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Rowsell, Ennis among British Olympic stars honoured by the Queen

British Olympic heroes were conferred the most prestigious honours in their country as the Queen of England invited them to Buckingham Palace, awarding them with the English equivalent of the Republic Day National Awards in India.

Zeenews Sports Bureau
London: British Olympic heroes were conferred the most prestigious honours in their country as the Queen of England invited them to Buckingham Palace, awarding them with the English equivalent of the Republic Day National Awards in India. Heptathlete and Sheffield`s `Golden Girl` Jessica Ennis received a CBE (Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire), sprint cyclist Jason Kenny got an OBE (Officer of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire), while MBEs (Member of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire) were conferred to long jumper Greg Rutherford, flyweight boxer Nicola Adams, and cycling team pursuit gold winner Joanna Rowsell. When asked if she was nervous when meeting the Queen, cyclist Joanna Rowsell said it was nothing compared to the nervousness in the Olympic Games: "After the Olympics I don`t think I`ll ever be nervous for anything again. I don`t think you can ever have that level of pressure and expectation so I honestly wasn`t nervous." After receiving the award, she paid tribute to her parents, saying: "They have supported me ever since I started cycling and back then no one really thought I`d get very far. They have supported me and taken me through the tough times." Joanna was one of the medal winners at Britain`s amazing summer at their home Olympics. The cyclist won gold for the team pursuit event alongside King and Trott. The team also set a new world record in the final to get to the top of the podium. Image courtesy www.joannarowsell.com