Returning Olympians met by cheering crowd at Montreal's Trudeau airport

Tired Olympians touched down at Montreal's Trudeau airport Monday night to find a crowd of friends, family and fans welcoming them home.

As each athlete walked through the sliding glass doors at the arrivals gate, cheers rose up and well-wishers waved handmade signs.

Snowboarder Sébastien Toutant, who lives in Montreal and took gold in the big air event, said that coming home to such fanfare, medal in tow, "means the world."

Quebec City's Alex Beaulieu-Marchand, who won bronze in men's ski slopestyle, was overwhelmed with emotion at the scene.

"To see all the excited people, to see the reaction, that's incredible," he said.

The flight carrying more than two dozen Olympians back home from the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea, was scheduled to land just after 7 p.m. but was delayed by an hour.

Short-track speed skater Kim Boutin of Sherbrooke, who led the Canadian delegation into the closing ceremony on Sunday night, said she was most looking forward to sleeping in her own bed.

"I need rest, a bit," Boutin said.

She brings back two bronze medals and one silver medal from her Olympic debut.

Her mother, Lucie Bilodeau, was waiting at the airport hours before the plane landed, holding a cardboard cutout of her daughter. 

She arrived with a bus full of fans from Sherbrooke to welcome her.

Eric Radford and Meagan Duhamel are also looking forward to some rest after bringing back gold from the team figure skating event and bronze in the pairs event.

"We're extremely happy to be back," Radford said.

"We've been ready to come home and sleep in our own beds for quite a while," Duhamel added.