Tokyo medal-winners welcomed to Old Trafford

Medallists in sports ranging from swimming and rowing to taekwondo and wheelchair rugby enjoyed pre-match hospitality in the Sir Alex Ferguson stand before watching the Reds’ 1-0 win over Crystal Palace from some of the best seats in the house.

All members of Team GB and ParalympicsGB who won medals in Tokyo were invited by the club to attend a game at Old Trafford this season and 16 of them came on Sunday, with others to follow later in the season.

Sunday’s visitors boasted six golds, six silvers and seven bronzes between them and several of them were passionate United fans, including Jamie Stead, who won Paralympic Gold in wheelchair rugby last August.

“Growing up I wanted to be a professional footballer after watching the 1999 [Champions League] final, but with my disability it was never going to be a success story. So I thought what was the closest I could get to that, and it was becoming a professional athlete. That’s when I came across wheelchair rugby and I’ve done it ever since.

“I’ve had some success and hopefully United can do the same this season.”

Bronze medal-winning gymnast Alice Kinsella said it was a rare treat for the athletes to be attending a sports event as spectators without the stress involved when competing.

“We don’t get the chance to come and watch often because we’re so busy with training and competition,” she said. “So coming today, particularly to watch a different sport, honestly it’s an amazing feeling.”

While it was sadly impossible for the athletes to be presented on the pitch due to COVID regulations, they were introduced over the public address system and received a round of applause from a packed Old Trafford shortly before kick-off.

The Olympians and Paralympians were able to relive their memories from Japan over lunch before watching Ralf Rangnick take charge of the Reds for the first time in a game that was illuminated by Fred’s impressive 77th-minute winner. 

Tully Kearney recalled her joy at winning Paralympic Gold and Silver as a swimmer in Tokyo, five years after she suffered heartache before the 2016 Rio games.

“I qualified for the 2016 Rio Paralympics but due to injury and progression in my condition I had to pull out a week before I was due to fly out. So to finally get to a games and compete was absolutely incredible and an experience I will never forget.”

Kearney's fellow swimmer Kathleen Dawson, who proudly wore her Olympics Gold medal at Old Trafford, said: “I’m very proud of myself, looking back on it. It has been a whole life’s journey of work, so to come out of it with a Gold medal, I was just over the moon with myself.”

Everyone at Manchester United extends our congratulations to the Olympians and Paralympians for their outstanding achievements!