Kenya's 800 metres Olympic champion and millionaire Pamela Jelimo has returned home to dozens of placards proposing marriage.

The 18-year-old police constable claimed the Golden League $1 million jackpot earlier this month after winning her event at the season's six meetings. She had taken Olympic gold in Beijing last month. As she toured her Rift Valley home area on Thursday and Friday, huge crowds turned out to see her after she landed by helicopter. Traditional dancers performed and women sang praise songs. Young men brandished signs saying "Pamela Marry Me!"

"Jelimo's performance really inspired me," Nancy Cherotich, a friend from the runner's schooldays, told Reuters. "It made me wish that I could run again."

A convoy of nearly 200 vehicles followed her up the dusty road from Eldoret town to her home village near Kapsabet.

There, her father John Busienei, was jubilant.

"When I speak about her and her performance I can cry because of pride," he said. "She is my daughter and I love her so much ... the whole world knows her because of her performance."

Jelimo will have a street in Kapsabet named after her - an honour normally reserved for top politicians in a country better known for its long-distance runners.