The pair, both from Waimate, were welcomed by hundreds of cheering fans as they were led into the Waimate Event Centre by a group of school children alongside Waimate Mayor Craig Rowley.
Rooney, who won silver in the women’s trap shooting event and Kennett, who finished fourth in the men’s team pursuit and eighth in the six-event omnium, were visibly moved by the ovation they received.
Rooney said competing in Rio was something she would never forget.
"The Olympics were an amazing experience and I got to be part of a very large and talented New Zealand team. When you’re not competing you’re surrounded by all of these amazing athletes that are all there to achieve the same dream.
"I knew I was going into the Olympics with a very good chance of winning a medal ... I managed to cope with the pressure and the atmosphere better than most on the day and ended up with a silver medal. I’m extremely proud and happy to bring this medal home to South Canterbury."
She said she hoped she had inspired young people around the province to take up shooting, a sport she started as a 13-year-old.
However, Rooney admitted she had found her new fame overwhelming.
"There’s been a lot over the last couple of weeks to deal with. I’ve been going to a lot of schools when they’ve invited me along, so it’s been busy and hectic, and actually quite exhausting as well because I’m not used to the attention.
"It’s quite hard because I’m not an attention-seeking kind of person to be honest."
She will travel to Italy at the end of the month to compete in a world cup event, limited to the world’s 12 top-ranked shooters.Rooney is ranked second.
Kennett said competing at Olympic level was a career highlight, but he was disappointed with his performance.
He said his sprint team had learnt from the mistakes they made in Rio, and was confident the team could "get it together for Tokyo", where the next Olympics will be staged in 2020.
"For me it was disappointing at the Olympics performance-wise."
Mr Rowley read a message to Rooney and Kennett from Prime Minister John Key and a video message from Minister of Sport Jonathan Coleman was played.
- Daniel Birchfield
