You couldn’t wipe the smiles from Neil and Joy Dunn’s faces yesterday when their triple world junior cycling champion daughter Megan Dunn arrived home from South Africa yesterday.

Megan, along with her coach Garry Dawson and the Australian team mascot ‘Poomba’, flew in shortly before 11am yesterday to the waiting arms of proud family and friends, all keen to catch up with our newest sporting superstar.

Last week Megan won three gold medals from as many events at the World Junior Cycling Championships, an effort that has propelled her into the upper echelon of Australia’s cycling ranks.

Waiting media followed her every footstep as she departed the Rex flight and rushed inside to see her mum, dad and brother.

All the attention came as a shock to the mild-mannered 16-year-old, who admitted she wasn’t expecting such a fuss to be made.

“I thought something must have happened at the airport and that was what the cameras were for,” Megan said.

“Then they started taking photos of me and filming me, it was all really strange.”

It had been five weeks since the Dunns saw their daughter and Joy and Neil were pleased to have Megan back home.

“She’s been away before but never for five weeks so it is great to see her again,” Mr Dunn said.

“Everyone is just really proud of what she has been able to achieve and we really thank everyone for the support they have given her.”

While she has been on cloud nine for the past week or so, Megan will return to reality very shortly.

She is expected back at school either today or tomorrow, and while she will be happy to see her friends, she isn’t so sure about her teachers.

“They will probably be like ‘well done Megan, now here’s all your homework’,” she joked.

“But I am really looking forward to getting back to school and seeing all of my friends.

“It’s important to have something else outside of my cycling so I will have to put my head down and catch up on all the work.”

ben.walker@ruralpress.com