Pita Taufatofua will hold Tonga’s flag aloft again tonight at the opening ceremony of the 2018 Winter Olympic Games in Pyeongchang, South Korea. The bare-chested and well-oiled Pita who made his name at the 2016 Rio Olympics, intends to wear his shirt this time.

The 34-year-old will become the first Tongan at the games to compete in the 15km cross country skiing freestyle race next Friday, 16 February at 3:00pm (Korean time) (7:00pm Tongan time).

In his Instagram posts, Pita gives insight on the difficulty of his new sport and some of the challenges he is facing.

“Uphills are the hardest part. I’ve had many less than ideal results because I haven’t been able to sustain the uphill momentum in the later laps. This is one of the challenges of transitioning from being an explosive anaerobic athlete to an endurance athlete. The cure? More and more uphills!”, he stated.

He is also improving on his downhill tuck position. “The main goal here is to minimize wind resistance by tucking. My goal is to rest as long as possible while trying not to ski into a tree.”

Rio internet sensation

Pita quickly became everyone’s favourite flag bearer and an internet sensation when he captured the world’s attention at the Rio Olympic Games in 2016, carrying Tonga’s flag topless, glistening in coconut oil and wearing a traditional Faka-Ha'apai over ngatu (tapa cloth). He was there competing as a Taekwondo athlete.

At the opening ceremony tonight, all eyes will be watching Tonga's new cross country skier, and the outfit he'll wear holding the flag.

Digicel Tonga has confirmed they will air the opening ceremony and highlights of the winter games starting tonight in Nuku'alofa on channel 26, at 11.50pm.

Other internet sites will also stream the action in Pyeongchang over the next few weeks.