- Blake Aldridge said athletes would always be admired for their appearances
- READ MORE: Pole vaulter Armand Duplantis has fans swooning
Tom Daley's former diving partner has defended the ogling of male athletes at the Olympics, saying they're 'going to be looked at whatever they wear'.
Blake Aldridge, who competed in the 2008 Beijing Olympics alongside then 14-year-old Daley, admitted her was glad of the admiration during his tenure in the sport.
Speaking on Good Morning Britain, the 42-year-old clashed with actor Douglas Robson who insisted athletes 'shouldn't be sexualised'.
Over the course of the Olympics,male athletes have been admired for more than just their talent in sport, with many setting hearts racing with their washboard abs and sleek muscular figures.
Thousands of comments on social media have piled up, expressing their admiration for the hunky boys and gorgeous girls taking part in the Paris games.
On Good Morning Britain on Thursday, athlete Blake Aldridge (left) and actor Douglas Robson (right) appeared on the show to debate whether it's acceptable for men to be 'ogled' for their appearances
Responding with a cheeky grin on his face, swimmer Blake Aldridge (pictured) went on to discuss his experience of being hotly admired when he took part in the Beijing Olympics in 2008. He held up his tiny trunks on the show
Douglas insisted that men shouldn't be ogled at in the same way women shouldn't.
He said: 'If we're going to have a serious talk about gender disparity then we've got to say, what's good for the goose is good for the gander.
'For years, we've been protecting women from being oversexualised and why is it different here?
'Here's the question - A, do we think men and women should be treated the same and B, do we we think the sexualisation of anyone is good?
'And if the answer is no, someone needs to explain to me why it's different.,
Responding with a cheeky grin on his face, Blake went on to discuss his experience of being hotly admired when he took part in the Beijing Olympics in 2008.
'I think, if you're in the public eye, and you're wearing something like this.... going to get looked at whatever they're wearing,' revealing a tiny pair of Team GB swimming trunks.
Blake said: 'This is the beauty of the Olympics, there's all shapes and sizes and they've all found their little niche that makes them amazing at what they do, whether they're big, small, fat, thin, whatever it is'
Blake Aldridge pictured with Tom Daley as they took on the synchronised diving at the Olympics in 2008. Tom was just 14-years-old at the time
Pictured: the hunky French swimmer, Jules Bouyer, has set hearts racing
Presenter, Kate Garraway asked asked whether they were her real trunks he competed in.
'So these are the trunks I slip into,' he revealed, holding up the baby sized briefs.
Kate remarked: 'They're very small aren't they!'
A number of athletes, particularly swimmers who tend to arrive kitted out in just a tiny pair of trunks to compete, have been hotly admired for their appearances at the Paris Olympics.
French diver, Jules Bouyer, 22, has sent fans into a frenzy while competing in Paris with many going wild for his cheeky smile, slick abs and his now viral, 'famous bulge'.
Team GB's Tom Daley has been long admired, not only for his impressive diving but for his handsome appearance.
This years' games has also branded a number of male athletes heartthrobs of the season with Italian swimmer Thomas Ceccon, 23, and Swedish Pole vaulter Armand Duplantis, setting pulses high with their incredible physiques.
According to the buff bodied, Douglas, however, just because the athletes look good, doesn't mean they should accept being ogled.
Blake Aldridge prepares to dive during The Great Britain Diving training session at the National Aquatics Centre during Olympics in Beijing in 2008
Presenter Ed Balls seemed to agree that ogling was inevitable. He said: 'You're going to be looked at, you've got a fit body, you train hard, you should be comfortable in your own skin and people are going to look whether you're a man or a woman.'
Douglas hit back, disagreeing with the sentiment that the inevitability was justified.
He said: 'Just because people are going to look, how it is then perceived is then very different and the message the media put out to people about what's acceptable goes back to the narrative of men never victims and always the perpetrators and that is damaging to society as a whole.
'So though it's going to happen, we need to hold ourselves to a higher standard
Ed said: 'Aren't the men being ogled for the thing that also makes them really good at diving or running in their strength and physique. Whereas women are often being ogled for things that have nothing to do with why they're a good sports star.
Blake asked: 'If someone ogles a male but someone ogles a woman is that okay, and that's where the argument is
'As a woman ogling a man that seems to be okay but as a male ogling a woman.
Blake pictured on the phone in 2008 when he was competing at the Olympics in 2008
Kate pointed out that those competing in the games are 'young and incredibly fit', qualities that are what make them more likely to bring home a medal.
'It's part of why they are there, they're not a barrister in court,' she said.
Douglas argued that the age of the athletes only added to their vulnerability for victims of ogling saying 'there is then not only a pressure to be good but to look good'.
'There's a lot of athletes who are in great shape but a lot of athletes who have different shapes and they're not going to get celebrated just because they don't meet the beauty standard and that beauty standard does make it way through and you do see a lot of body issues in young men.
'We need to be careful about what message we're sending to men. There's a lot of pressure on young men at the moment and you can see it happening in mental health, they are struggling.'
Blake countered saying: 'This is the beauty of the Olympics, there's all shapes and sizes and they've all found their little niche that makes them amazing at what they do, whether they're big, small, fat, thin, whatever it is.
'And they're going to get looked at whatever they're wearing,' he insisted.
