Pita Nikolas Taufatofua, the flag bearer for Tonga becomes the hero within a night
Rio de Janeiro, Aug 6: Pita Nikolas Taufatofua, the flag bearer for Tonga at the Rio 2016 opening ceremony, was relatively unknown before Friday night’s festivities. No longer.
Twitter is agog with the slicked, shirtless, heavyweight taekwondo competitor.
No one go near Tonga’s flag bearer with an open flame #Rio2016
— SLawson (@sophievlawson) August 6, 2016
The humour is two parts admiration, one-half part jealousy. Another half part is desire. Desire to visit Tonga.
Tonga is the winner of gold medal #CeremoniaDeInauguracion #Rio2016 pic.twitter.com/awR4DXrc3t
— Hugo Sarmiento (@VHHS) August 6, 2016
After #OpeningCeremony and the Portuguese #CerimoniaDeAbertura, the highest trending term on Twitter was #Tonga with more than 45 million global mentions. And that was even before NBC aired the broadcast in the U.S.
Where is #Tonga and how do I get there #OpeningCeremony pic.twitter.com/UlEDGX8X8q
— Brandi (@BlondieInTX) August 6, 2016
Taufatofua, six-foot-three, competes in the men’s 80kg class and lists the iconic Bruce Lee as an inspiration. He begins competition 20 August at Carioca Arena 3.
Pita Nikolas Taufatofua, a #taekwondo athlete & flag bearer for #Tonga. #RioOlympics2016pic.twitter.com/YQlTZHTjhy
— Christina (@nosescents) August 6, 2016
This is Taufatofua’s first Olympics and he’s Tonga’s first taekwondo Olympian.
According to Wall Street Journal, Taufatofua started a Generosity page to crowdsource money to “fund a training camp with world-class fighters, bring his technical coach to that training camp, hire a strength and conditioning coach, buy the electronic system that will be used at the Olympics and cover his costs of travel.” His goal was $100,000, according to WSJ. He made only $6,262.
That didn’t stop Taufatofua, though. According to WSJ, in an interview with a Tongan website, Taufatofua revealed he’s had multiple injuries in his career and was wheelchair-bound for three months.
As WSJ also notes, Taufatofua also gave a preview of his grand Olympics entrance, writing on his Facebook page, “Olympic opening Ceremony tonight! Pumped! We have a little surprise.. Don’t blink or you’ll miss it.”
His entrance quickly made him a star, gaining over 1,000 followers on Instagram within an hour, according to WSJ.
After Friday night, the taekwondo events gained a lot more followers.
