WFAA-TV

Nastia Liukin carried a bouquet as she arrived for a news conference at D/FW Airport Thursday.

D/FW AIRPORT — Olympic hero Nastia Liukin returned to North Texas Thursday afternoon to a huge throng of supporters at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport.

She lit up the airport lounge like the Olympic torch itself as cameras flashed and fans and journalists mobbed the young gymnast.

Liukin, a resident of the town of Parker in Collin County, won five medals at the 2008 Beijing games, including gold in the women's all-around gymnastic finals.

"I'd like to thank you guys for being here today and supporting me," she said. "It's been a really long journey and to have you guys all here at the end and a successful one, I couldn't thank you guys enough for all of your support."

"I was not expecting anything like this," Liukin added. "I thought it was just going to be a few girls from the gym and a few coaches."

There were also a few young men in the crowd. "Nastia, you're number one in my heart," said one, holding a cardboard golden trophy.

The airport's fire department welcomed Liukin's jet with an honorary arch of sprayed water before the plane's passengers disembarked.

An exhausted Luikin said she probably slept for 10 hours on the long 12-hour flight across the Pacific. "The last few hours I was just real excited to get back home and see everybody."

Liukin, wearing a navy blue T-shirt with Chinese characters that spelled "Beijing," said she would shortly be preparing for her role in a national gymnastics tour.

"I'm just still in shock that my dreams have finally come true," she said. "I couldn't be more proud to be back home. It's been a long month, and I'm really happy to be back in Dallas."

Liukin proudly displayed her championshp medallions for all to see, saying she would — at least for now — be hanging them up in her bedroom.

How about her Chinese competitors who appeared to be younger than the minimum Olympic age of 16?

"We played fair at these Olympic games," said Nastia's father, Valeri Liukin, himself an Olympic medalist. "If somebody cheated, shame on them."

"We can only control our performances and what we do out there on the floor," Nastia added. "That's really what we're focused on."

Nastia said her grandparents have come to Texas from Russia to share in her joy, but she has just a few days to savor the victory before her upcoming tour.

A Texas-sized homecoming is planned for Liukin Saturday, Aug. 30. at 9 a.m. in Parker.

A parade that had been set for this Saturday was postponed by Texas-sized rains. Nine inches of rain on Wednesday turned a 10-acre lot at Victory Church into mush and would make it hard for all the corvettes, floats, antique cars and horses expected to be at the parade to navigate, Mayor Joe Cordina said.

WFAA-TV reporter Jim Douglas and WFAA.com mobile journalist Aaron Chimbel at D/FW Airport and the Associated Press contributed to this report.