A hero's welcome: Canadian Olympians return home after record-setting Summer Games

The arrival terminals at airports in Toronto and Montreal were filled with cheers on Monday as fans and family gathered to give a hero's welcome to Canadian Olympians returning home from the Paris Games with a record-breaking medal haul.

The Summer Games saw Team Canada bring home an unprecedented number of medals — nine gold and 27 in total. Both were records for Canada at a non-boycotted Summer Olympics, surpassing previous highs set in Tokyo three years ago and 1992 in Barcelona.

At Toronto's Pearson International Airport, about 15 Team Canada athletes were greeted by flag-waving airport staff on the tarmac and elated fans and family at the arrivals gate after the Olympians touched down just before 4 p.m.

Among the arrivals was Toronto swimmer Summer McIntosh, the 17-year-old who became a household name after winning four medals, including three gold. McIntosh returned to Paris to carry the Canadian flag in the closing ceremony on Sunday alongside gold-winning hammer thrower Ethan Katzberg of Nanaimo, B.C., an experience she called "honestly amazing."

"I can't say thank you enough [to the fans] for all their support. It means the absolute world," said McIntosh. "We wouldn't be here without them today. Even when we were over in Paris, we could feel their support."

WATCH l Canada welcomes home its Paris Olympians:

Also among the returning athletes in Toronto was silver medallist rower Jessica Sevick, of Strathmore, Alta., who was all smiles alongside teammate Kristen Siermachesky, of New Liskeard, Ont. Sevick had lost her voice amid the ongoing celebrations, Siermachesky said, but it didn't stop them from embracing the moment.

"Hard years of hard work, and I think just being able to release that with your teammates