Since it’s Valentine’s Day it’s a perfect time for me to feature a few more of the Sochi Game’ hottest male Olympians. Which, if you’ve had a gander at the bobsledders, means more male figure skaters. And while I wouldn’t kick it out of bed for Taking up too much room, Maksim Trankov’s prodigious bulge is not being covered in today’s post. Though I’d love to see that thing uncovered sometime. Probably from a safe distance.

In Newsweek Magazine’s recent article, Frozen Ice, about just how gay the ice skating world really is, one unnamed source said it’s about 75% gay. Huh. I’m assuming that other 25% accounts for Maksim’s bulge. No problemo. I’m hoping both of these hotties are family. But appreciate rather than go with the slut-on-ice over-rhinestoned look popular with most of the boys, they go with the much more study peasant/soldier look to show off their manhood. Well, okay, Javier’s Superman costume might have been a bit over the top, but then since I also hope he isn’t I’ll forgive him his disastrous use of spandex.

Which is a good segue into introducing my first choice for the Olympian I’d most like to do for Valentine’s Day, Javier Fernández, Spain’s flagbearer for the Opening Ceremony and my future husband. A soon as I learn how to say, “Now turn over,” in Spanish.

If you’re thinking how much fun it’d be to be Dustin Lance Black these days, you may be picking the wrong older gay man doing an Olympic hottie. Former Canadian Olympic figure skater Brian Orser has his hands in the pie of not one but several of the Olympics’ hottest guys. I can forgive him for France’s Florent Amodio, cringe at thee thought of what he puts Yuzuru Hanyu through during practice, but he’d better keep his hands – and everything else – off of Javier Fernández.

The Madrid-born 22-year-old took up the sport at the age of six, currently he is the European figure skating champion (he won that title in 2013 too). Hailing from a country with less than 20 ice rinks, at the age of 19 he won Spain’s national championship and earned a place at the Vancouver Games, becoming the first male skater to compete for Spain on the Olympic stage since 1956.

Like France’s Florent Amodio, Javier owes his career to his deep-seated desire to emulate his older sister. “It was because my sister watched international competitions on TV and decided to take up skating – when I saw her training, I loved the look of it and decided to give it a try myself,” he says.

That openness to experimentation is part of what sets Javier apart. It too is responsible for his recent pequeño problema with his gay fans. When asked what he thought of all the news surrounding Russia’s anti-gay propaganda laws during an interview with Spanish daily El Mundo, he said, “It’s not such a big dilemma. It’s better if homosexuals athletes don’t make such a meal of it at the Games.”

Fernández’s words were met by a wave of criticism on Twitter and other social media, with some Spaniards calling for him to be removed as their national flag bearer at the Games. And I too was disappointed in what sounded like a negative comment made by mi amor until I ran across a headline on an ice skating blog that shined a different light on what he’d said.

“Fernandez Tops Chan Again” sounded more like the hunk I’ve come to love. The problemo wasn’t in what he said, but in how it was translated. Incorrectly, Javier’s words were translated to mean he thought gays in Sochi should “lie low”. But it was position and not comportment he was speaking of; he wasn’t being un culo, he was talking about what to do with his. And his quick response to the media-storm his words had caused bear that out. “I apologize if my words were misinterpreted and I offended someone,” he said. “Never in my life have I had any problems with homosexuals.”

And that becomes obvious in the dialogue between Javier and Orser, the openly gay coach and his star pupil. “It seems so archaic to have that type of outlook on gay orientation,” Orser says. “With Javier you have to ease into it and try to keep him relaxed and calm,” he quickly adds moving into the orientation in their partnership.

“He doesn’t like doing run-through, but that’s the way I work,” Orser explains. “So he’s getting it, he’s pushing through.”

“I just have to wait, work hard and fight to keep the same position,” says Fernández. “As per usual, I’m going against the grain somewhat by opting for something more fun.”

“Actually, and I take a lot of pleasure in saying this, he really only has to do his average,” Orser says. “His average is good enough.”

The 2014 European Championship also brought gold into the life of Italian ice dancing (with fish) hunk Luca Lanotte. That’s the problem with romance on ice. With Javier you have to squeeze in between Orser, with Luca it’s Anna Cappellini, his partner in the rink but not, fortunately, off the ice.

Like Fernández and Florent, Luca’s destiny of being a hottie in skates was thanks to an older female sibling. The 28-year-old hunk from Milan who lived close to a rink began skating at age seven and switched to ice dancing because he was jealous of his sister, who was on a sychronized skating team. She convinced him to start ice dancing, and he likes that it is similar to ballroom dancing. Which pretty much tells you whether he fits into the 75% or 25% group.

Ignoring the fish for a moment (or for the rest of his life) Luca is the 2014 European champion and 2013 European bronze medalist, a seven-time Grand Prix medalist, and a three-time Italian national champion. The Sochi Games are his second Olympics, he appeared at Vancouver in 2010 where he placed 12th.

Lanotte was partnered with Anna Cappellini in May 2005 by the Italian skating federation. Two years later, they won their first Grand Prix medal, a silver at Skate Canada, moved up to seventh at Europeans, and finished in the top ten at Worlds. After several years of not placing well and injuries, they won bronze medals at the 2011 Skate Canada International and the 2011 Trophee Eric Bompard. Their next event was the Italian National Championships, where they won their first national title. They finished a career-best sixth at the 2012 World Championships.

The following year at their first event of the 2012–2013 season, the 2012 Finlandia Trophy. They won a silver medal, and then again at both of their Grand Prix events, the 2012 Skate Canada and the 2012 Trophée Eric Bompard. At their first European event thy won a bronze, and then won gold at the 2014 European Championships in Budapest.

On the plus side, Luca likes classic rock and his favorite movie is Fight Club. On the not so plus side, he has a cat named Mish. And on the it’s not quite Brain Orser front, he say his hero on ice is Christopher Dean, the British ice dancer who won a gold medal at the 1984 Winter Olympics.

But that’s okay. It’s not what Brian Boitano would do, but then I prefer my latin hunks a bit more on the masculine side anyway. And Javier can always pass on to Luca the tricks he’s learned from Orser.

[‘The XXII Gays of The Winter Olympics’ are a series of posts about hot Olympians, gay competitors – both present and past – and general articles about the 2014 Sochi Games of interest to gay men. So, yeah, lots of hot male eye candy. Click the The XXII Gays of The Winter Olympics graphic below for additional news, stories, and pictures.]