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Canada’s Alexandre Despatie

Alexandre Despatie, also known as the Bulge of Beijing, has seen three Olympics in his career already. The silver medalist on the 3m board both at the Athens Games and in 2008, he is Canada’s most experienced diver and his fourth Olympic appearance at the London Games should be a breeze. But Alexandre is worried. And with good cause. He almost failed to qualify for an Olympic berth. At least the ones he wanted.

The 27-year-old French Canadian hottie missed the majority of the 2011 season due to a knee injury. His entrance back onto the boards was shaky, and though he qualified for the 3m synchronized event at the Test Event in January this year, spots at the Olympics for the 3m individual and 10m seemed illusive. He pulled off a strong enough finish to land the 3m berth, but failed in his quest to compete at the 2012 Olympics on the 10m board. And then, still working on his mending knee, he struck his head on the board while practicing for a competition in Madrid, an injury that required surgery and kept him from working on his form for the upcoming Games. As for his chances now on winning a medal? “All I can tell you whether it’s realistic or not is that I’m going to give everything that I have,” he says.

Alexandre began diving at the age of five. Eight years later at the 1998 Commonwealth Games he won the gold medal on the 10m board with an unprecedented score of perfect 10s across the board, earning him a spot in the Guinness Book Of World Records. That began his international career of setting records and achieving what no other diver in the world had. While only placing fourth on the 10m board at his first Olympics in 2000 at Sydney, he quickly began racking up silver and gold medals at international meets including one in Barcelona at the 2003 World Championships, setting a new world record with his score of 107.1.

In 2005 Alexandre became the World Champion on both the 1m and 3m boards, again setting world records with his win on both. The following year he added the 3m synchronized championship to his titles, and won a bronze on the 10m board.

After winning his second silver medal for the 3m board at the Beijing Games, Alexandre went on to win gold medals on the 1m and 3m boards, and in the 3m synchronized event at the 2010 Commonwealth Games. The 37-time Canadian diving champion is the first, and so far only, diver to have been World Champion in three events: the 1, 3 and 10m boards.

The 5’ 8” studly diver also appeared at the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver, but this time as a commentator, covering the opening and closing ceremonies as well as athlete profiles and interviews for Canada’s French language television channel.

Despatie was considering retirement a year ago, his body broken from years of punishing training and competition. His decision to compete at the Games for the fourth time he says is due to the magic of the Olympics. As for his injuries, that’s nothing new. Prior to the Sydney Games he was off for three months while his back recuperated. And at the Beijing Games he competed on a foot that he’d broken and was barely healed during his competition. Now that he has his spots at the events he’s no longer worried about the London Games, or about competing while still suffering from injuries. “It would be weird if I wasn’t because this is the Olympics,” he says. “But at least in the back of my mind I’ll be 100% prepared.”

“I was so close to having to stop, but not on my terms, not when I was ready to or wanted to,” Despatie says. “Now, it’s like I’ll be heading to London with the excitement of a kid, but with the experience of a veteran.”

Alexandre and his partner Reuben Ross only managed to finish 6th at yesterday’s 3m synchronized event. He has almost a week before what will probably be his last Olympic event. Medal or not, don’t expect that to be his swan song. “I don’t think London will be my last meet. I’m not ready to retire,” he says. “It will be one year at a time. I don’t feel ready to stop just yet.”

[‘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.]

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