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Olympics 2016: Heroes of Team GB return triumphant from Rio

Team GB’s Olympic stars can expect a warm welcome when they land at Heathrow on Tuesday morning before facing the media.

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British Olympic officials want Great Britain football teams to compete at Tokyo 2020 after seeing the event as a missed medal opportunity at Rio.

A number of the athletes returned home earlier today, and England was quick to heap praise on the record-breaking squad.

British Olympic Association vice-chairman and former sports minister Sir Hugh Robertson told BBC 5 live’s Sportsweek: “From the British Olympic Committee’s perspective, we would love to see Team GB football”.

“Justin has been absolutely outstanding, not only in the support of the Great Britain Olympic team but of golf in the Olympics as well, and to have athletes of that stature in addition to athletes who have medalled in five consecutive games and others defending titles, which they did absolutely successfully, was a very powerful thing”.

The United States also won the most gold medals with 46 golds this summer.

Double gold medal-winning gymnast Max Whitlock and Nicola Adams – who defended her women’s flyweight boxing gold – were chosen to lead Team GB off the plane once it landed at Heathrow slightly ahead of schedule. Great Britain had 27 gold medals which is enough for the second most of any country, behind the USA.

Silver medal-winning rower Katherine Grainger said so many team-mates winning medals gave her an “immense sense of pride which is infectious”.

Speaking about his grandmother, who became known on Twitter as Olympic Nan, he said: “She has her own hashtag now”.

The 20-year-old then said she hopes her achievement can help influence the next generation of runners, much as the London 2012 Games had done for her.

Speaking at the conclusion of the Rio games on Sunday, UK Sport chief executive Liz Nicholl said: “We’re making sporting history – 67 medals, almost 130 medallists, across 19 sports”.

She said: “When you stand at the start line, you know that you have had the best preparation you could have got”, but now she wanted to have “something really bad” to eat. The lovely thing is London was a hugely inspirational experience and we felt we couldn’t replicate that so to be the only nation to better themselves after a home games is incredible.

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“It has nearly felt like it has been a tough year for the country, a lot has happened politically in the nation in the last few months”, Grainger said.

Aug 13 2016 Rio de Janeiro Brazil Kathleen Baker  Lilly King  Dana Vollmer and Simone Manuel celebrate after winning the gold medal in the women's 4x100m medley relay final in the Rio 2016 Summer Olympic Games at Olympic Aqua