BURLINGTON (CBS) – The girls at Aly Raisman’s Burlington gym idolize the Olympian for good reason.

And they can’t wait to tell her so Thursday morning. That’s when Brestyan’s Gym will host a welcome home party for the gymnast.

“You know it’s a big deal to be an Olympic gold medalist, it’s a really, really big deal,” explains her personal coach and gym owner Mihai Brestyan. “People, all the world, they’re watching the Olympic games and being on this level you get recognized, and automatically the people want to see you more and more and more.”

The gymnasts-in-training at Aly’s gym train hard in the hopes of walking in her shoes, and they watched her hard work pay off in London.

This week, they watch Aly enjoy the fruits of her success as a media darling.

Cameras followed her around Manhattan today, including on a tour of the Empire State Building. Her team got to ring the closing bell at the New York Stock Exchange.

Tonight, they all appear on The Late Show with David Letterman. It’s a ton of attention, but her coach promises Aly can handle the attention better than most.

“The kids at this age, some, very quickly they lose their minds,” Brestyan says. “But she was very good at that and I hope she’ll stay like that and continue to work. She’s relaxing and she’s enjoying the media, I think she deserves it.”