Olympians return home Tuesday

Cook Islanders wishing to celebrate the achievements of some of their London Olympians will have the chance to do so when the team arrives on Rarotonga on Tuesday afternoon.

The group returns on flight NZ46 at 4.15pm and will be welcomed back to the island with a formal turou ceremony as well as a prayer from Reverend Papa Aratangi.

Further ceremonies will take place throughout the week, including a welcoming ceremony from the Ui Ariki and a church service at the Apostolic Church in Tupapa.

Secretary-general for the Cook Islands Sports and National Olympic Committee (CISNOC) Rosie Blake will accompany the four athletes, who performed with pride on the global stage.

Flagbearer and sailor Helema Williams, weightlifter Luisa Peters as well as sprinters Patricia Taea and Patrick Tuara will head to their homes after the welcoming ceremony, where sleeping in their own beds will no doubt be high in their priority list.

Joining Blake and the three athletes on flight NZ46 will be John Teiti, Sam Pera, Unakea Kauvai, Siniva Marsters, Anne Tierney and Romani Katoa.

Peters lifted a combined personal best of 182 kilograms at the showcase to ensure she avoided finishing at the bottom of the ladder.

Tuara ran a time of 11.72 in the men’s 100 metres sprint preliminaries, just 0.01 seconds slower than a personal best he set at a meet in Cairns in June.

Taea also narrowly missed a personal best when she posted a season’s best time of 12.47 seconds in her preliminary heat of the 100 metres.

Her time was 0.04 seconds slower than her personal best set at the 2011 IAAF World Championships in Daegu, South Korea last year.

Members of the public are encouraged to come down, bring a head ei and show your support for the athletes that represented the country at the Olympics.