ETOUNDI TEARS IT UP ON STAGE AND AT SIN CITY
Hours after re-ripping a bicep in medal-winning heroics, the colourful Aussie weightlifter vowed he was off partying but then hit the nightclub scene
FRANCOIS Etoundi has torn it up on the Commonwealth Games stage – then on the dance floor at popular Gold Coast nightclub Sin City.
The weightlifter ripped a bicep on his way to bronze on Saturday night but that didn’t stop him celebrating.
The Australian medallist – who has injured the muscle twice in two months – was spotted heading into Sin City with friends, complete with strapping holding his bicep together.
It was hours after he declared: “I don’t need to party. Partying doesn’t bother me anymore. A lot of athletes when they win like this, they just want to go and party and sometimes trouble comes looking for you.”
Etoundi was decked out in Australian team gear and a visor as he went inside and partied into the wee hours among revellers. Sin City boss Tim Martin said Etoundi and other athletes were “really well behaved and soaking up the atmosphere and vibe of winning”. “They mingled with the crowd. Athletes are starting to poke their heads out – more and more will be out and about now,” he said. Etoundi tore his bicep two months ago, with it slipping down to his elbow a week before the Commonwealth Games.
The Melburnian was certain he would have claimed gold were it not for his injury.
Etoundi was sent home from Glasgow’s Commonwealth Games for headbutting an opponent, and said on Saturday he’d learned from his past.
“I’d prefer to stick in my room, think about this (arm) and when I am going to start training again.”
‘They were well behaved, mingled with the crowd’