BEIJING — For the first time since 2014, an Olympics Opening Ceremony won’t feature the glistening pecs of multi-sport Olympian Pita Taufatofua.
The Tongan Olympian in both taekwondo and cross-country skiing, Taufatofua is remaining at home in Tonga as the nation works to recover from the effects of a devastating volcano blast last month. That means viewers hoping to catch a glimpse of Taufatofua in his trademark shirtless, skirted garb — which he sported at both Summer and Winter Olympics — will have to head to his Instagram page instead.
“Three Olympics in a row I have been blessed with all of your kindness,” Taufatofua wrote in a post beneath a picture of him — of course — without a shirt. “The last two years, competition and travel has been non-existent. Not everything is in our control.”
Taufatofua makes for an easy comparison to Tim Tebow, who similarly attempted multiple sports with varying levels of success. Also like Tebow, Taufatofua boasts an impressive charitable reach; the GoFundMe page he began to help his fellow Tongans has crossed $800,000.
At the Opening Ceremony of the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio, Taufatofua’s greased-up chest caught the world’s attention. He followed that up with an appearance at a chilly Opening Ceremony in Pyeongchang, South Korea, where he would go on to compete in the cross-country skiing event. He returned to taekwondo last year in Tokyo.
Taufatofua, at least, doesn’t believe his Olympic journey is at an end. “Paris,” he concluded his Instagram post, “we are coming!”
