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Sir Steve Redgrave gets 'best homecoming' he's ever had

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Sir Steve Redgrave arrived back in the UK to the "best homecoming" he's ever had. The retired rower, who was covering the Rio Olympics for the BBC, was met by fans and well-wishers at Heathrow airport on Tuesday morning.

"This is the best homecoming I've had of all the Games," Sir Steve told ITV. "I've been to 13."

"Sydney was pretty special but the crowds here and the way it's been done... very special," he said.

steve redgrave1© Photo: Getty Images

"This is the best homecoming I've had of all the Games," said Sir Steve

When asked whether he thought Team GB could win even more medals at Tokyo in four years' time, Sir Steve said: "Possibly. It'll be really amazing if we do that because it will be almost a completely different team from London, where you can say about half of this team is new, so that would be very impressive. But I think we can do it."

Team GB managed to bring home a total of 67 medals in Brazil, including 27 golds, placing them second only to Team USA and above China. Rio is their most successful away Games ever.

rex© Photo: Rex

Team GB touched down in the UK on Tuesday

Sir Steve, who has five gold medals under his belt, provided the BBC coverage for rowing alongside John Inverdale.

The retired sportsman made headlines when he temporarily abandoned his presenting duties during a live broadcast last week. Sir Steve left upset, after apparently being told through his earpiece that the BBC would only be showing half of Helen Glover and Heather Stanning's semi-final race, in a bid to save air time.

steve redgrave3© Photo: Getty Images

Sir Steve with Prince William and Kate at London 2012

The Telegraph reports that Sir Steve left his co-presenter John to man the fort for two hours on his own. This led to speculation that he would be axed from future BBC Olympics presenting duties.

However a spokesperson told MailOnline: "There is absolutely no issue between the BBC and Sir Steve Redgrave and Steve will be part of our team for our concluding Olympics review programme on Sunday."

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