Pita Taufatofua knows what the people want, and he’s not afraid to give it to them.
At the closing ceremony of the Winter Games in Pyeongchang, the Tongan cross-country skier made sure to keep his shirtless streak alive.
For a minute there, though, we thought he’d had a change of heart. It was, after all, brutally cold. And Taufatofua, like the other athletes in the parade of nations, was bundled up warm and cozy in a heavy jacket.
But the Tongan flagbearer, who first found shirtless fame two years ago as a taekwondo athlete at the Summer Olympics in Rio, knows he’s got a reputation to uphold.
And sure enough, the jacket soon gave way to his trademark bare-chested and shiny look, along with a red-and-black traditional Tongan mat. Not to worry, the 34-year-old made sure to keep his gloves on.
And that’s how Taufatofua ended another memorable Olympic run. Last week, he said he was racing to not finish last. He didn’t. He placed 114th in the 15K cross-country event. Out of 119.
But he certainly made sure we remembered him. Again.