SAINT-DENIS, France — They won their Olympic medals after making so many sacrifices and spending so many hours training. Then came the fun part — celebrating with family and friends, even strangers.
Newly minted medalists in track and field went out for meals to toast their accomplishments. Some hit the dance floor, while others took a dip in the pool. There were those who went straight to bed — too exhausted to go out — and those who spent time answering the hundreds and hundreds of messages that lit up their phone.
“I’ve never been so locked in in my life than in these past three months,” Swedish pole vaulter Armand “Mondo” Duplantis said after defending his Olympic gold by setting a world record. “Now I’m just ready to eat a bunch of food. The party is going to be pretty big.”
Pole vault silver medalist Sam Kendricks craved chicken from the fast-food restaurant Popeyes. Only trouble, it was late at night and the place was closed.
His buddy Duplantis, though, had some connections, and made a call. A little bit later, they were feasting on chicken wings.
“Best chicken ever. But I can’t just summon Popeyes like that. I’m not the world record holder,” Kendricks cracked as he and his family partied at the Puma House until the early hours. “Mondo was still swimming and playing water polo until about 6.”
First, Nina Kennedy of Australia had a bunch of media interviews after winning gold in the pole vault. But she finished up about 3 a.m. and headed straight for the dance club.
She danced and danced until the sun came up.
“One of the best nights of my life,” Kennedy said. “It was so much fun.”
Mattia Furlani, the 19-year-old who won a bronze in the long jump, celebrated like any good Italian would — with pizza. He devoured a pizza margherita (a cheese pizza).
It doesn’t get much more Italian than that.
Julien Alfred, the sprinter from St. Lucia who won gold in the 100 and silver in the 200, was focused on one thing from the moment she received her second medal — “Unhealthy food,” she said.
“I’m not going to lie,” Alfred added. “Because for the past few days I’ve been eating very healthy and I think I deserve (it). A pizza … I really crave that.”
Her toppings of choice? Ham and pineapple — Hawaiian style — or pepperoni.
American pole vaulter Katie Moon went for pepperoni pizza and pasta, too, despite a gluten intolerance. It was the only place open at the time.
She and her family found a dive bar and settled into a back room to celebrate her silver.
She had a glass of wine, too.
“Everything,” Moon said, “tasted so good.”
Alysha Newman and her family were looking for a restaurant after earning a bronze for Canada in the pole vault. But nothing was open at that hour.
They saw a pub just outside the Olympic village that was about to close. The owner, though, was watching the Olympics, happened to recognize Newman and invited them in. Not only that, but he cooked for her party of about 15 and stayed there until 4 a.m. They feasted on homemade pesto pasta with shrimp and mushrooms.
She had a glass of red wine to go with it.
“It was awesome,” Newman said. “A really fun environment.”
At around 2 a.m., American discus thrower Valarie Allman bit into the best burger she ever tasted. The sides included fries — and memories of defending her gold medal.
“It was literally, perfect,” she said.
The burger had the works, too — cheese, tomato, onions, pickles and sauce.
“That hit the spot,” she said.
It was already a long two days for British heptathlete Katarina Johnson-Thompson. But after two hours of interviews and two more hours to get through drug testing protocols, the silver medalist only wanted to return to the village and sleep.
“Pending,” Johnson-Thompson said of her celebration plans.
After winning the long jump title, American Tara Davis-Woodhall was hungering for a sirloin steak.
Along with it, “a tequila shot or something,” Davis-Woodhall said of her plans with her husband, Paralympian sprinter Hunter Woodhall.
Not all athletes were in search of pizza, steak or a burger. Annette Nneka Echikunwoke, the American silver medalist in the hammer throw, had a more healthy wish list: salmon and broccoli.
For dessert?
“Maybe some sour candy,” Echikunwoke said. “Sour candy hurts my stomach, that’s why it’s been low key. But it doesn’t matter now.”
If responding to congratulatory texts were an Olympic discipline, Andy Diaz would be in the running for another medal. The Cuban-born triple jumper who took bronze in his debut for Italy was busy all night trying to keep up with his constantly buzzing phone.
“Every time I take it out of my pocket,” Diaz said, “I have at least 100 messages.”
Norway’s Karsten Warholm won silver in the 400-meter hurdles three years after winning the event. He had a low-key celebration — one glass of champagne — with family and friends.
“To me, silver is not something I would get super drunk for,” said Warholm, the world-record holder in the event. “You’ve got to let the moment sink in and have a good time with the people that helped you get there. But still it’s not something I celebrate super hard.”
___
AP Summer Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/2024-paris-olympic-games
