(Seychelles News Agency) - Athletes on Team Seychelles at the Indian Ocean Island Games in Mauritius were welcomed home by the President of Seychelles at the international airport of Pointe Larue on Monday.

Team Seychelles won a total of 110 medals -- 28 gold, 32 silver and 50 bronze -- taking fourth place on the medals table.

Faure congratulated Team Seychelles’ athletes and expressed joy for their successes, a press communique from State House said.

“You won medals through hard struggle and displayed true team spirit, excellent sports skills and strength of character when competing away from home. We are truly proud of your achievements. I wish you all new achievements and all the very best,” said Faure.

The head of state of Seychelles, a group of 115 islands in the western Indian Ocean, added that the whole Team Seychelles should be commended for its efforts at the regional games, which concluded on Sunday.

“We applaud the athletes who worked tirelessly to ensure their selection, prepared diligently, and then put everything on the line against the best athletes from the region. Your achievements are a testament to excellence, grit, and determination,” he said. 

Also present to welcome home the first batch of Seychellois athletes was a large group of local supporters.

A large group was present at the airport to welcome home the first batch of athletes. (Thomas Meriton) Photo License: CC-BY

Team Seychelles’ final gold medal was won by the women’s volleyball team which came back from being down 2 games to 0 and won 3-2 against Madagascar to win gold for the third consecutive time.

Swimmer Felicity Passon was the top winner of gold medals. Passon won seven gold, three silver and one bronze medals to become Seychelles’ most decorated athlete in the 40-year history of the Games. Passon who was participating in the world championship in Korea will arrive in Seychelles on Tuesday.

Messages of congratulations and a warm welcome back home also came from the Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly, Wavel Ramkalawan.

“The games are over, the medals have been shared out. It has been a challenging experience for our athletes, but we are proud that they too have collected a fair share of these medals. On behalf of my colleagues and on my personal name, I wish to congratulate the medal bearers and everyone who gave of their best,” said Ramkalawan

The Leader of the Opposition also congratulated Passon for the biggest harvest of gold medals.

“You have demonstrated the real Seychellois spirit of wanting to win and by exhibiting such energy and desire, you have encouraged our youth to follow in your footsteps,” said Ramkalawan.

He added that a closer look at the results made it obvious that with greater preparation and commitment, Seychelles looks poised to do extremely well at the next games, but even better, to stand as a giant in the region and on the African continent.

President Faure has urged all athletes, coaches and sports leaders to start planning early and to train hard for the 11th Games that will take place in the Maldives in 2023.