Queensland’s Paralympians collected more gold today – the keys to Brisbane.

The athletes were welcomed by a warm crowd in Queen Street Mall.

Ashley Minchin reports.

TRANSCRIPT

Hundreds of fans gathered in the mall to welcome the athletes home and grab plenty of autographs.

Wearing the 10 gold, 7 silver and 6 bronze medals won in London athletes were proud their hard work paid off.

Brendan Hall, Gold Medallist: “Put a lot of k’s in the pool for the events you do, to know the early mornings were well and truly worth it.”

Premier Newman says the local heroes’ achievements are nothing short of remarkable.

Campbell Newman, Qld Premier: “They do an extraordinary job, they inspire us, with their courage and determination to break through any perceived limitations in their disability and live life to the fullest.”

Then the Lord Mayor presented athletes with Brisbane’s highest award.

Graham Quirk, Lord Mayor:”To present for the 35th time in the history of Brisbane the keys to the city for the 2012 Australian Paralympics Team.”

Despite having performed in front of crowds up to 80,000 at the games, the athletes were humbled by the home crowd.

Matthew Cameron, Wheelchair Sprinter: “Always good to be home and to be home in front of all these people local support, it’s been fantastic.”

Blake Cochrane, Paralympic Swimmer: “Come here today, to be able to give something back to the community and all the people who’ve supported me through my London campaign, it’s really good feeling to give something back.”

As the celebrations come to a close for our sporting heroes, they and the Australian public hope they can improve on their great performance at the 2016 Paralympics in Rio.

Ashley Minchin, QUT News.