Crowds gather to celebrating our Olympic Heroes’

Crowds gathered at Ystrad Mynach and Blackwood Town Centres today to celebrate the achievements of local Olympians Laure Price and Lauren Williams.

The celebrations kicked off at the Centre for Sporting Excellence at 10am where the athletes were recognised during a formal ceremony that saw speeches from the Leader of Caerphilly County Borough Council, Cllr. Philippa Marsden, Deputy Minister for Art and Sports Dawn Bowden and Brian Davies Director for Sports Systems at Sport Wales.

The ceremony was concluded with the presentation of the Sports Wall of Fame Photographs which will hang proudly in the Centre For Sporting Excellence as the first additions to the wall.

The ceremony was swiftly followed by an open-top car tour of Lauren Price’s home town Ystrad Mynach, the home of the famous golden post box, followed by Lauren Williams’ home town of Blackwood where crowds gathered along the High Street proudly waving flags of support.

Leader of Caerphilly County Borough Council, Cllr. Philippa Marsden said, I am beyond proud that our local girls have achieved something so special, this home coming tour is a really fitting tribute to their achievements and it was fantastic to see so many residents lining the streets to show how proud they feel. As I have announced previously plans are underway to create a presentation to full council to formally recognise these achievements, more information will follow in the coming weeks. Once again a huge congratulations to these talented athletes from all at Team Caerphilly.”

Deputy Minister for Art and Sport Dawn Bowden MS said, “Huge congratulations to Caerphilly and Wales’ Olympic athletes and to the rest of the GB team. The performances in Tokyo have done us all proud and I’m very proud to attend this celebration in Caerphilly today and I look forward to seeing how Wales’ Olympic and Paralympic achievements in Tokyo will inspire the next generation of athletes.”

Lauren Price said, “It has been a whirlwind couple of weeks and I have enjoyed every second. I am really grateful for the effort everyone has made to make our home coming so special.

Lauren Williams added, “Doing this with Lauren is really nice as we have known each other for years. I couldn’t believe the crowds that turned out to show their support I am just really overwhelmed by it, it was a memorable experience!”