Welcome to Cambridge: town of champions
For a town of 19,200, Cambridge probably lays claim to the highest per capital Olympic medal tally anywhere in the world.
And yesterday the proud locals turned out in force to welcome home their conquering heroes – 24 of whom have ties to an area best known for its studs and dairy farms.
While the rest of us wonder just what’s going into the water in the rural Waikato community, about 1500 people braved a cold and blustery day at Victoria Square to quiz the athletes about their Rio experience and see some of the bronze, silver and gold up close.
A bemused Mahe Drysdale, who won gold in the men’s single sculls competition, was asked if he wanted to become the mayor of Cambridge.
"I’m not sure I could go through all that debating and arguing," he replied with a wry smile. "I want things my way."
Ethan Mitchell, a member of the silver medal-earning men’s cycling sprint team, said he and his fellow team members – Eddie Dawkins and Sam Webster – had also fielded some curvy questions.
"I got asked yesterday if I eat lots of broccoli. Someone asked Eddie if he knows [wresting superstar] John Cena. It’s been pretty amazing."
Ten-year-old Oscar Pluck opted to get his mountain bike signed by the cyclists. "Paper is easily destroyed," he said. "This is going to last forever."
The women’s coxless pair of Genevieve Behrent and Rebecca Scown - who also won silver in Rio - proved hot property in the signing tent, with a lengthy queue of adults and children lining up to get things autographed.
"It’s fantastic. It’s great to see so many people here, even though the weather was horrible,’’ Behrent said.