Home sweet homecoming for silver medalist Kelsey Serwa

KELOWNA – When Olympic silver medalist Kelsey Serwa’s plane touched down in her home town of Kelowna Thursday afternoon, hundreds of fans dressed in red and white were there to welcome her back. 

Chants of "Go Kelsey go," and "we love you Kelsey" filled the airport lounge and brought tears to the Olympians' eyes.

"This medal isn't just mine,” she said. “It belongs to all of you.”

Among those welcoming the two time X-Games champion were her grandparents, teachers, students and acting Mayor Gail Given who called Serwa an inspiration to young people across the Okanagan.

“On behalf of myself, my council colleagues and the entire city of Kelowna, we are so excited to welcome you home, safe and sound,” Given said.

Serwa’s grandparents, Ray Parton and Glenda Serwa, who live in Kelowna, say they couldn’t be prouder of their granddaughter and what she has accomplished.

“It was absolutely astounding,” Glenda said. “It couldn’t have been better.”

When Serwa finally took to the podium to address the crowd, the emotion she felt was visible.

“This warms my heart so much and I’m so glad to be able to share this experience with you,” Serwa said, fighting back tears. “The support you guys have shown me is what gave me the strength to come back from my injuries.”

Serwa underwent surgery on a torn ACL just 11 months before the start of the Olympics. Despite the recent injury however, she managed to capture the silver medal in the Ladies Ski Cross on Feb. 21, only a fraction of a second behind Canadian teammate Marielle Thompson.

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To contact the reporter for this story, email Adam Proskiw at aproskiw@infotelnews.ca, call (250) 718-0428.