Back to the Olympics Newsfeed

Cold medal: Shirtless Tongan grabs Olympic attention again

PYEONGCHANG, South Korea (AP) — Pita Taufatofua has shown once again he's willing to give the shirt off his back for Tonga in Olympic conditions, whether it be sun, snow or shine.

Less than two years after shooting to international fame when he walked shirtless and oiled-up into the opening ceremony of the Summer Games in Rio de Janeiro, Taufatofua was bare chested again when he carried the Tongan flag into the opener of the Winter Games in Pyeongchang on Friday.

Taufatofua competed in taekwondo in Rio, and is back competing in cross-country skiing, despite representing a tropical south Pacific island nation where it doesn't snow.