GREAT NECK, N.Y. ? Sarah Hughes was honored in her hometown Sunday, with about 60,000 people lining the main street in a parade for the 16-year-old Olympic figure skating champion.
Hughes rode through the prosperous Long Island suburb in a black convertible with her parents and coach.
It was difficult to find a store that didn't have Hughes' name or photograph in its window.
"To have a little place in your window is to have a little place in your heart," Hughes told the crowd that packed her high school lawn after the parade.
Among the well-wishers were U.S. Sens. Charles Schumer and Hillary Rodham Clinton, Rep. Gary Ackerman and mayors from nearby towns.
"This is the best thing that's happened in this town in 50 years," said Maxine Gervey, who joined the crowd that lined a street 10 deep. "It creates the most wonderful community spirit."
The high school junior shocked the sports world Feb. 21 when she turned a fourth-place finish in the Olympic short program into a gold medal in the finals.
A banner in front of Great Neck North High School read, "Welcome home our golden girl." Fans waited for hours in the chill to hear Hughes speak.
"For years Sarah was our little secret long before she was on magazine covers," said Jeff Fein, the junior class president at the high school. "She was a 13-year-old with goals and discipline."
The high school marching band paraded though town. One supporter held a sign that said, "Sarah's the best. No need for a test."
"This is exhilarating," said Dr. Ralph Sasto, a local physician. "I should have practiced my skating more. Maybe I could have become a Sarah Hughes."
Robin Wagner, Hughes' coach, said the Olympics were "like the wedding, and this is the honeymoon."
"I have always taught Sarah to accept, not deny, the pressure," Wagner said.
Hughes said of her coach, "She possesses what all great teachers have: passion." Fred Ondris, director of the Parkwood Sports Complex, shared memories of Hughes as a little girl.
"She was like all my other skaters: She fell, and she got up," he said. "But I've had the extraordinary chance to watch a little girl in a snowsuit grow up to be a champion."
Amid the joy, the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11 were on the minds of many. "I know that the Olympics helped a lot of people think of something else than the terrible thing we've endured for the past six months," Clinton said.
Hughes noted that two alumni of her high school died in the attacks.
"I know many volunteers from ground zero watched me skate," she said. "And some of them said it was the first time they smiled since Sept. 11."
Lisa Friedman, representing Fleet Bank, donated $2,500 to local fire departments in memory of her husband, Andrew Friedman, who died at the World Trade Center.
Friedman turned to Hughes and said, "You gave us what we needed when we needed it."