Bruno aims to become Tonga's first winter Olympian [1]
Sunday, February 3, 2013 - 22:41. Updated on Monday, September 9, 2013 - 18:40.
Bruno Banani
Tonga could have its first Winter Olympian next year at the 2014 Olympics in Sochi, Russia. This according to Mathias Ilhe, promoter of Tonga’s first ever luge athlete, “Bruno Banani”
Bruno was discovered in 2008 by an American event promotions company who were on a quest to find a Tongan luger. Five years later, not only has Bruno astonished the world of winter sports by qualifying for major international competitions, but he has even won a bronze medal at the 2011 America-Pacific Luge Championship in Calgary, Canada.
Mathias said “Since January 2009 the 26 year-old-computer student from the Kingdom of Tonga has been showing the world of winter sports that South Pacific Islanders are able to successfully race down an ice track with much more than 75 mph, as well”.
Bruno’s spot in the Olympics will depend on his performance this month as he participates in two world championship tournaments. His first tournament, the FIL World Championships is held from February 1-2 in Whistler Canada. On February 23-24, Bruno will have his Olympic test in the “final” Luge world cup in Sochi, Russia.
“The Tongan luger is currently ranked no. 37 in the world with a rising trend. If he manages to stabilize his remarkable performance and furthermore maintain his ranking position in the World Cup, he certainly will be the first Olympian from the South Pacific Islands participating in the Olympic Winter Games in Soichi 2014.”
If Bruno succeeds he will be the first Athlete to represent Tonga at the Winter Olympics as well as the first luger to represent a South Pacific Island nation at the Winter Olympics.
The last time a South Pacific Island Nation participated in the Winter Olympics occurred a decade ago when Alpine Skier Laurence Thom represented Fiji at the 2002 Salt Lake City Winter Olympics.