Sports
The Hunky Tongan Flag Bearer Is Back at the Olympics for 2021
We — and I can't emphasize this enough — love to see it.
July 23 2021 9:57 AM EST
December 09 2022 9:12 AM EST
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We — and I can't emphasize this enough — love to see it.
While there certainly are a ton of abs at the Olympics, in 2016 one set stuck out. They were perfectly tanned and gratuitously oiled and belonged to one Pita Taufatofua. For the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, he was the Tongan flag bearer.
Two years later he was back, in freezing temperatures at the Winter Olympics in Pyeong Chang. And you've guessed it, three years later (delayed because of the pandemic) he has returned yet again for the 2020 Olympics (happening in 2021) in Tokyo. And obviously, Twitter is thirsty.
But like most people, Taufatofua is certainly more than just his abs. He is a UNICEF ambassador, and an Olympian of some of the highest orders. He competed in cross-country skiing for the Winter Games and also has competed in taekwando. In fact, he hopes to be the first person to qualify for three different Olympics in three different sports. That would have theoretically happened this year but after an injury and because of the pandemic that did not happen.
Still, he's present and we can only thank him for his service!