A parade of Olympians returning from this year’s Beijing Winter Olympics, former Olympians and other athletes made its way from Brewster Park to the Olympic Speedskating Oval as spectators along Main Street cheered them on.

Former figure skater and Olympic silver medalist Paul Wylie was seen riding shotgun in a Lake Placid Volunteer Fire Department truck; former Olympians and locals Billy Demong and Jay Rand were perched side by side on a parade float filled with their Olympic peers; and Beijing Olympians like lugers Jonny Gustafson, Summer Britcher, Emily Sweeney, Tucker West, Zach De Gregorio and Sean Hollander, and bobsledders Sylvia Hoffman and Kaysha Love were seen throwing balloons and other goodies to kids along the parade route.

Lake Placid’s police and emergency services led the group, followed by the Lake Placid Middle High School band, Olympic hopefuls from the New York Youth Ski Educational Foundation, young CAN/AM hockey players and other organizations.

The state Olympic Regional Development Authority, in partnership with the Regional Office of Sustainable Tourism and the Adirondack Sports Council, hosted the “Lake Placid Athlete Parade and Welcome Home Olympians” celebration, which culminated in a series of speeches from athletes and local officials at the speedskating oval.

Sylvia Hoffman, who earned a bronze medal in bobsled in the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics, holds an Olympic torch during the Lake Placid Athlete Parade and Welcome Home Olympians celebration at the Olympic Speedskating Oval. (Enterprise photo — Lauren Yates)

With Wylie as host, a lineup of Olympians took the stage at the oval.

Local officials and Olympians touted the recent improvements made to ORDA-managed Olympic facilities. ORDA CEO Mike Pratt recognized the oval as the site of the first tiered Olympic podium, where Jack Shea took the stand in Lake Placid’s 1932 Winter Olympics. He said the newly-remodeled venues would offer the training and resources needed to welcome more Olympians to the area.

Thursday’s celebration also kicked off this weekend’s athletic competitions in Lake Placid, which include the FIS Continental Cup in women’s ski jumping; the FIS Nordic combined 10K and 15K; the U.S. Biathlon National Championships; and the Division III National Hockey Championships. Wylie, Demong and U.S. Biathlon CEO Max Cobb declared those events “open,” similarly to how the Olympic games are declared open during the opening ceremony.

Demong, who’s in the process of ending his tenure as executive director of USA Nordic Sport, said it was fantastic to celebrate the end of his career in his hometown, standing in the middle of some of the updated Olympic venues. Demong recognized Lake Placid for hosting the FIS Continental Cup in women’s ski jumping, the first to ever be held in Lake Placid and one of the first since the sport’s inclusion as an Olympic sport in 2014.

“It’s that kind of leadership that our country needs now, as much as ever,” Demong said. “And I know Lake Placid is here to put a steady hand on the tiller for all of Olympic winter sport and drive us into the future.”

Billy Demong, a Vermontville native and Olympic medalist in Nordic combined, addresses a crowd at the Olympic Speedskating Oval in March 2022. (Enterprise photo — Lauren Yates)

Lake Placid Mayor Art Devlin also spoke, commending Team USA on persevering in competition through the pandemic. Devlin said that someone from Lake Placid has represented the village in Olympic games for nearly 100 years.

Ashley Walden, CEO of Adirondack Sports Council and COO of the 2023 FISU World University Games, alongside the 2023 Games mascot, Adirondack Mac, performed an interactive skit in which Mac and Walden identified the 12 different sports in the university games, including curling, skiing, hockey, ski jumping, figureskating and Nordic combined.

Andrew Weibrecht, a Lake Placid native and 2010 Olympian, spoke about the “Olympic fabric” of Lake Placid, which he said carries to international events. He said that when Lake Placid athletes travel for sport, they often name the village as their home country rather than the U.S. The culture of sport is so embedded here, he said, it’s easy to forget there’s a broader sports world outside of Lake Placid.

“We are all from Lake Placid, and we live and breathe the culture that we grew up in here,” he said.

The event was topped off with a speech from Sylvia Hoffman, an Olympic bobsled pilot who just earned a bronze medal in Beijing. Hoffman, a Philadelphia native, encouraged athletes to keep working for their goals no matter what — that’s what she did after she was diagnosed with scoliosis in junior high school. Her doctors said she might not be successful in sports because of it, but the medal around her neck said otherwise.

Kids fly the U.S. flag on Thursday as they parades down Main Street in support of the country's Olympians. (Enterprise photo — Lauren Yates)

“There’s always going to be that one person who says, ‘Hey, you can do it,’ and that’s what’s going to carry you to the next rep,” she said.

Support means everything, she said, and the Lake Placid community has shown her just that as she’s trained here throughout the years.

Hoffman ended the ceremony by lighting the Olympic torch, which was met with applause and an explosion of sparklers on stage.

The athlete parade arrives at the Olympic Speedskating Oval. (Enterprise photo — Lauren Yates)

A group of people wave and cheer on Olympians during the parade down Main Street on Thursday. (Enterprise photo — Lauren Yates)

Bengt Walden, a former Olympic luger, walks on the Olympic Speedskating Oval with his son during the Lake Placid Athlete Parade and Welcome Home Olympians celebration on Thursday. (Enterprise photo — Lauren Yates)

Olympians (from left) Stephen Schumann, Anna Hoffman, Jasper Good, Sylvia Hoffman, Kaysha Love, Hakeem Abdul-Saboor, Zach Di Gregorio, Emily Sweeney, Summer Britcher, Sean Hollander, Tucker West and Jonny Gustafson pose during the Lake Placid Athlete Parade and Welcome Home Olympians celebration at the Olympic Speedskating Oval on Thursday. (Enterprise photo — Lauren Yates)

Olympian and former North Elba town Supervisor Jay Rand, left, and Olympian Matt Roy walk down the speedskating oval after the parade on Thursday. (Enterprise photo — Lauren Yates)

This group is all smiles during the parade on Thursday as they cheer on Team USA. (Enterprise photo — Lauren Yates)

Lake Placid resident and Olympian Andrew Weibrecht speaks to a crowd at the Olympic Speedskating Oval on Thursday. Weibrecht spoke about the “Olympic fabric” of Lake Placid, which he said carries to international events. “We are all from Lake Placid, and we live and breathe the culture that we grew up in here,” he said. (Enterprise photo — Lauren Yates)