The star of the Olympics opening ceremony was the shirtless, oily Tongan flagbearer who raised over $6,000 to train for the Olympics

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tonga flagbearer

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Pita Nikolas Taufatofua.

Tonga isn't usually a star nation of the Olympics, but on Friday night at the Rio 2016 opening ceremony, they stole the show thanks to taekwondo fighter Pita Nikolas Taufatofua.

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Taufatofua was Tonga's flagbearer during the parade of nation, and he marched out shirtless and drenched in oil, wearing only a Tongan mat, instantly causing a stir in the sports world.

This is Taufatofua's first Olympics and he's Tonga's first taekwondo Olympian.

According to Wall Street Journal, Taufatofua started a Generosity page to crowdsource money to "fund a training camp with world-class fighters, bring his technical coach to that training camp, hire a strength and conditioning coach, buy the electronic system that will be used at the Olympics and cover his costs of travel." His goal was $100,000, according to WSJ. He made only $6,262.

That didn't stop Taufatofua, though. According to WSJ, in an interview with a Tongan website, Taufatofua revealed he's had multiple injuries in his career and was wheelchair-bound for three months.

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As WSJ also notes, Taufatofua also gave a preview of his grand Olympics entrance, writing on his Facebook page, "Olympic opening Ceremony tonight! Pumped! We have a little surprise.. Don't blink or you'll miss it."

His entrance quickly made him a star, gaining over 1,000 followers on Instagram within an hour, according to WSJ.

After Friday night, the taekwondo events gained a lot more followers.

tonga flagbearer 2

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