Work is over. Greet the heroes.

The Estonian capital welcomed Olympic medalists at an overflowing Town Hall Square on Oct. 5.

Right from the airport, making their way through masses of fans, medal winners Aleksei Budolin (judo), Indrek Pertelson (judo) and Erki Nool (decathlon) were escorted to the Town Hall Square by 6 p.m. Thousands of people had filled the square long before.

Both Juri Mois, Tallinn's mayor, and Mart Laar, the prime minister, came to greet the men who brought two bronzes and one gold to Estonia. Laar's generous present to Nool was the Estonian flag that flies every day on the Long Hermann tower in Tallinn. Perhaps, even more generous of Laar was adorning the city with flags for the whole da to honor the medal winners.

Later at the special press conference in the Town Hall, Nool admitted nothing could be more unbelievable and pleasant. "I was expecting a warm welcome, but I still could not believe it could be so great," said Nool. He also mentioned the support he received from local Estonians in Australia.

Twelve years ago, remembered Nool, he was welcoming other Olympic champions - cyclist Erika Salumae and basketball player Tiit Sokk - at the same square, and wished he could be a champion as well.

Pertelson said the welcoming ceremony was completely overwhelming. "Thanks to everybody who arranged it."

Nool said: "We are not the first to have won a medal, but it is a great feeling to know we achieved the same." He added that his dream was to run a victory lap with the Estonian flag on the Olympic track, and that came true at these Games.

The Olympic Games in Sydney were the first for 23- year-old Budolin, who scored the first medal for Estonia. He said it was a great experience to get a medal, especially at his first Olympics.

"Am I rewarded enough? Sure!" said Pertelson. "The best reward is to know that because of my medal people will go to work in a good mood."

None of the medalists revealed how they were going to spend the money they got as a reward from the state. Nool said he would find a reasonable way to spend it, and Pertelson admitted he had never had problems with spending money.

The Games in Sydney were Nool's third, and he said he discovered something new about them. "The most surprising thing was that everybody (sportsmen) was very nervous already at the second day of competition."

Both judoists said the contest was tough. "In judo the competition is very tough, and it does not matter where you are from and what titles you have," said Budolin. "The man who is better prepared will become champion that day."

Budolin's senior partner, Pertelson, agreed.

"All of our rivals were 100 percent prepared, and all of them were ready to win the gold," he said.

According to Pertelson, the contest was really difficult, and the emotional pressure was enormous. "I could feel people at home were expecting a good result. The contest was complicated because I had to fight my emotions and my rivals," he said.

The sportsmen did not have much time to enjoy Australian landscapes. But Nool said Australia was better for him than Atlanta. "I did not have much time to walk around and visit places there, but I got a medal."

Athens are waiting for the new champions in 2004. Is Nool going to defend his title in Greece?

"It will depend on my results during the next year," answered the 30-year-old Nool. He said the age is not the key term in his event: "A long-distance runner from Jamaica got her first Olympic medal in Moscow in 1980, and the last medal she got in Sydney."

A good achievement for an Estonian team, according to Nool, would be keeping at least the same results at the next Olympic Games in Athens in 2004.

"Stability is very important in sports," he said.

Pertelson is going to the European Judo Cup finals in Germany in several months. He fights for a German judo club.

Budolin, whose Yugoslavian club did not qualify for the cup finals, is going to show up at Tatami next January at the annual International Tallinn Judo Cup.

The Estonian media discussed how Nool's success can be used for economic purposes. One of the journalists told BNS recently: "Nool vodka, Nool sausage and Nool pantyhose may soon appear."

Indeed, euphoria called "Erki Nool" seems to seize masses of people in Estonia. Nool has now got an official fan club. Furthermore, songs and streets are named after him.

Estonian pop-group N-Euro wrote a song "Hey, mister Nool!" two days before the welcome ceremony and performed it on stage.

The town of Kuressaare on Saaremaa Island will have a street named after Nool. The stadium in his home town, Voru, will also be named after him.