Governor General Sir Kenneth Hall pins Olympic Women's 100m champion Shelly- Ann Fraser with her insignia of the Order of Distinction. Fraser was among the Olympians honoured at Saturday's Olympic gala.

Jamaica's newest Olympic sensations were among 13 persons honoured on Saturday night during a special ceremony held at the National Stadium.

The men and women received the Order of Distinction in the commander and officer rank for their unprecedented performance at the 2008 Beijing Olympics in China. Coach Glen Mills, Howard Aris ,president of the Jamaica Amateur Athletic Association (JAAA) and 1976 Olympic 200 metre gold medallist, Donald Quarrie were also honoured in the elaborate proceeding.

The Order of Distinction in the rank of commander was awarded to athletes Usain Bolt, Asafa Powell, Veronica Campbell- Brown, Donald Quarrie, JAAA's president Howard Aris and coach of the Jamaica Olympic team, Glen Mills.

Fellow athletes Nesta Carter, Brigitte Foster-Hylton, Shelly-Ann Fraser, Michael Frater, Danny McFarlane, Dwight Thomas and Melaine Walker received the honours in the rank of officer.

Honorary badge

Countless Jamaicans, young and old, witnessed the ceremony as they showed up at the venue proudly wearing the national colours. The honourees who paced the red carpet on their way to the podium to receive their honorary badge were met with applause and deafening screams.

Bolt, Powell, Frater, and Walker were among the crowd's favourite at the ceremony. With each projection of their faces on the stadium's screen, enthusiastic fans went wild with emotions. While Bolt and Walker teased the crowd with their archer pose and dutty wine snippet respectively, the women were particularly fond of Powell and Frater.

Crowd favourite

At one point, a woman tried to spark a conversation about how sexy she thought Frater was but her three male friends quickly established their disinterest, stopping her in her tracks.

After the award ceremony, the athletes paraded around the stadium in chariots and convertible cars while music blared through the speakers to the delight of the crowd.

It was the Bolt/ Powell dance duo however that was undoubtedly the crowd favourite. It was pandemonium whenever both did the 'Gully Creepa' or the 'Nuh Linga', while simulating the final changeover of the historic 4 X 100M relay win in the Beijing Olympics. The crowd must have had at least five encores of that move by the time the event ended, and the crowd was never tired of seeing it.

Prime Minister Bruce Golding does the 'lightning bolt' as he greets Usain Bolt at the Olympic Sports Gala national awards ceremony at the National Stadium on Saturday. Beside Bolt is two-time Olympic Women's 200m champion Veronica Campbell-Brown. Other government officials look on. - Peta-Gaye Clachar photos

Olympic Women's 400m hurdles champion Melaine Walker being transported in an oyster-shaped chariot. Walker received the Order of Distinction in the rank of officer at the event