WINCHESTER — An enthusiastic crowd of several thousand people turned out Monday evening to officially welcome home Olympic Silver Medal gymnast Alicia Sacramone.

Sacramone, who trains regularly at Brestyan's Gym on Ray Avenue in Burlington, was sporting a brand new tattoo of the Olympic logo on the back of her neck. She said, "I am overwhelmed. I really wasn't expecting this. It is really nice."

The 20-year-old Brown University student was honored with a parade through the center of town in a red convertible driven by Alan Eyden and a ceremony on the jam-packed Winchester Common.

"It was so sweet, and so nice to be honored by your home town. But it was kind of weird to stand up there and look out and see my first grade teacher and my seventh grade teacher. I just thought to myself, 'Oh, my God!' This was definitely unexpected," Sacramone said in an interview after the ceremony.

Throughout the parade route people were standing ten-deep hoping to get a glimpse of Sacramone.

The crowd overwhelmed the sound system on the common, but few seemed to mind that it was difficult if not impossible to hear what was said.

In addition to her parents, Gail and Fred, Sacramone's brother Jonathan, grandmothers Delores and Mary Ann and grandfather Frederick joined her on the stage.

Master of ceremonies John Sullivan praised organizer Dot Butler for pulling the event together, calling her Winchester's "gold medal volunteer." There were local school and municipal officials on hand to give out citations, and Postmaster Bill Dunn unveiled a special Olympic stamp and presented a framed copy of it to Sacramone.

Also on hand were Sacramone's coaches Miha and Silvia Brestyan of Burlington.

Jonathan Sacramone, 25, brimmed with pride as he spoke of his affection for his younger sister. He said this is the little girl he watched grow up and that he was amazed at her dedication and hard work. He closed his comments with, "I love you."

After gracefully escaping the crush of fans at the common, Sacramone's car delivered her back to Jenks Center parking lot where in short order she was surrounded by a horde of mostly youngsters, and mostly girls. She signed every autograph and posed for every photo request and was literally the last person, along with her family, to leave the empty parking.

Heisman Trophy winner from Winchester, Joe Bellino, who had just left a New England Sports Museum event, arrived at the Jenks lot as the throng of youngsters began to thin out. He shook hands with her and in his normal understated way told her he was also from Winchester and had made a name for himself in sports and wanted to congratulate her.

Standing away from the crowd, Gail Sacramone watched her daughter and commented on the evening. "It is incredible. I am so proud of the town. We were speechless, and kind of crying. (Alicia) was overwhelmed."

Regarding the family's trip to Beijing, Gail said, "It was a very long trip, but it makes you realize how fortunate we are to live in this country. That's for sure."

Fred Sacramone said the trip was "very emotional."

"You live and die with each performance," he said. Her father said that while winning a silver medal was great, the results were not what his daughter had hoped they would be.

"It was tough," her father said. "It was very tough on her. She didn't get what she wanted, but I am more proud of her now than ever. I am so proud and pleased with the way she handled herself through it all. When they are growing up we tried to let them do it on their own a little bit each time. Then the time comes when they must do it themselves. We're so proud of her."

Sacramone said she's going to take some time off before going back to Brown in January. "I'm taking a vacation, some place warm," she smiled.