2016, 2018 & 2020: Tonga's taekwondo star walks shirtless during the Olympics Parade; netizens react
Synopsis
The bearer has been identified as Pita Taufatofua, who marched in traditional Tongan attire, during the Rio Summer Olympics (2016) and PyeongChang Winter Olympics (2018) and of course this year as well.
Delayed by a year due to the coronavirus pandemic, the Tokyo Olympics finally got underway on Friday. Apart from numerous changes and things, one person that stole the event was Tonga's oiled up and shirtless flag bearer, who made a grand entry once gain during the Parade of Nations.
The bearer has been identified as Pita Taufatofua, who marched in traditional Tongan attire, during the Rio Summer Olympics (2016) and PyeongChang Winter Olympics (2018) and of course this year as well.
Taufatofua, a Taekwondo practitioner and skier, had become an overnight sensation when he walked with his nation's flag in the past two Olympics.
The Olympics Twitter account shared images of the athlete who maintained his tradition by wearing the attire.
As soon as the contingent entered with the athlete, netizens went berserk with praise and excitement. Check out some tweets:
Taufatofua walked the Parade of Nations alongside Malia Paseka and will be participating in the men's 80-kg plus category in the taekwondo event. His first contest is slated for Monday against Vladislav Larin of Russia.