How athletes let their hair down (helped by free £2,012 cocktails)

A well earned night out! Sophie Hosking, seen here on Sunday night

When darkness falls in London, another endurance contest begins among the Olympic athletes.The winner? The last one standing in the capital’s exclusive bars and clubs.Early yesterday morning was no exception, with American swimmer and overnight heartthrob Ryan Lochte, 28, seen among female admirers and teammates in the VIP area of West End club Chinawhite, a £2,000 cocktail in his hand while he watched teammate Tyler Clary play DJ.







Also at the venue were Team GB’s rowing gold medallist Sophie Hosking and silver medallists Richard Chambers and Mark Hunter, along with cycling gold medallist Dani King – although King’s boyfriend might not be invited back after he made an obscene gesture as he left.The race to be the party venue of choice for the Games stars has been as hard-fought as any track event, but it seems Chinawhite is already taking the gold.The visit from Lochte and his contemporaries came after Rebecca Adlington was pictured leaving the club looking bleary-eyed at 3.45am on Sunday.Zara Phillips also partied at the venue after she won a silver medal with the British equestrian team.The Queen’s granddaughter was spotted drinking Veuve Clicquot and dancing with no shoes on until becoming the last to leave at 4am, an hour after the club had officially closed.Usually the preserve of footballers and reality stars, Chinawhite has been taken over for the duration of the Games by Australian event organisers The Last Lap, which ran exclusive parties during the Sydney Olympics in 2000.