Golden boy Jack Laugher to have 36 bus named in his honour after Olympic heroics

Ripon's Olympic diving hero Jack Laugher will be honoured for clinching his first gold medal in Rio by having a bus named after him.
Jack Laugher and Chris MearsJack Laugher and Chris Mears
Jack Laugher and Chris Mears

Laugher, alongside partner and best friend Chris Mears, produced a sparkling display in the synchronised 3m springboard to win Great Britain's first Olympic diving gold medal.

Tributes have been pouring in for the 21-year-old, from the Prime Minister to Tom Daley, along with suggestions of how he should be honoured.

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Transdev, whose famous 36 bus runs to Ripon and past the Hydro where Laugher trained as a youngster, have decided to mark his achievement in a unique fashion.

Jack's name will be proudly displayed on a top-of-the-range twin-deck vehicle on their premier inter-urban bus route which links Laugher's home city with Harrogate and Leeds.

The Harrogate Bus Company is part of bus operating group Transdev, whose CEO Alex Hornby said: “We are very proud that Britain’s first Gold medal of the 2016 Rio Olympic Games has been won by Jack Laugher from Ripon.

"It’s entirely fitting that we should play our part in celebrating his momentous achievement.

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“We’d certainly welcome Jack to officially name his bus when he returns to the UK with his Gold Medal to what I’m sure will be a very well deserved hero’s welcome.

“Naming a bus after Jack will help to ensure that his Gold medal victory is remembered and talked about long after the Rio Games have ended.

"As soon as we heard the great news from Rio, we knew it would be the right thing to do, and our top-of- the-range bus on the 36 is the natural choice to carry Jack’s name."