Will Tonga’s ‘muscle man’ show off his physique again? Chosen as Olympic flag-bearer for the Milano Cortina opening ceremony

Financial News – Pita Taufatofua (42), Tonga’s “muscle man” who became a sensation by appearing shirtless at three Olympic opening ceremonies including the PyeongChang 2018 Winter Olympics, has been selected as one of the Olympic flag-bearers for the opening ceremony of the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics.
On the 2nd (local time), the organizing committee announced that Taufatofua was among a total of 10 people chosen to carry the Olympic flag at the opening ceremony.
This year’s opening ceremony will, for the first time in Olympic history, be held simultaneously in two cities: Milan and Cortina d’Ampezzo.
Taufatofua will carry the Olympic flag at the opening ceremony on the 6th at San Siro Olympic Stadium in Milan, Italy, alongside “marathon legend” Eliud Kipchoge of Kenya; Cindy Ngamba, the first Olympic medalist in the history of the Refugee Team; Filippo Grandi and Niccolò Gobboni of Italy, known for their humanitarian work; Mariam Bukar Hassan of Nigeria; Brazilian gymnast Rebeca Andrade, a six-time Olympic medalist; and former Hiroshima mayor Tadatoshi Akiba of Japan, recognized for his nuclear disarmament efforts.
Franco Nones, Italy’s first Olympic champion in cross-country skiing, and Italian short-track national team member Martina Valcepina will enter with the Olympic flag at the ceremony in Cortina d’Ampezzo.
Taufatofua, who began as a taekwondo athlete, first entered as Tonga’s flag-bearer at the opening ceremony of the Rio 2016 Summer Olympics.
At that time, he walked in with his upper body bare, showing off his impressive physique and drawing worldwide attention.
After qualifying for the PyeongChang 2018 Winter Olympics as a cross-country skier, Taufatofua again appeared shirtless at the opening ceremony, which was held in bitter cold, and once more became a hot topic.
Before that ceremony, Taufatofua had said, "I won’t go shirtless this time because of the cold," but on the day of the opening he surprised everyone with an unexpected show.
At the Tokyo 2020 Summer Olympics, Taufatofua competed in taekwondo and again served as Tonga’s flag-bearer at the opening ceremony, proudly displaying his muscles once more.
Meanwhile, Taufatofua gave up competing at the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing after an undersea volcanic eruption in Tonga and instead devoted himself to disaster recovery efforts. For the Paris 2024 Summer Olympics, he attempted to qualify in both taekwondo and canoeing but was eliminated in the preliminaries and did not secure a spot at the Games.
newssu@fnnews.com Kim Soo-yeon Reporter