The star of the Olympics opening ceremony was the shirtless, oily Tongan flagbearer who raised over $6,000 to train for the Olympics
Paul Gilham/Getty
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.
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.
Cameron Spencer/Getty
- Singapore Airlines was ordered to pay a couple compensation for 'mental agony' after they complained their business-class seats didn't automatically recline
- Welcome to the white-collar recession
- A software engineer shares the résumé he's used since college that got him a $500,000 job at Meta — plus offers at TikTok and LinkedIn
- 7 things to do in Pahalgam in 2024
- Vivo V30e with 5,500mAh battery launched in India starting at ₹27,999
- Adani Ports' net profits jump 50% in 2023-24, registers threefold cargo growth
- 'Panchayat' season three to come out on Prime Video on May 28
- Top places to visit in Pahalgam in 2024
- Nothing Phone (2a) blue edition launched
- JNK India IPO allotment date
- JioCinema New Plans
- Realme Narzo 70 Launched
- Apple Let Loose event
- Elon Musk Apology
- RIL cash flows
- Charlie Munger
- Feedbank IPO allotment
- Tata IPO allotment
- Most generous retirement plans
- Broadcom lays off
- Cibil Score vs Cibil Report
- Birla and Bajaj in top Richest
- Nestle Sept 2023 report
- India Equity Market