Everyone on the internet at this point probably knows about the Tonga flag bearer for Summer Olympics, Pita Taufatofua, and his shirtless walk during the opening ceremonies two years ago. His pictures blew up on the internet and even became a lasting meme as people admired and joked about him online.
But he didn’t just do it once. This year Pita again qualified for the Olympics, and impressive feat for anyone, but especially since the two sports he participates in are so wildly different – Taekwondo and cross-country skiing, which he took up in 2016.
When he qualified for the Winter Olympics, he became Tonga’s first athlete to compete in both variations of the games and the first cross-country skier to come from the Polynesian archipelago.
He, along with two other skiers from Tonga, Kasete Naufahu Skeen and Makeleta Piukala Stephan, have been tearing up the slopes this Olympics – writing this now, none of them have received a medal yet, but only one of the events has finished so far… keep watching the Winter Olympics at PyeongChang for updates on the team!