2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympic Games

Team USA Athletes Get a Hero's Welcome at Home

Team USA Athletes Get a Hero's Welcome at Home

Athletes from Team USA are finally returning to their hometowns after the 2016 Rio Olympic Games. For the Final Five in particular, their gold-medal perform

Aug 25, 2016 by Rebecca Johnson
Team USA Athletes Get a Hero's Welcome at Home
Athletes from Team USA are finally returning to their hometowns after the 2016 Rio Olympic Games. For the Final Five in particular, their gold-medal performances have skyrocketed them to celebrity status, and the hometown pride is greater than ever before.

Below, we compiled some of the best moments from their grand welcome home.

Simone Biles


Biles was greeted at the Houston airport with a speech from the mayor that declared August 24 "Simone Biles Day."



The mayor and tons of adoring fans are thrilled to have Simone back home:



Simone's mother, Nellie, also gave a beautiful speech:



Classic Simone cheesin':



Then, there was a parade:




Madison Kocian


Kocian returned home to Dallas, where she was greeted by hundreds of friends, family, and fans waiting at the Dallas-Forth Worth airport:



And a big hug from Dad:



She's talked about craving ice cream in several post-Olympic interviews... The time has come:



Also, Madison just announced she will throw out the first pitch at the Texas Rangers game on September 3:




Danell Leyva


Leyva was surprised in the best way when he returned to the United States: with lots of love!







Laurie Hernandez


She's baaaaaack!



​Hernandez will be officially welcomed home by the community with a giant parade hosted by Old Bridge Township in New Jersey on Saturday, Aug. 27. There will also be a ceremony after the parade at Lombardi Field, where MG Elite will provide inflatables and free cotton candy and popcorn. Basically, it's going to be a blast for everyone involved.


Jake Dalton


Dalton's neighbors made him an awesome sign, and now, he's enjoying some downtime:





Chris Brooks and Jonathan Horton


Brooks and fellow Olympian Sarah Robles were greeted with love at the Houston airport:



Jonathan Horton is excited to "tear up" some food with Brooks and celebrate with all the Olympians in Houston:




Aly Raisman


For now, she's just happy to sleep in her own bed and cuddle with her pup:





Some of the athletes are still making their way back to their hometowns after media appearances and fan meet-ups, but there's no doubt that everyone is incredibly proud of our Olympians.


Related:
Final Five Featured on Jimmy Fallon
The Final Five Meet Usher
Rio at a Glance: Full Olympics Content Overview