Tonga's shirtless Olympic flag bearer, Pita Taufatofua back with compelling story; Read

Pita Taufatofua is well-known on social media as the ‘shirtless' Tonga flag bearer at the Rio Olympics, but his tale is far more remarkable and historic than his appearance at the opening ceremony. In just a few years, the 37-year-old has represented Tonga at both the Summer and Winter Olympic Games. He competed in taekwondo at the 2016 Rio Olympics, where he made news for his appearance, an oiled torso wrapped around the waist with a taovala, a traditional Tongan mat.

Pita qualified for the Pyeongchang Winter Games in 2018

Taufatofua claims he was simply attempting to represent his homeland by donning traditional clothing. He was the flagbearer of Tonga again in the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Games, this time in far colder temperatures, qualifying for his second Olympics in cross-country skiing after a long journey. 

In taekwondo, he became the first player from Tonga to qualify for the Olympics. Despite coming from a Polynesian island country and having never seen snow before, it took a tremendous amount of effort to qualify in cross-country skiing. However, he was eliminated in the first round, losing 16-1 against Iranian Sajjad Mardani.

Paea Wolfgramm was the inspiration for Pita Taufatofua to be an Olympian

When Taufatofua saw fellow Tongan Paea Wolfgramm win a medal in boxing at the 1996 Atlanta Games, he knew he wanted to be an Olympian. But it took him 15 years and a lot of hardship to get to his first Olympics, which included two terrible injuries while trying to qualify for the 2008 and 2012 Games.

He explained how, after breaking his foot and being unable to walk for six months following the 2008 qualification, he slept beneath a desk in a preschool in Korea for six months while training in 2011, reached the final of the next qualifier on one leg, but fell short. To attend the 2016 qualifications, he had to rely on others for funds to purchase his tickets and then raise money through fundraisers to practise.

After earning gold in the M+80 kg, his second Olympic competition for the sport, he qualified for the 2021 Summer Olympics, Tokyo in taekwondo in February 2020.

Image- @pita_tofua/Instagram