Translate
06 August 2016
The star of the Olympics opening ceremony was the shirtless, oily Tongan flagbearer who raised over $6,000 to train for the games
The star of the Olympics opening ceremony was the shirtless, oily Tongan flagbearer who raised over $6,000 to train for the games
SPORTS AUG. 6, 2016, 11:08 AM
Paul Gilham/Getty
Pita Nikolas Taufatofua.
Tonga isn’t usually a star nation of the Olympics, but on Friday night at the Rio 2016 opening ceremony, they stole the show thanks to taekwondo fighter Pita Nikolas Taufatofua.
Taufatofua was Tonga’s flagbearer during the parade of nation, and he marched out shirtless and drenched in oil, wearing only a Tongan mat, instantly causing a stir in the sports world.
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.
Cameron Spencer/Getty
Read more at http://www.businessinsider.my/tongan-flagbearer-pita-nikolas-taufatofua-star-of-olympics-opening-ceremony-2016-8/#rODAxQdTBIdEvHjY.99
Popular Posts - Last 7 days
-
Evening Standard Otter attack in Malaysia leaves woman bloodied and unable to stand EVENING STANDARD 12 September 2024 Otter attack in Mal...
-
Officials describe apparent assassination attempt on Donald Trump Trump was the subject of an apparent assassination attempt at his...
-
Wan Saiful trial: Prosecution witness says RM38,160 deposited into Sinar Karangkraf account Bernama 18/09/2024 Former Bersatu Information c...
-
Ringgit breaches 4.30 level against US dollar, hits 20-month high Bernama 13/09/2024 Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd chief economist Dr Mohd Afz...
-
49 ditahan proses sisa elektronik secara haram, aset RM41.6 juta disita ASTRO AWANI 15/09/2024 Enam warga tempatan, 43 pendatang asing dita...
-
BBQ Buffet Buy 2 Free 1 Experience a sumptuous BBQ Steamboat Buffet Dinner with Royale Chulan's exclusive "Buy 2 Free 1&qu...
-
Singapore Airlines flight grounded at Hong Kong airport due to technical issue, passengers stranded on tarmac for four hours Malay Mail SING...
-
KLIA immigration officers now banned from using mobile phones while on duty - Azam Baki Bernama 18/09/2024 The Chief Commissioner of the Ma...
Popular Posts - Last 30 days
-
Malaysia COVID-19 cases soar above 5k Melissa Fernando ASRTRO AWANI Julai 16, 2022 = Malaysia COVID-19 cases soar above 5k There were eigh...
-
37 individuals remanded in probe into misappropriation of PenjanaKerjaya funds Bernama Julai 15, 2022 MACC today remanded 37 individuals to...
-
Twitter sues Elon Musk to hold him to $44 billion deal Reuters Julai 13, 2022 The lawsuit accused Musk of "a long list" of viola...
-
Evening Standard Otter attack in Malaysia leaves woman bloodied and unable to stand EVENING STANDARD 12 September 2024 Otter attack in Mal...
-
All Malaysian pilgrims complete haj pilgrimage Bernama Julai 12, 2022 All 14,305 Malaysian pilgrims have completed the Haj without any unt...
-
Shahrol Azral transferred 1MDB money to Jho Low's company twice - Najib's lawyer Named 02/09/2024 Datuk Shahrol Azral Ibrahim Halmi...
-
Officials describe apparent assassination attempt on Donald Trump Trump was the subject of an apparent assassination attempt at his...
-
CIMB recorded a net profit of RM3.9 billion in 6 months ASTRO AWANI 31/08/2024 Novan said CIMB's achievements were supported by the tru...
-
1MDB: Amhari a 'corrupt public official' says Najib's lawyer Bernama 21/08/2024 In 2019, Datuk Amhari Efendi Nazaruddin testifi...
Blog Archive
-
►
2024
(2909)
- September (225)
- August (356)
- July (273)
- June (329)
- May (352)
- April (317)
- March (342)
- February (352)
- January (363)
-
►
2023
(3771)
- December (311)
- November (322)
- October (286)
- September (288)
- August (365)
- July (349)
- June (372)
- May (316)
- April (279)
- March (301)
- February (245)
- January (337)
-
►
2022
(4309)
- December (352)
- November (422)
- October (288)
- September (281)
- August (347)
- July (303)
- June (335)
- May (406)
- April (341)
- March (371)
- February (390)
- January (473)
-
►
2021
(9030)
- December (636)
- November (647)
- October (809)
- September (797)
- August (880)
- July (894)
- June (747)
- May (780)
- April (580)
- March (629)
- February (643)
- January (988)
-
►
2020
(6800)
- December (819)
- November (698)
- October (832)
- September (729)
- August (548)
- July (558)
- June (615)
- May (394)
- April (368)
- March (453)
- February (439)
- January (347)
-
►
2019
(4089)
- December (411)
- November (425)
- October (375)
- September (279)
- August (397)
- July (353)
- June (326)
- May (315)
- April (266)
- March (318)
- February (293)
- January (331)
-
►
2018
(4100)
- December (305)
- November (304)
- October (357)
- September (352)
- August (420)
- July (442)
- June (366)
- May (412)
- April (343)
- March (275)
- February (233)
- January (291)
-
►
2017
(3888)
- December (268)
- November (293)
- October (352)
- September (309)
- August (356)
- July (300)
- June (319)
- May (354)
- April (316)
- March (335)
- February (306)
- January (380)
-
▼
2016
(4563)
- December (331)
- November (328)
- October (378)
- September (415)
- August (404)
- July (380)
- June (310)
- May (370)
- April (430)
- March (484)
- February (355)
- January (378)
-
►
2015
(4588)
- December (402)
- November (392)
- October (393)
- September (375)
- August (450)
- July (392)
- June (456)
- May (407)
- April (408)
- March (374)
- February (262)
- January (277)