Olympia 2018: Tonga’s flag bearer collects donations for Winter Games

At the Summer Olympic Games in Rio, Pita Taufatofua became world-famous as the oiled flag bearer of Tonga, now he is collecting donations for his dream of participating in the Winter Games in Pyeongchang. On the crowdfunding portal gofundme. com he called on his fans to donate – among other things he posed with his upper body and roller skis on the beach.

Taufatofua, actually a Taekwondo fighter, wants to participate in the Olympic Winter Games 2018 as a cross-country skier. The 34-year-old wrote on the donation portal that he needed money to pay for his preparation time in Europe, good ski equipment and training accommodation.

However, Taufatofua is still a long way from the goal of collecting around 25,400 euros. So far, a little more than 5100 euros have been deposited into the account.

In Brazil, Tongaer’s topless performance in the traditional raffia skirt at the entrance to the Maracana Stadium had caused delight, especially among the female spectators.

In the Taekwondo competitions, however, he was eliminated in the first round. Already before his participation in the Olympics last year, he had called for donations and collected around 8,200 euros via crowdfunding.