Situation ab-normal for Tonga
Glistening beneath a layer of oil, the shirtless Tongan flag-bearer whose torso mesmerized the world at the 2016 Summer Olympics is back again for the 2018 Winter Games in Pyeongchang.
Pita Taufatofua committed to the slick look as he carried his nation’s flag into the opening ceremonies Friday — apparently unfazed by frigid, sub-zero temperatures. He and his well-defined abs first shot to international stardom after he wore the same outfit at the much-warmer Rio Games two years ago.
“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 any time you get to represent your country is a good time.”
Taufatofua competed in taekwondo in Rio. Despite living in a nation with no snow, he qualified for the Winter Games in cross-country skiing. The athlete only took up cross-country skiing last year, and left his Olympic qualifying until late.
The 34-year-old previously said he would be keeping his clothes on, with these Games threatening to be one of the coldest on record. But he instead chose to double down on his outfit from two years ago, wearing a traditional male ta’ovala skirt as he waved Tonga’s flag.
While Taufatofua’s bare chest drew much attention as many athletes around him were bundled in hats, mitts and jackets, he wasn’t the only competitor to show some skin. Bermuda’s delegation — which included cross-country skier Tucker Murphy as the flag-bearer, coach Pepa Miloucheva and assistant Waxer Jeff Shaw — once again wore red Bermuda shorts, named after the Caribbean territory, despite the freezing temperatures.
“At the Olympic Games, winter or summer, we’re pretty much famous for our Bermuda shorts . . . It’s not a novelty,” Dexter Smith, editor of Bermuda’s Royal Gazette newspaper, told USA Today. “Not by any stretch.”
PET CAUSE: Meagan Duhamel has gold-medal aspirations in South Korea, but the country has already given the Canadian figure skater the best prize of all: her miniature dachshund mix, Moo-tae. Duhamel and skating partner Eric Radford were competing in a test run for the Olympics last year when she adopted the puppy, which was supposed to be raised on a Korean dog meat farm but was rescued by Buddhists. The figure skater told The Associated Press she is planning to do more to undercut Korea’s dog meat industry. She has already appeared in a public service announcement and is hoping to assist in shuttering a farm or two once she is done competing. Duhamel will also fly another rescued dog back to Canada, though it won’t be staying with her once on Canadian soil. “I don’t have the luxury of keeping another dog in my small condo,” she said, “as much as I would love to.”
100K MAN: American ski jumper Casey Larson became the 100,000th man to compete at the Olympics, according to historian Bill Mallon. Mallon calculated that, going into Pyeongchang, 99,983 men had competed since the modern Games began in Athens in 1896, making the17th male debutant the history maker. After six new Olympians competed in mixed doubles curling on Thursday morning, Larson, the 16th starter and 11th new Olympian in the qualifying round at the Alpensia Ski Jumping Centre, hit that mark. “It’s pretty cool,” said Larson. “I can add that to my Olympic checklist.”
FLAG FEUD: American luge veteran Erin Hamlin carrying the flag into her last Olympics was supposed to be a feel-good story, but speedskater Shani Davis wasn’t having it. Hamlin and Davis were among several candidates for the role. Athletes from each of the eight U.S. winter sports federations voted in the process, deadlocking at 4-4, and Hamlin won an ensuing coin toss, the method for picking a winner should the vote end in a tie. Davis expressed disappointment on Twitter. “I am an American and when I won the 1000m in 2010 I became the first American to 2-peat in that event,” he posted. “@TeamUSA dishonorably tossed a coin to decide its 2018 flag bearer. No problem. I can wait until 2022. #BlackHistoryMonth2018 #PyeongChang2018”
MARKETING MAGIC: A life-size version of the South Korean flag during Thursday’s opening ceremonies became something of an advertisement for Pepsi, as many people on Twitter confused the red and blue circle at the centre of the country’s flag with the drink’s logo. “First glance it looks like a Pepsi commercial,” one person tweeted. Another wrote: “For some reason I really want a Pepsi.” With files from Emma McIntosh