Eat, drink, but don't be too merry: IOC warning

LONDON, AUG 3 - Olympic chiefs have urged the mostly youthful athletes ready to let rip after months of monastic dedication to drink "sensibly" once they hit the celebration trail.

Try telling that to Britain's new national cycling hero Bradley Wiggins, pictured with vodka and tonic in hand after his time trial triumph and tweeting, "Blind drunk at the minute."

The picture showed Wiggins with his trademark sideburns and cheeky grin making a "V for Victory" sign at a rooftop bar in central London.

"Wiggo's night on the swiggo," blared the headline in The Sun tabloid, which declared with breathless excitement that Britain's first winner of the grueling Tour de France had downed eight vodka and tonics after his Olympic triumph.

What about compatriot Peter Wilson who needed a steady hand and nerves of steel to land his shooting gold medal.

"I'm going to get very, very drunk and perhaps do something silly," he confessed with disarming honesty after his triumph.

Drowning your sorrows can be a dangerous pastime too.

Australian oarsman Josh Booth, a member of the eight that finished sixth in his rowing final, was arrested after allegedly damaging shop windows in a "commiseration celebration" that apparently got out of hand.

That prompted Australian team spokesman Mike Tancred to stress: "There needs to be responsible use of alcohol by team members when they finish competition."

KEEP CALM

For track and field Olympians heading this weekend into competition at the London 2012 Games, there could be a new hazard in the athletes' village - swimmers letting off steam with a vengeance at the end of their competitions.

Coaches, trainers, media managers and Olympic officials may issue dire warnings and urge athletes to keep calm and carry on but, in the high pressure world of modern professional sport, letting your hair down will always be an irresistible attraction.

The 2012 tournament is, after all, being staged in the land of binge drinking which has one of the highest alcohol consumption rates in the world.

With an impish grin on his face, Northern Irish golfer Darren Clarke admitted that he would be hitting the Guinness stout with a vengeance after he won last year's British Open.

England's trip to the Rugby World Cup provided more fodder for the tabloid front pages than it did for sports on the back pages, with tales of dwarf-throwing competitions in New Zealand bars and players leaping off ferries.

But few sports fans could ever forget the images of bleary-eyed cricketer Andrew Flintoff staggering out into the cruel light of day for a hastily-arranged street parade to mark England's historic Ashes victory over Australia.

(Editing by Matt Falloon)