DAME SARAH STOREY touched down at Heathrow with the rest of Great Britain’s Paralympian heroes and claimed Rio was just as good as London in 2012.
Team GB’s most decorated female Paralympic athlete and the rest of her team-mates were greeted by huge crowds of friends, family and fans after their most successful Games since 1988 – winning 147 overall including 64 golds, 39 silvers and 44 bronze.
Storey came back from her seventh Games with three gold medals in cycling, taking her total up to 14 and surpassing Dame Tanni Grey-Thompson's record of 11 golds.
She said: "I don't think I have smiled this much since my wedding day, it is just amazing. The support we have had and the atmosphere here is just incredible.
"The support there (in Rio) was amazing. I think the thing that was missed was that Brazilians do not plan things months in advance, they decide the week before.
"Although ticket sales hadn't gone particularly well, they were always going to get better.
"There was more people in the park on one of the days than there was on any day at the Olympics, which astounded me."
Team GB came back from Rio with 27 more medals than they bagged four years ago and Storey believes the London 2012 legacy was key to their success.
She said: "A home Games is very convenient, you put your bikes in the car, arrive at the village and then you go home once you are done.
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"There is a lot more to plan with an away Games and that just means you have to be more organised and you do that as a team.
"You all go into a bubble (in the athletes' village) and all the athletes come together and came together really well.
"I was delighted to see everyone performing so well and bringing the medals home."
She added: "(My favourite moment) was being able to celebrate with my little girl (Louisa) when she jumped over the fence and picked up my medal and said 'well done mummy'. Those words were priceless."
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