by BARRY ALLEYNE
RYAN! Ryan! Ryan! Ryan! Ryan!!
The cheers were deafening. The support brought on goose bumps.
The Broken Trident stood steadfast yesterday, as Barbados turned a shy 21-year-old country boy from Hillaby, St Andrew, into a national sporting icon with a welcome-home party for the ages.
He is this country's first and only world champion of track and field.
And yesterday, Ryan McDonald Brathwaite was showered with adulation, love, kisses, a red carpet, and even tears of joy, as the top hurdler returned to his island, his metamorphosis from child prodigy to professional athlete complete.
A special committee had been working 24/7 since the quiet boy from Hillaby shocked the world in Berlin, Germany, on August 20, winning the 110-metre hurdles of the Track and Field World Championships.
It all bore fruit yesterday.
Bajans engulfed Grantley Adams International Airport to see their hometown hero arrive, then lined the streets to put up their blue, yellow and black, and finally paid special tribute to the sprinter during a never-before-seen welcome home party at Kensington Oval.
During a special address at the Oval, Prime Minister David Thompson hailed Brathwaite as this country's new shining light, then presented him with a special gift.
"2012, here comes Ryan Brathwaite. You will want for nothing on your journey to the 2012 Olympics in England," the PM said, as he promised Brathwaite the Government would provide anything he needed to help him physically or spiritually in his preparation for 2012.
He also dubbed him an official ambassador for Barbados - "His Excellency Ryan Brathwaite" the Prime Minister called him.
Brathwaite also received numerous gifts from corporate Barbados, headlined by 12 000 square feet of land in Farmers, St Thomas, from C.O. Williams and Company, shares in Williams Industries and a 2010 Nissan X-Trail jeep, courtesy of Courtesy Garage.
Yesterday's celebration, including the showering of praise and the many gifts, at times seemed to leave the unassuming 21-year-old in awe and partially speechless.
Still, he was able to address his subjects: "To be the world champion is a dream come true. But I am even more proud now to be a Bajan," he said to deafening applause as the final speaker at the Oval.
The world champion had touched down at 1:03 p.m. after his eight-hour trans-Atlantic flight.
Moments after being greeted by a welcoming party on the tarmac, which included his parents and Acting Minister of Sport Senator Irene Sandiford-Garner, and admitting he was suffering from a migraine headache, Brathwaite got an idea of the size of his welcome-home celebration.
"I'm delighted to be the gold medal winner. I'm very happy about it," he said as tears streamed down his proud dad Eugene's face.
In a short ceremony in the Grace Adams Suite, president of the Amateur Athletic Association Esther Maynard said this day had been prophesied five years ago.
"You have done us proud. We hope you will be an inspiration to others, to see that it is possible with talent and dedication, you can reach the pinnacle of world sport," she said.
First vice-president of the Barbados Olympic Association, Ralph Johnson, was moved to tears, as he pleaded with corporate Barbados and Government to finance programmes and provide resources which would produce more Ryan Brathwaites.
Sandiford-Garner, who also hails from St Andrew, commended the young sprinter on his meteoric rise in his pet event.
"We have an incredible human being here. Christmas has come early in the form of Ryan. This can further stimulate in Barbadians a sense of pride. It is a triumph for our nation," she said.
Long before his Virgin Atlantic flight from London hit the runway at Grantley Adams, the airport was abuzz.
Then, during a 30-vehicle motorcade of Navaras that left the airport and passed through many communities along Highway 7, the young and old desperately tried to get a touch of the young star.
Upon arrival at the Oval where thousands more had gathered, the real celebration began.