IMAGE| Michael Willson

Australian Team Chef de Mission Steve Moneghetti today thanked the people of the Gold Coast and Queensland for hosting a memorable Commonwealth Games.

Australian Athletes including gold medallists Mark Knowles, Bronte Campbell, Dan Repacholi, Madison de Rosario and Gold Coast local Skye Nicolson gathered at Surfers Paradise this morning to thank the local community for their overwhelming support of the Games.

Moneghetti said the support of Gold Coast locals, Queensland and across Australia had helped the entire team achieve incredible results.

“I am incredibly proud of our Australian Team for how they have competed and the success which they have achieved on the Gold Coast,” he said.

“Our total of 198 medals including 80 gold is the best return from an Australian Commonwealth Games team since our last home Games in Melbourne 2006.

“But the medal tally is just one measure of success.

“I have been so thrilled to see how our athletes have embraced competing in front of a home crowd. In every venue, at every session, the support for our team was just amazing.

“Our Australian team totalled 710, but it felt like we had the support of more than 24 million Australian’s on our side.

“That support also came from the enormous group of wonderful volunteers who made these Games possible and who offered a friendly face at every turn,” he said.

Australian Commonwealth Games CEO Craig Phillips said success on the Gold Coast had been a team effort.

“Gold Coast 2018 has been an overwhelming success,” he said.

“Australia has a proud history of hosting successful Commonwealth Games and Gold Coast 2018 will long be remembered as one of the best.

“The support for our Australian Team and the overall success of the event has really shown us that the Games will always have a home in Australia.

“Commonwealth Games Australia is proud to have worked closely with key delivery partners including GOLDOC, Queensland Government, Gold Coast City Council and Australian Government to deliver a great event. Our high performance partners including the AIS, State and Territory Institutes of Sport and Australian Paralympic Committee helped create the successful performance environment for our team that gave them every chance of success.

“We also acknowledge the wonderful support of the Commonwealth Games Australia sponsor family led by The Star, Griffith University, Tafe Queensland, Optus, Atos and Woolworths,” Phillips said.