After winning medals in athletics, it was time for the athletes to eat, drink and party at an Olympic level.

SAINT-DENIS, France – They earned 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.

Recently medals minted in athletics went out to eat and toast their achievements. Some took to the dance floor, while others took a dip in the pool. There were those who went straight to bed – too exhausted to leave – and those who spent time responding to the hundreds and hundreds of messages that lit up their phones.

“I have never been so trapped in my life as I have been these last three months,” Swedish pole vaulter Armand “Mondo” Duplantis said after defending his Olympic gold by setting a world record. “Now I’m ready to eat a lot of food. The party is going to be really big.”

Silver medalist in pole vault Sam Kendricks craved chicken from the fast-food restaurant Popeyes. Only problem, it was late at night and the place was closed.

His friend Duplantis, however, had some contacts and made a call. A little later, they were feasting on chicken wings.

“Best chicken ever. But I can’t just invoke Popeyes like that. I’m not the world record holder,” Kendricks said as he and his family partied at Puma House until the early hours. “Mondo still swam and played water polo until about 6.”

First, Nina Kennedy from Australia had a lot of media interviews after winning gold in the pole vault. But she finished around 3am and went straight to the club.

She danced and danced until the sun came up.

“One of the best nights of my life,” Kennedy said. “It was really fun.”

Mattia Furlani, the 19 year old who won a bronze in long jumpcelebrated as any good Italian would – with pizza. He devoured a margherita pizza (a cheese pizza).

It doesn’t get more Italian than that.

Juliano Alfredo, the sprinter of Saint Lucia, who won gold in the 100 meters and silver in the 200 meters, 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 in the last few days I have been eating very healthy and I think I deserve (this). A pizza… I really look forward to it.”

Your favorite toppings? Ham and pineapple – Hawaiian style – or pepperoni.

American pole vaulter Katie Moon also opted for pepperoni pizza and pasta despite her gluten intolerance. It was the only place open at the time.

She and her family found a bar and settled into a back room to celebrate her silver.

She also had a glass of wine.

“Everything,” said Moon, “tasted so good.”

Alysha Newman and her family were looking for a restaurant after winning bronze for Canada in the pole vault. But nothing was open at that time.

They saw a pub on the outskirts of the Olympic Village that was about to close. The owner, however, was watching the Olympics, recognized Newman and invited them inside. Additionally, he cooked for her party of about 15 people and stayed there until 4 am. They enjoyed homemade pesto pasta with shrimp and mushrooms.

She had a glass of red wine to go with it.

“It was amazing,” Newman said. “A very fun environment.”

At around 2 a.m., American discus thrower Valarie Allman bit into the best burger she’d ever tasted. Side dishes included fries – and memories of defending his gold medal.

“It was literally perfect,” she said.

The burger was also good – cheese, tomato, onion, pickles and sauce.

“That hit the nail on the head,” she said.

It’s been a long two days for British heptathlete Katarina Johnson-Thompson. But after two hours of interviews and another two hours of going through drug testing protocols, the silver medalist just wanted to go back to the village and sleep.

“Pending,” Johnson-Thompson said of her celebration plans.

After winning the long jump title, the American Tara Davis-Woodhall I was hungry for a sirloin steak.

Along with that, “a shot of tequila or something,” Davis-Woodhall said of her plans with her husband, Paralympic sprinter Hunter Woodhall.

Not all athletes were looking for pizza, steak or burgers. Annette Nneka Echikun woke upthe American silver medalist in the hammer throw, had a healthier wish list: salmon and broccoli.

For dessert?

“Maybe a sour candy,” said Echikunwoke. “The sour candy hurts my stomach, that’s why it’s been low-key. But that doesn’t matter now.”

If responding to congratulatory texts were an Olympic disciplineAndy Diaz would be competing for another medal. The Cuban triple jumper who won bronze on his debut for Italy was busy all night trying to keep up with the constant buzzing of his phone.

“Every time I take it out of my pocket,” Diaz said, “I have at least 100 messages.”

Norwegian Karsten Warholm won silver in the 400 meters hurdles three years after winning the event. He had a low-key celebration – a glass of champagne – with family and friends.

“For me, silver is not something I would get very drunk for,” said Warholm, the world record holder in the event. “You have to let the moment sink in and have fun with the people who helped you get there. But it’s still not something I celebrate much.”

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