Rio Olympic and Paralympic medal winners who train at a sports centre in Marlow were given a hero’s welcome home last week.

Bisham Abbey National Sport Centre celebrated the world-class athletes’ achievements with a welcome home event on November 9.

In total, ten Olympic sports and 65 Olympic medallists are involved at Bisham Abbey, which is managed by Serco on behalf of Sport England, including the Olympic gold medal winning women’s hockey team, men’s hockey team, rowing, canoeing, shooting and the Paralympic wheelchair tennis, canoeing, rowing and equestrian.

The centre, on Marlow Road, supported Great Britain’s Olympic and Paralympic teams in preparation for Rio 2016 by changing their main hockey pitch to the same blue hockey pitch that was used at the Olympics, so that the hockey teams were playing on a familiar surface.

Rio athletes who attended last week’s celebration at the centre, and the unveiling of the Rio medal ‘Wall of Fame’, included Alex Danson, Giselle Ansley, Jodie Leigh, and Ellie Watton from the gold-medal winning women’s hockey squad and Liam Heath who won gold and silver in sprint canoeing.

Pete Reed a three-times Olympic rowing gold medallist, most recently in the men’s eight in Rio, also joined the celebrations, as did Pete Lambert who was a finalist in the men’s quadruple sculling, Anne Dickins and Jeannette Chippington who both won gold in the Paralympic canoeing and James Fox who won gold in the Paralympic rowing.

Sir David Tanner, British Rowing’s Performance Director and Jean Watson, English Institute of Sport Operations Manager at Bisham Abbey also attended the ceremony.

Charles Johnston, Director of Property at Sport England, said: “We are delighted to welcome our athletes home. Thanks to National Lottery funding their journey to Rio started in Bisham Abbey’s word-class facilities.

“Working in synergy with Serco, UK Sport, and the EIS, ensured that our teams had the best possible chances of going for gold. I would also like to pay tribute to the wider Bisham community for their continued support.

“Bisham is a facility which is the envy of the sporting world, and together we have much to be proud of."