FORT WORTH, Texas — Shielded by her own entourage of police officers, freshly crowned gymnastics darling Nastia Liukin wore a bright smile as she weaved her way through a gathering of around 250 people at Dallas/Fort Worth Airport on Thursday afternoon.
The all-around Olympic gold medalist and Parker, Texas, native had just landed from a 12-hour flight from Beijing and immediately heard the effects of her newfound stardom.
"Nastia, will you marry me?" Chris Calloway yelled, holding up a sign echoing those sentiments. Liukin's mother, Anna, took the initiative and answered appropriately: "We'll have to set up an appointment."
Indeed, there will surely be many more suitors.
The amount of young girls in attendance yielding homemade signs, like 7-year-old Plano resident Ann Rene Ciore, would have made Miley Cyrus jealous. Ciore spent two days with her mom making a sign that read "Nastia Our Golden Girl."
Crowd favorites - "Hey, Good Liukin!" and "It should be called Gym-Nastia-ics" opted for a catchier approach, all to the astonishment of the decorated star.
"I was not expecting anything like this," Liukin said. "I thought it was going to be a few girls from the gym and a few coaches, so it's a big surprise. I'm still in shock that my dreams have come true. It's been a long month and I am really happy to be back in Dallas."
A group of World Olympic Gymnastics Academy gymnasts that trains with Liukin was there to show support along with 2004 all-around gold medalist and good friend Carly Patterson of Allen, Texas.
"When I texted her that night she won (all-around) I told her she would be doing interviews for hours but to call me when she can," said Patterson, who is working on a music career now. "We try to do things away from the gym and have girl nights."
Will "girl nights" be possible now?
"Not for a while," Patterson said.
Liukin also won silver medals for individual competitions on the uneven bars and balance beam and as part of the U.S. women's team. The 18-year-old, who also earned a bronze for her floor exercise, isn't sure where she'll keep her medals, which she showed to the crowd.
"I'm going to probably keep them in my purse for now," she said amid laughter.
Her handful of medals tied Mary Lou Retton and Shannon Miller for the best American gymnastics medal haul in a single Games. It also surpassed the 1988 medal count of her coach and father, Valeri Liukin, by one.
"Between the two of us, we have nine Olympic medals, so that's pretty amazing," she said.
Liukin will be honored at a private WOGA celebration on Friday night. A parade in Parker, rescheduled because of rain, is set for 9 a.m. Aug. 30.