Louis Smith has already been featured as a naked Hunk of the Day, but here’s a bonus post for those who didn’t get enough that first time around. (As if there was such a thing as enough male nudity.) As you may know, naked Olympians are nothing new here, and there’s always room for new shots. As for Mr. Smith, I can’t imagine the dismount that followed that last photo…
Italian figure skater Matteo Guarise continues our line of sexy Olympians as the Hunk of the Day. Signore Guarise has also done some modeling, as so perfectly exhibited in these photos.
In honor of the upcoming Winter Olympics, let’s take a look back at some of the shirtless shenanigans that took place during prior Olympic Games. Figure skating and diving represent most of my interest for the Winter and Summer games respectively, and several familiar figures dominated the scene.
First up is Tom Daley, who has his own ‘Category’ here (much like David Beckham and Ben Cohen). The GIFs displayed here (in which Mr. Daley all but ogles Dan Osbourne) are a fun treat, but it’s his penchant for wearing a skimpy Speedo that forms most of his previous pictorial posts.
Second, we have Michael Phelps. A swimmer with a long, lithe torso and a command of the water that rivals most fish. Mr. Phelps used to favor the Speedo before moving into those knee-length trunks (the only saving grace of which is how low-slung they like to wear them). Thankfully, those Speedo posts live on…
Third, Michael’s team-mate, and reality ‘star’ Ryan Lochte has the beefcake looks and body that sets the mainstream to swooning, in bulging photos like the one below.
A host of other divers and swimmers rounds out the shirtless Olympic scene, including openly-gay cutie Matthew Mitcham.
During the last Summer Olympics, I watched gymnastics for the first time, which was highlighted by the muscular magnificence of the naked male forms of Epke Zonderland (here and here) and Danell Leyva.
Winter necessitates far more clothing coverage, which is unfortunate, but for racy photo shoots some of the figure skaters will take it all off. Case in point was our last Olympic figure skating champion Evan Lysacek, who got all artsy and naked here. Johnny Weir has become a bit of an embarrassment with his lackadaisical (if not outright dumb) nonchalance over Russia’s anti-gay laws, but he’s been here too, so for accuracy and full-disclosure I’ll remind you of this post.
This year will bring a new crop of figure skating gentlemen, and with any luck they’ll have bulbous bottoms, thighs of steel, and enough bedazzled lycra to inspire a whole new generation of boys to glide around on shag carpeting like it was the ice capades. Wait, was that just me?
Last year we had the Summer Olympics and that parade of Speedos to keep us entertained in the month of August. This year all we have is Tom Daley, and a few brief appearances by Ryan Lochte. So rather than bemoaning the lack of Olympic-caliber skin, let’s revisit some of those classic Speedo moments.
Before Tom Daley was even a glimpse in someone’s eye, there was Michael Phelps. His long lean torso dazzled at the past three Olympic games, and he even showered in his Speedo.
Alongside Mr. Phelps was the slightly more handsome, if less rewarded, Ryan Lochte. One of the favorite posts ever was this one, featuring Mr. Lochte pulling his already-low-slung swimsuit down even further. Even when he went to Las Vegas, he stripped to a skimpy white Speedo, forgoing the dull board shorts that other straight guys favor.
The gay Olympians were represented by Matthew Mitcham, who donned his Speedo while diving for the gold. He looked just as good in his funky trunks, and got to hug Tom Daley in this amazing shot of double-Speedo hotness.
As mentioned, the reigning Speedo-clad stud is Tom Daley. He was first featured here in July of last year, but has since come up in the ranks to be a featured performer, with a category all his own. Whether it’s his butt or his bulge that captivates you, Daley delivers on all fronts, even selling books in his Speedo. He was crowned the Hunk of the Day not once, but twice. As one of the younger guys featured on this site, all I can say is this: baby got back.
Here we find Tom Daley and his Speedo hugging Matthew Mitcham in his Speedo, which can only result in a very happy photographic moment. Enjoy.
Way back in 1995, I was just beginning to come out as a gay man. I wasn’t even old enough to drink, and in that tenderness of youth I had no idea what I was doing. I devoured any remotely gay book I could find, starting with the Greg Louganis autobiography, ‘Breaking the Surface’.
He had just come out as an HIV positive gay man, and his story was a riveting one. I might not have been able to relate much to the discipline of becoming an Olympic Gold Medalist, but I could totally understand the coming out portion, especially at that particular moment in my life.
To read about someone as respected and accomplished as Mr. Louganis, and to know that he had gone through something similar, was incredibly moving and powerful. Whenever anyone questions the relevance and reasons of public figures coming out, I think back to that time, and how reading about other gay men absolutely galvanized me.
Now I see that Matthew Mitcham has an autobiography coming out at the end of the year, entitled appropriately enough ‘Twists & Turns’. As another gay Olympic Gold Medalist, he’s an inspiration for those just coming out today. I may be at a different point in my life, but I can’t wait to read it.
While this probably wouldn’t be my first choice of attire in selling my first autobiography, I suppose you work your strongest assets when you’re hawking a book. In this case, Tom Daley is working that Speedo like a bitch in heat. (This gratuitous post is a reminder of our Summer Olympics – the posts of which I’ll try to repopulate if ever I find a spare minute.)
That is what some of the fans of Olympic diver Matthew Mitcham call themselves – bitchams – and I’m adding my name to the list.
Far more than Tom Daley, Mr. Mitcham really makes me miss the Olympics… and the Summer of the Speedo. He’s cuter, his accent is hotter, and he plays for my team. Team Bitcham all the way.
This may be the part of the Olympics that some people miss the most: the after-diving shower. It’s just a question of which part.
Okay, I’m a bit biased, as he’s the first (and only) Olympian who was nice enough to follow me on Twitter, but Matthew Mitcham is my new favorite diver. (What’s the matter Tom Daley? Are you scared of me or something?) Even if Mr. Mitcham didn’t extend that courtesy, I’d have been enamored of him for being one of the only Olympians to live proudly and openly as a gay man.
It seems like such a small thing, and such an insignificant thing when you’re in the running to be the single best diver in the world, but to some of us it makes a world of difference. To some, this is everything – the peek into a future of possibility and hope – the seed of an idea that this might one day be you. If you’ve had to grow up without that, you have no idea what kind of power that holds.
One of these things is not like the others…
The one that looks slightly more, well, excited, is Henrik Rummel – one of the US Olympic rowers. Just when you think it’s the pool guys that offer the most intriguing views, the rowers throw on some spandex and suddenly Mr Rummel’s a human sundial.
Welcome to the Wonderland of Zonderland. This guy set the high bar, well, high – and deservedly won the gold medal for the Netherlands.
This is Epke Zonderland, a gold medalist from the Netherlands. The name alone would be worthy of admiration, but he’s got the body to further back it up.
