Painful road to Rio - Tonga’s first Taekwondo Olympian has no regrets [1]
Tuesday, August 2, 2016 - 18:22. Updated on Tuesday, August 9, 2016 - 09:57.
By Eleanor Gee
Pita Nikolas Taufatofua, Tonga’s first Olympic Taekwondo athlete, will aim for gold at the Rio Olympics competing in the Men’s +80kg division on Saturday 20 August.
A lifetime of pain and struggle was worth every moment to reach the Olympics, says Pita when reflecting on his journey to becoming an Olympian.
It cost him six broken bones, three torn ligaments, three months in a wheelchair, a year and a half on crutches and hundreds of hours of physiotherapy, and it was all part of the journey.
“I don’t have any regrets – I believe all these things I went through made me who I am, they made me stronger,” Pita told The Coconet.tv blog.
Pursuing a dream
Pita was born in Australia and grew up in Tonga where he attended school at Tonga Side School and Tonga High School.
He has a degree in Engineering and is currently finishing his Masters. He works as a Youth Counsellor, working with underprivileged, marginalized, disadvantaged kids. He has also been modeling since he was 18 years old.
He dreamed of going to the Olympics at a young age when Tonga’s boxer Paea Wolfgram came back from the Olympics with a silver medal. There was a procession in Tonga with people lining the streets and little kids holding up letters of Paea’s name. Pita was one of the kids holding up the letter ‘P’ as Paea passed by on a float and it was there and then he decided that one day he would go to the Olympics.
Pita told Monimonu News (Sydney) that he lived and experienced the full island life, going to ‘uta’ or the farm every Saturday to ‘ta’aki manioke’ or pull cassava, and now even though he lives in Australia, his decision to represent Tonga was made when he held up that letter as a kid.
“I grew up there [Tonga] and that’s where the heart is and it’s very important for me to represent Tonga and to do it at my absolute best,” he said.
He had the option to represent Australia but he says Australia is already going to be well represented at the Olympics and for him; it was always going to be Tonga.
Strength
Pita is physically ready, working with one of the best strengthening coaches and he has also developed a strong mentality over the years, especially working with disadvantaged kids.
A strong Christian, he has never had alcohol in his entire life nor has he smoked a cigarette or taken any form of drugs.
“One of my core values is keeping the body the temple – looking after yourself and realizing you can get things like confidence, happiness and excitement – without using any of those things,” he said.
His journey to the Olympics meant so many sacrifices and so many obstacles.
In 2003, he was asked to represent Tonga at the South Pacific games in Fiji so he took time off university and his parents even flew over to watch him compete. He was completely devastated when he was told someone else was taking his place. A year later, he could not attend the Olympic Qualification tournament because Tonga had no money to send him.
In 2008, Pita went through to the Olympic Qualifier and made it to the final. He suffered another setback, this time fracturing a bone in one foot and spraining his ankle. He kept fighting and ended up in hospital and in a wheelchair.
Another four years of waiting for another shot at the Olympics saw Pita work hard to save money and move to train with the best in Korea. He and his coach, Paul, slept in a church pre-school for six months and had to be up at 4:00am to pack their bags before the children arrived. It was uncomfortable but he endured in order to be near a Taekwondo Master.
Pita went to the World Qualifying tournament but again suffered another setback. He tore his PCL ligament in the first round and instead of resting, he continued fighting. He ended up back in Korea with his injury and then returned to Australia for treatment and another shot at the Oceania Qualifier even though he did not fully recover. Pita made it to the final but could only fight with one leg and lost.
Oceania
The following four years set him on a journey of self-development. He became the first Tongan to qualify for the Rio Olympics after he won a gold medal in the Taekwondo Oceania Olympic Qualification Tournament in Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea, earlier this year in February. He won the final bout against New Zealand Heavy Weight Champion Daffyd Sanders, who is ranked the number one fighter in Oceania and number 15 in the world.
Pita is a self-funded athlete and is currently ranked 87th in the world, which he says is the lowest but that hasn’t deterred him from the task at hand.
He said his first fight would be against the number one in the world or an Olympic Gold medalist.
“That doesn’t scare me, that excites me!” he said.
Pita along with 127 Taekwondo athletes from 63 countries will compete in Rio over four days from 17 to 20 August.