Calgary Olympic and Paralympic athletes honoured with mayoral proclamation

Calgary's Olympic and Paralympic athletes received a special recognition Monday as Mayor Naheed Nenshi issued a proclamation in their honour.

"On behalf of city council, I hereby proclaim Monday, Oct. 3, 2016 as Olympian and Paralympian Salute Day," the mayor said in council chambers,with numerous athletesin the public gallery.

• Calgarian Akeem Haynes basks in a bronze glow after Rio 2016
• Wrestler Erica Wiebe wins Canada's 4th gold medal at Rio Olympics

The mayor called the Canadian Olympic team's22 medals and Paralympic team's29 medals at the Summer Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil,"a remarkable accomplishment" that won't be forgotten.

"Your performances in Rio made us all proud to be Canadians and provided us with exciting memories that will stay with us forever," Nenshi said.

"We are, of course, in this city extremely proud of our own Olympic legacy. We are even more proud of the role that our city plays in Canada's Olympic movement as a centre of sport in this country."

Nenshi shares one of his most memorable moments from the 2016 Rio Olympic Games

8 years ago

Duration 0:52

Calgary's Olympic and Paralympic athletes received a special recognition Monday as Mayor Naheed Nenshi issued a proclamation in their honour.

Stefan Daniel, who won a silver medal in the debut of Paralympic triathlon, described the recognition at city hall as "fantastic" and saidhe's been overwhelmed by the response, in general,since returning home to Calgary.

"I expected maybe some congratulatory messages but all the events, everything the whole city has done for me, it's been awesome and it's been an honour to be a part of it," he said.

"Obviously there's a lot of Calgary-based athletes that have gone to Rio and, just to all come here and celebrate it together, it's pretty special."

Akeem Haynes, who won a bronze medal in the men's 4x100-metre relay, expressed a similar sentiment.

"It's been a lot of love from everybody and I wasn't really expecting it too much," he said.

"It's just good to see, because Calgary is where I call home now so it really means a lot."

Erica Wiebe, who won Olympic gold in women's wrestling, said Calgary has been an amazing place to live and train.

"I've just been trying to soak up every opportunity and really share this medal with the community and the supporters that have lifted me up," she said.

During the ceremony, the mayoralso recognizedMike Sametz, who wonbronze in Paralympiccycling time trials andAlister McQueen, who won silver in Paralympicjavelin.

"What a summer," Nenshi said. "Our Olympians and Paralympians gave Calgarians so many reasons to be so incredibly proud."

• Stefan Daniel to lead Canadian para-triathlon team in Rio
• Calgarian Alister McQueen takes silver in Paralympic javelin
• Michael Sametzearnsbronze in men's time trial C3