FLORENCE HALL, Trelawny – A capacity crowd packed the Trelawny multi-purpose stadium here on Sunday, as the three-day celebrations to honour the outstanding performance of Jamaica’s athletes at the 12th IAAF World Championships in Berlin, Germany, culminated with a family fun day and concert.

Several hours before the scheduled 2:00 pm start of the day’s activities, scores of persons – many decked out in the national colours – began streaming into the large stadium.

In brilliant sunlight, the children in particular, participated in the raft of fun-filled activities on the grounds.

When Prime Minister Bruce Golding led the athletes – including the world’s fastest man, Usain Bolt, female sprinters Shelly-Ann Fraser, Veronica Campbell-Brown, Brigitte Foster-Hylton and Asafa Powell – unto the field to view the exhibits and stalls shortly after 5:00 pm, they were bombarded by hundreds of exuberant fans.

Quick action by the police, who formed a human shield around the prime minister and the athletes as they made their way across the grounds, prevented what could have led to the injury of the athletes.

Later on though, the athletes mingled with sections of the massive crowd, signed autographs and took photographs with fans.

The day’s activities ended with a stage show featuring Tarrus Riley, Laden, Khago, Digicel Rising Stars 2009 winner Brown Sugar, Etana, Lloyd Lovindeer, Romaine Virgo, and Byron Lee’s Dragonaires.

The celebrations, which were more scaled back than the activities following Jamaica’s performance in the Beijing Olympics last year, started last Friday with a Golden Reception on the lawns of Jamaica House. On Saturday, a church service was held at the Portmore Seventh-Day Adventist Church in St Catherine in their honour.

Minster of Sports and Culture Olivia ‘Babsy’ Grange told reporters that the celebrations were a tremendous success.

“I am very pleased. Everything went well,” a beaming Grange told reporters on Sunday night.

“This weekend has been tremendous. The celebrations this time around was organised in a more interactive way,” she added, pointing out that “it was all about the athletes interacting with the people”.

According to Grange, the reception at Jamaica House last Friday was well supported.

“The people turned out and they were able to meet and greet the athletes,” she said, noting that the church service, too, was well attended.

Meanwhile, Campbell-Brown – who won the silver medal in the women’s 200-metre race at the Berlin games – said that the athletes enjoyed the celebrations and are appreciative of the outpouring of love and attention they have been given.

“It is absolute incredible. It is lovely that we get to celebrate with the people who have been supporting us. Jamaicans love track and field and it is good that we can celebrate with all the people who are supporting us,” she added.

The Jamaican team to the World Championships finished second in the medal standings, copping 13 medals – seven gold, four silver and two bronze.

The celebrations were sponsored by the private sector and staged at a cost of $19 million.