athletic heartthrobs

Heath Thorpe enjoys a late summer bromace with another gorgeous gymnast & we’re insanely jealous

By · Updated on January 26, 2024
Heath Thorpe (left) and Eddie Penev (right)

Eddie Penev is a gorgeous gymnast who flourished at Stanford and competes at the highest levels on the international stage.

The staunch-LGBTQ+ ally is also bros with Australian gymnast Heath Thorpe, one of our favorite athletic heartthrobs.

Jealous!

Penev and Thorpe caught up recently at the 2023 World Challenge Cup in Hungary, where they both competed. Penev, who now represents Bulgaria, earned a silver medal in the floor final.

But more importantly, he took a really cute photo next to shirtless Heath!

That’s almost too much cuteness for one camera to handle.

Gymnastics fans, straight and LGBTQ+ alike, rejoiced at the budding bromance.

Penev, 33, was a standout at Stanford, where he was an NCAA floor exercise silver medalist. Then he joined USA Gymnastics, and kept winning. Penev earned nine medals and championships from 2013-21.

Earlier this year, Penev announced he and his brother, Kevin, would be training and competing together for Bulgaria. His parents, Yulia Hristova and Marian Penev, also represented the small Eastern European nation in artistic gymnastics.

“Competing for Bulgaria would give me the most opportunities,” he said in an interview.

So far, Penev’s choice is working out. He celebrated his most recent silver medal over the weekend on Instagram.

“Proud of this one. Incredible gymnastics in today’s floor final,” he wrote.

Overall, Penev took home two golds and one silver on this year’s World Cup circuit.

Penev’s road back to the podium wasn’t linear. While training for the 2020 Games, he tore his third ACL in eight years. The devastating injury erased his chances of competing for the U.S. in Tokyo.

Penev posted his farewell to USA Gymnastics last December.

“Nothing but gratitude for my time at the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Training Center,” he wrote. “It’s sad to say good-bye, but I look back and marvel at everything I’ve accomplished. None of it would’ve been possible without the support system I’ve had.”

As LGBTQ+ folx, we can respect somebody with perseverance. We also, of course, love allies.

Penev celebrated Pride this year with some of his favorite bros.

Maybe Thorpe will join him next year? We can only hope.

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