Pita announces third sport aiming for Tokyo Olympics [1]
Tuesday, April 30, 2019 - 21:40. Updated on Tuesday, April 30, 2019 - 21:41.
Tonga’s famous bare-chested flagbearer, Pita Taufatofua has revealed kayaking as the third sport he will aim to qualify in for the next Olympics held in Tokyo in 2020.
The 35-year-old plans to try out for the Olympic 200m kayak event.
“I chose kayak because it's something close to my heart. It's something that Polynesians have done for a thousand years, travelling from island to island,” Pita told the Olympic Channel [2].
“Our dream now is to be the first person in the modern era to represent three unrelated sports at an Olympic Games and in successive Games,” he said.
Pita first represented Tonga at the Rio Olympics in 2016 in taekwondo, where he caught the world’s attention and “broke the internet”, when he carried Tonga’s flag during the opening ceremony, bare-chested and glistening in coconut oil.
While all the attention was fantastic, Pita said his greatest moment was qualifying for the event after trying for around 20 years.
“People ask me about the Opening Ceremony at the Rio Olympics, and it was fantastic, but nothing comes close to the moment that I qualified to become a summer Olympian,” he said.
Pita also represented Tonga at the PyeongChang Winter Olympics in 2018 in cross-country skiing, having qualified at the very last event. He was also the only topless flagbearer at the games.
And now, with his sights set on Tokyo, Pita is back in Tonga training hard on Fanga’uta lagoon on Tongatapu.
“My family home is right on the lagoon so I'm able to walk down the stairs and jump straight in the kayak… It's the perfect location for me to be able to practice.”
Pita is not worried if his decision to go for a third Olympic sport draws criticism.
“I think people are very scared to chase after dreams or and goals. They're scared of what the person on the internet, who they've never met, is going to say.
“We don't have that fear,” he said.
Pacific Ambassador
Pita became the first UNICEF Pacific Ambassador in July 2018 and is an advocate for keeping the environment clean.
“The Pacific Ocean provides fish for people all over the world [and is] one of the largest carbon sinks for greenhouse emissions.”
“Protecting the environment, plastics, single-use plastics and climate change - it's a big deal for me,” he said.
“The ocean provides so much for our planet, not just for Tonga.”