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He Chong

He Chong: Cute and Buffed

Male gymnasts have incredibly muscular bodies. Hot. Hot. Hot. But Olympic diver’s bodies qualify for gold. Toned and ripe, many of the world’s best divers also have the best bodies in the world. Doesn’t hurt that they show them off in skimpy Speedos either. For years I watched to see if any man could come close to the pure perfection that was Greg Louganis’ incredible form. He Chong, China’s 24-year-old gold medalist, just might have him beat. And he’s cute to boot.

As 250 of the world’s best divers meet to compete at the 18th FINA Diving World Cup in London today, it seems a fitting time to take a look at the 2008 Olympic individual 3m Springboard gold medallist and three-time world champion. Not that you’d need an excuse. The 3m event is hotly contested; Canada’s Alexandre Despatie has the best – and biggest bulge, Mexico’s Yahel Castillo the best butt, but He has a set of thighs on him that are truly world-class. And they are the reason behind He being known as ‘Supernatural Boy’. As his coach, Liu Henglin, puts it, “His legs are the thickest among Chinese divers; even foreign divers think they are supernatural. They are really brawny and powerful.”

He Chong

Did I already say cute?

He’s meaty, muscular legs give him the edge that has led him to be called the ‘King of Difficulty. His signature forward two-and-a-half somersaults with 3 twists pike, a 3.9 degree of difficulty dive that He and He alone is capable of, is a stunning, gravity-defying dive that is mind-boggling. He is the most powerful among the event’s front runners as the springboard competition has increasingly become a power game due to the advent of maneuver-packed dives.

The charismatic Chinese diver dove onto the international scene in 2005 at the World Championships, winning a gold medal in the 3m springboard synchronized diving event with partner Wang Feng. He nabbed a bronze medal at that competition for the 3m individual event. The following year at the World Cup he and Wang took home the gold again, and though Chong also won gold in the 1m dive, he failed to medal in the 3m, his signature event, after scoring zero points for his efforts in the simplest among all his six dives. His coach was not surprised by the result.

He Chong

Lucky towel, cute bulge.

“Except his legs, he is far too less than supernatural. Psychologically speaking, he is too fragile. He became successful at very young age and did know how to face failure. And he is too eager to show off his power.”

In 2007 at the World Championships in Melbourne, the best Chong could do was a silver in the 1m event. He’s coach began concentrating his training on strengthening He’s psychological capabilities over the following year trying to reign in some of his impetuousness. Their efforts payed off and in the 2008 World Cup He took home the gold in the 3m springboard event.

He Chong

Ripped and massive, the epitome of male strength.

Going into the 2008 Olympic Games, he faced some tough competition. But more mature and seasoned, Chong seemed to have the right mind-set to score. “Now I won’t let the winning or losing disturb my performance. Instead, all I think about is how to perfect my moves. I am competing with myself. Dmitri Sautin is powerful, Alexandre Despatie is powerful, but I am powerful too. The more I think about them, the more powerful they are becoming; but if I do not think about them at all, I become stronger than all of them,” said He before the Games began.

At the Olympics, He stole the show, his extra level of difficulty leaving his opponents floundering. He defeated two time world champion Alexandre Despatie, the 2006 world cup champion and teammate Qin Kai, and eight time Olympic medalist Dmitri Sautin, claiming the top spot on the podium with his athletic dives off of the 3m board.

He Chong

Still cute, even after a shower.

Chong claimed the gold earning 11 perfect 10s in the six-round final, 7 of which he was awarded for his opening dive, a forward 3½ in the pike position. He saved his signature dive, his most difficult, for the final dive and scored 100.70. He accumulated 572.90 points, 40 more than silver medalist Alexandre Despatie. His victory was the forth consecutive time that a Chinese diver had won the event.

Chong was born in Linhai, Guangdong province to migrant-worker parents. The family of five shared a 7 sq. meter room and went through difficult times trying to make ends meet. His father, Ping, remembers his son was not a well-behaved child and was prone to pranks. He never imagined his naughty child would one day be an Olympic champion diver.

He Chong

A good argument for bringing nude competition back to the Olympics.

The financial strains of raising three children in urban Zhanjiang convinced the Hes to accept a primary school tuition waiver by a Guangdong province scout, and at the age of 6 Chong was sent off to the sports school where he would put in more than 12 hours of training every day. Success did not come easy, but the family’s decision and the son’s hard work payed off with his gold medal win in their home country.

Since the 2008 Olympics He has stayed at the top of his game and at the top of the 3m springboard pack. In 2009 he again won the gold at the World Championships. Despite knees injuries that kept him from competing for six months, he placed first again in 2010 at the World Cups, following a gold medal win at the 2010 Asian games where Chong was honored by being selected to light the flame for the Games.

He Chong

Chong could be just as successful as a male model.

Chong seemed satisfied with his efforts at the World Cup. “I’m happy I can return to the competition after the knee injury, but I’m not back to my peak form,” he said. “My last dive could be called perfect. I have not performed like this for a long time.”

At the 2011 World Championships in Shanghai last July, Chong faced his old rivals Alexandre Despatie and Qin Kai once again along with two new powerhouse divers from Russia, Ilya Zakharov and Evgeny Kuznetsov who surprised the audience with their silver and bronze medal wins. He Chong, by now an unstoppable force in the 3m event, won the gold once again, a feat he repeated at the Universiade the following month.

He Chong

A perfect form in perfect form.

This year Chong will be defending his title at the London Olympics. Though Chong has dominated springboard for the past four years, it’s expected to be a tough competition. Russia’s Ilya Zakharov is a top rival thanks to the difficulty of his dives. At the 2011 World Championships his degree of difficulty for his free program totalled an impressive 21.5 while Chong’s came in at 20.3. And Mexico’s Yahel Castillo has shown steady improvement over the last year and has mastered He’s signature dive.

A preview of the expected contest will be on display over the next six days at the World Cup in London, an Olympic Tests series and the first competitive event to be staged at the new Olympic Aquatics Centre that gives nations a chance to secure extra berths for the Olympic Games.

In today’s preliminary rounds of the men’s synchronized 3m springboard competition, the Chinese duo of Qin Kai and Luo Yutong erased any doubt that China’s divers will continue to rule the diving events in this year’s Olympics, with Chong leading the pack. While the ultimate winner in most diving events may still be in question, there is no doubt that Olympic diving will serve up some of the most bodacious eye candy at the XXX Games.

[‘The XXX Games’ are a series of posts about hot Olympians, gay competitors – both present and past – and general articles about the 2012 London Olympics of interest to gay men. So, yeah, lots of hot male eye candy. Click the XXX Games graphic below for additional news, stories, and pictures.]

The XXX Games of the Olympiad