Turning heads for the wrong reasons
His was one of the uplifting stories of this year’s Winter Olympics: Tongan star Pita Taufatofua, who marched his way to internet fame when he led his team into the Rio Olympic Stadium in 2016 wearing a traditional Ta’ovala and a whole lot of coconut oil, re-emerged in PyeongChang to make history for his country.
But some of Taufatofua’s rivals have revealed a different narrative, believing he ‘‘cheated’’ his way into this year’s Winter Olympics.
Taufatofua was the first athlete from Tonga to represent his nation in both the Summer and Winter Games following an audacious late bid to qualify in cross-country skiing.
In the spirit of Eddie the Eagle, the story of the plucky Tongan who had never skied a day in his life until 2017 caught the attention of international media.
His journey from the beaches of the South Pacific to the start gate in South Korea was facilitated by a cast of colourful characters, from a Silicon Valley venture capitalist, to a German businessman and recreational skier who once tried to compete for Togo.
While Taufatofua basked in the spotlight, behind the scenes there was disquiet over maverick machinations that paved the way for him to compete in PyeongChang.
Stuff has learned the International Ski Federation (FIS) is now reviewing its qualification process for cross-country skiing for the 2022 Games in Beijing due to concerns over ‘‘results inconsistencies’’ of several athletes competing this year.
Cesar Baena, a member of the Venezuelan nordic ski team, believes Taufatofua cheated the system.
‘‘What we saw with Pita, I’m sad to say, is someone who cheated the system, someone who got [around] the rules.’’
At the centre of the controversy is a series of roller-skiing events which were held over three days in Bogota, Colombia, late last year. It was Taufatofua’s results in these races that effectively secured his ticket to the Games.
In an effort to encourage competitors from decidedly unsnowy climates and ensure representation from a broader range of nations at the Winter Olympics, the FIS relaxed its rules after the 2014 Games in Sochi to allow points accrued in rollerskiing events to count towards Olympic qualification.
Points formula
The FIS points formula is a complicated beast, but put simply, points are calculated by the competitor’s time behind the winner – the lower the points, the better. To meet the Olympic qualification standard, Taufatofua needed to score under 300 points in at least five races. The standard of the race and level of competition is taken into account when allocating points. For instance in top level competitions the winner could be awarded nil points, whereas in other races the winner may get 130 points.
Four of Taufatofua’s sub-300 performances were achieved in the space of three days in Bogota in early December last year. All four races featured the same seven competitors. Two of those races were just 2.5km sprints – well short of the 15km Olympic distance – while the other two were 10km races.
Taufatofua wasn’t the only athlete to secure Olympic qualification through these events, with competitors from Mexico, Colombia, Portugal and Ecuador also taking the same dubious route. These same five skiers were the final five finishers at the Olympics, all crossing the line between 20-26 minutes behind the winner, Dario Cologna, of Switzerland.
The Colombian competitor, Sebastian Uprimny, is listed as one of the organisers of the Bogota races. Uprimny, 42, went on to become the first athlete from his country to qualify for the Winter Olympics.
Baena, who failed to qualify for this year’s Games, believes the way they got those points was ‘‘cheating’’.
‘‘This was a fake race they organised between themselves only for these guys to qualify. If you saw their results from the real competitions against the experienced guys, they do not have the level. They got really high points. It does not match what they did in these races in Colombia. ‘‘It is not really a fair game.’’ Baena laid an official complaint with the FIS through his national association, but he says he has not had a response.
However, Michal Lamplot, the FIS’ media and project coordinator for cross-country skiing, said in a statement the organisation was reviewing its qualification standards for the next Winter Olympics following questions over the legitimacy of the results of some of the athletes.
‘‘FIS is aware of some results inconsistencies of several crosscountry skiing athletes during the PyeongChang 2018 qualification period. We are currently looking at how we can improve/modify the cross-country qualification process for the next Olympic Winter Games in Beijing in 2022,’’ the statement read.
Stuff contacted Taufatofua for a response to the criticism over the way in which he secured Olympic qualification. The Brisbane-based youth worker asked for a list of questions to be sent through, but he did not respond to those questions or follow-up messages.
An inquiry form on the website of the Royal Tonga Ski Federation will take you all the way to Munich, Germany, where Steve Grundmann, the organisation’s assistant secretary general is based. In the 2014 Olympic cycle, Grundmann attempted to qualify for the Winter Olympics for Togo – a narrow sliver of a country in West Africa – but was denied by a visa issue. Nevertheless, in Sochi he went on to lead the country’s first delegation to a Winter Olympics as a coach/manager.
Grundmann also did not respond to requests for comment.
Taufatofua did achieve his final sub-300 performance on snow, sneaking under the threshold in a 10km event in Iceland in January just weeks out from the start of the Games. He finished sixth of eight competitors, in a race in which two of his fellow Bogota rollerskiers were sanctioned. Mexico’s German Madrazo was disqualified for pushing/using a pacemaker, while Chile’s Yonathan Fernandez received a written reprimand for breaching the FIS rules.
Ahead of Taufatofua’s appearance in PyeongChang his journey from taekwondo to crosscountry skiing was documented by several major news outlets. He spoke animatedly about the struggles he encountered trying to pick up new sport in 12 months: the heavy spills he took on rollerskis, the lung-burning races, the financial hardship having quit his job to dedicate his life to his new goal, his hatred of the cold and the wacky adventures he had roadtripping around Europe going from event to event.
One cross-country skier who competed in PyeongChang but did not wish to be named, told Stuff he believes these five athletes dented the credibility of his sport.
‘‘Their results are suspicious. To me, it is all just too much to ignore,’’ he says.
‘‘Their participation really devalued the Olympic participation of all others who were among the last 20, but who actually qualified from real ski races. It also devalued the whole Games. Now people think that just about anyone from an exotic country could participate in the Winter Olympics and that is far from the truth. There are many skiers out there who didn’t make it to the Games, but who are much better than the five involved [in the Bogota races].’’
More scrutiny
Baena, who in 2015 roller-skied the length of New Zealand to break his own world record, says he does not want roller skiing events to be axed from the qualification eligibility, rather he wants greater scrutiny over the events and the standard of competition.
‘‘I understand they want a broad number of countries at the Olympics, and I agree with that principle. But there is a minimal kind of level,’’ he says.
‘‘These guys had no experience in skiing. [Taufatofua] showed up to one race I was in in Australia, and when I saw him skiing he has no skill, he has no technique, he might have physical condition, but it requires time. You can’t just show up like a parachute and make it to an Olympics.’’
However, Taufatofua’s appearance in PyeongChang was not about trying to be competitive. His mission from the outset was to inspire not only the people of Tonga, but all Pacific nations, to chase ‘‘impossible dreams’’.
‘‘I won’t win a medal here. But in four years someone from Tonga might, in eight years someone from the Pacific might,’’ he said ahead of the event.
‘‘These kids who are watching now, they’ll have access to something they never knew existed before.’’
Baena shares the same dream of inspiring young people of Venezuela – a country that also has limited pedigree in winter sports.
‘‘I have invested 12 years of my life for the same goal, but I have principles,’’ Baena says.
‘‘The system is there to show that you are at the level, to show that you are an elite athlete. If I need more time in the snow to get better, then yeah, let it be. One day I will make it to the Olympics, but not like those guys did.’’