Our Kiwi neighbours are thrilled that their 32-year-old Mr. Gay World contestant Andreas Derleth has won the prestigious international contest in South Africa.

The hunky retail manager, who moved from Germany to NZ four years ago, is a keen sportsman and adventurer as well as a passionate gay rights advocate, says GayNZ.com.

Derleth is in a long-term relationship and entered into a Civil Union with his partner Tom last year. “He worked extra hard in thorough preparations for the Mr. Gay World 2012 contest and he truly deserved to win the title,” says Tom.

“I take my pride to be his long term partner and gay community and NZ as a whole should be proud of him.”

Held over four days, the grueling Mr. Gay World contest in Johannesburg involved a number of events including a sports challenge, a Survivor style obstacle course and even a written exam with LGBT historical questions.

Australian representative Benjamin Michael also competed strongly, coming second place in the sports games.

Twenty-two nations entered this year, several for the first time. Countries of origin included Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, Chile, Czech Republic, Ethiopia, Finland, France, Hong Kong, Ireland, Mexico, Namibia, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Philippines, South Africa, Spain, Switzerland and the USA.

See more photos from Mr. Gay World 2012 here.

It’s just been confirmed that Mr Gay World 2013 will be held in Belgium as part of WorldOutgames Antwerp from 1-5 August next year. We’ll let you know when applications open for Aussie contestants.

Meet the men of Mr. Gay World 2012 in our gallery below.