousands of people have lined the streets of Mansfield in Nottinghamshire to see the 19-year-old swimmer touring the town on an open-top bus. | |
She arrived at the civic centre in a gold Rolls Royce and received a pair of designer shoes which had been promised to her by the mayor. | |
Adlington won two Olympic golds in the 400m and 800m freestyle in Beijing. | Adlington won two Olympic golds in the 400m and 800m freestyle in Beijing. |
The swimmer broke the 800m world record set in 1989 - the year she was born. | |
'Nicer girl' | |
Crowds with banners and giant gold medals gathered in the Market Place where the open top bus trip finished. | |
Mayor Tony Eggington said: "To reach the very top of any sport requires years of hard work, focus and complete dedication - all traits which Rebecca has in abundance. | Mayor Tony Eggington said: "To reach the very top of any sport requires years of hard work, focus and complete dedication - all traits which Rebecca has in abundance. |
"What's more, this success couldn't have happened to a nicer girl. Rebecca is a credit to herself, her family and Mansfield. | "What's more, this success couldn't have happened to a nicer girl. Rebecca is a credit to herself, her family and Mansfield. |
"Through the success of Rebecca we now have a golden opportunity to inspire even more young people to go on and achieve success, whether it is in sport or other walks of life. This is what hard work can achieve." | "Through the success of Rebecca we now have a golden opportunity to inspire even more young people to go on and achieve success, whether it is in sport or other walks of life. This is what hard work can achieve." |
About 100 neighbours were waiting in the street | |
He presented the shoes - donated by designer Jimmy Choo - to the swimmer on a velvet cushion adorned with red, white and blue ribbons. | |
Adlington said she had been "overwhelmed" by the reaction. | |
"I don't think the world record is going to sink in for quite a while but the races, however, I have watched back enough - mum and dad keep playing them over and over again and he makes me watch the whole thing and I say, 'dad - I've seen it!'." | |
A giant screen has also been put up in the Market Place which has replayed Adlington's winning races while she toured the town. | |
Adlington became the first British swimmer in 100 years to win two Olympic gold medals. | |
Her intensive training schedule has seen her get up at 0500 every day and spend 30 hours a week in the pool. | Her intensive training schedule has seen her get up at 0500 every day and spend 30 hours a week in the pool. |
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Rebecca Adlington receives her Jimmy Choo shoes |