Taufatofua takes his shirt of again

TONGA – He did it again.

Tongan flag bearer Pita Taufatofua has once again set social media alight after repeating his famed Rio Olympic Games entrance by marching into the stadium in Pyeongchang shirtless, oiled up and wearing a traditional skirt – this time in sub-zero temperatures.

In 2016, the taekwondo fighter and cross-country skier made headlines at the Rio de Janeiro Summer Olympics when he strode into the ceremony glistening and waving his country’s flag.

With temperatures hovering just below 0 degrees Celsius in Pyeongchang at the Winter Olympics opening ceremony overnight, the island of Bermuda raised eyebrows when they entered the stadium wearing their traditional red shorts – but the Australian-born Tongan upped the ante with his bare-chested appearance, eliciting cheers from the crowd.

“I won’t freeze. I am from Tonga. We sailed across the Pacific. This is nothing,” he was quoted as saying by the Olympic news service.

“It’s a little bit warmer being in Rio than in here – but anytime you get to represent your country is a good time.”

Taufatofua qualified to become Tonga’s first male Olympic cross-country skier earlier this year, despite there being no snow in the Pacific Island country of Tonga, and even though he only saw snow for the first time in his life two years ago.

“After Rio I decided to find the hardest sport possible, because I needed a new challenge, and the hardest sport possible was cross-country skiing,” the 34-year-old said.

“You know, look at the conditions, it’s like freezing, it’s negative a million degrees, and then you’ve got to put your body through something really challenging.”

Not one for doing things the easy way, Taufatofua left it until the very last day of the qualification period to reach the required standard for the Pyeongchang Games.

“I put myself through a lot of challenge just to be here, so I can guarantee you it wasn’t fun, but I’m an athlete and as an athlete you always give your absolute best at a competition,” he told Pacific Beat earlier this year.

“The goal was to qualify in a year and I feel I don’t have as much pressure as other people now, because I achieved what I set out to achieve and all I have left to do is give the best version of me in the race.”

Tonga, a Polynesian kingdom of more than 170 islands, is better known for its rugby prowess.

The snowless, tropical nation made its Winter Games debut in the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics, with its only representative Bruno Banani finishing 32nd out of 39 in the men’s luge event. - ABC/PNC