It may seem calm now, but London's Heathrow Airport is bracing for one of its busiest days on record.<br/> <br />Around 15,000 Olympic athletes will say good-bye to their London hosts as they prepare for their journey home.<br/> <br />U.S. gold medal rower Esther Lofgren says she will cherish memories from the 2012 Games - a sentiment echoed by many of the athletes.<br/> <br />U.S. OLYMPIC ROWER, GOLD MEDALLIST, ESTHER LOFGREN, ROWER, SAYING:<br/> <br />"Besides getting this (LIFTS MEDAL) which was the best race of my life, which is going to be a great memory - getting to see the other athletes compete was just amazing."<br/> <br />In an effort to make the athletes more comfortable, Heathrow set up a special terminal designed after an English park.<br/> <br />(SOUNDBITE) (English) SWEDISH OLYMPIC ATHLETE, SAILING TEAM, LISA ERICSON, SAYING:<br/> <br />"This terminal is cool. I've never seen anything like it. I was so shocked when we came in - there was grass and it looked like an English garden. It was fun."<br/> <br />Authorities expect the airport will handle about 116,000 departures throughout the day.<br/> <br />The 2012 London Games came to an end on Sunday, with staff now hard at work cleaning up the grounds at the Olympic Park.
