Tokyo Paralympics: Former Telethon kid Ben Popham receives hero’s welcome in Joondalup

It may have taken a whole month, but the realisation he is a dual Paralympic gold medallist has finally sunk in for swimmer Ben Popham.

The northern suburbs product received a rock star reception at Joondalup Resort on Friday as he was welcomed back home following his Paralympic exploits.

Friends, family and flocks of Arena Swim Club members packed out the conference centre, decked out in green and gold, as the former Telethon kid with the Colgate smile celebrated his return to Perth.

Popham told The West Australian the enormity of winning two gold medals only hit him upon his return from Tokyo, and he was already relishing the chance to compete at the Paris 2024 games.

“It was hard to really acknowledge the achievement when the whole swim squad and Paralympic team were doing so well. It was just another medal, because so many people were performing at such high levels,” he said.

“It was good to be a part of and perform for that team but it wasn’t really obvious how special it was until I started seeing people back home.

“I’ve been thinking about this for a long time, probably since I started competitive swimming. It makes it more special knowing how hard we had to work get there and how many things had to go right.

Popham had entered the Paralympics as a hot prospect and far from cool off once he entered the pool, proved his mettle to win gold in two of his three events.

He won gold in his pet event, the 100m Freestyle S8 final, in a time of 57.37 seconds off the back of a blistering final 50m, his emotions spilling over in the immediate aftermath as he burst into tears.

While Popham said he remembered the race well, his recollection of his second gold - a stirring anchor leg swim to steer Australia to victory in the 4x100m freestyle relay 34 points — was hazier.

Despite fast-finishing Italian S10 swimmer Stefano Raimondi threatening to steal the win, Popham held his competitor off to help the green and gold to a world record time of 3:44.31.

“The relay was more of a blur. I didn’t really want to think about getting gunned down near the end,” he said.

“At the wall when I turned for the 50, I thought I’d let him come too close. When I was turning, I had a quick peek and just closed my eyes for the last 20, head down and try to hit the wall quick.”

During the games, the federal government announced equal funding for Paralympic medallists to ensure they received the same cash bonuses as Olympic counterparts for the first time ever — a moment Popham described as “incredible”.

“We work just as hard as the able-bodied guys and sometimes we have to climb even more obstacles, so to get the equal funding is huge,” he said.

“I know plenty of people in the team, the older guys, who have been pushing for this for ages, so to see their faces when it crossed the news was priceless.”

Lord Mayor Basil Zempilas and nine-time Paralympic gold medallist Priya Cooper were among the dignitaries to lavish Popham with praise at his welcome home party.

Swimming legend Dawn Fraser sent a video message with her congratulations, while Popham’s coach Simon Redmond spoke about his immense pride in his young charge.