Olympic rowing hero Matt Langridge was welcomed home to Northwich by thousands of well-wishers as he toured the town on his victory parade on Saturday (October 1).
Gold medal-winning Matt hailed the ‘amazing’ day, which saw him tour the streets of his hometown on an open-top bus led by a Samba band, and revealed on social media how ‘proud’ he was to be from there.
The former Hartford High School pupil became the first person to be awarded the Freedom of Northwich, thanks to his stunning display in the men’s coxed eight in Rio in August.
Between 3,000 and 4,000 people are thought to have braved the rain to greet the town’s most successful Olympian – who already bagged silver and bronze medals at the Beijing and London games – according to Cllr Sam Naylor.
“It was an unbelievable day,” said Cllr Naylor, who organised the event with Northwich Town Council.
“The turnout was tremendous and I think Matt was over the moon with it all.
“The bottom line is that he deserves the Freedom of Northwich.”
Mayor of Northwich Kevin Rimmer presented the framed scroll to 33-year-old Matt at a civic reception held at Memorial Court.
Leader of Cheshire West and Chester Council Samantha Dixon, Weaver Vale MP Graham Evans and the Lord-Lieutenant of Cheshire David Briggs all turned out to celebrate the homecoming.
Matt learnt his sport at Northwich Rowing Club, which tweeted following the event: “Today was a day when the next generation saw that with hard work, dreams can become reality... even when you come from Northwich!”
