Taekwondo career In the course of his career he has experienced, by one account, "six broken bones, three torn ligaments, three months in a wheelchair, a year and a half on crutches and hundreds of hours of physiotherapy". At the
2016 Oceania Taekwondo Olympic Qualification Tournament in February in
Port Moresby,
Papua New Guinea, he won his semi-final 4–3 before winning in the final against the 15th ranked fighter in the world to qualify for the
2016 Olympics. He had previously tried to qualify for the Olympics on two occasions.
Cross-country skiing career In December 2016, Taufatofua posted a video announcing his plans to train and compete in cross-country skiing. He began learning form and technique by watching
YouTube videos of professional races. In January 2018, the
Wall Street Journal reported he was one race away from qualifying for the
2018 Winter Olympics in PyeongChang, having completed most of his qualification requirements in
roller ski races and only needing to make a final qualifying time on snow. Taufatofua joined forces with skiers
German Madrazo of Mexico and
Yonathan Fernandez of Chile to form an independent training group that rented a cabin in Austria to train on snow and travel together to races. After slow finishes in seven snow races throughout January 2018, Taufatofua's last opportunity was a race on 20 January in
Ísafjörður, Iceland. Taufatofua, Madrazo, and Fernandez almost missed the race due to road closures from snowstorms and an avalanche, but ultimately Taufatofua succeeded in qualifying for the
2018 Winter Olympics in the Iceland race on the final day of the qualification period. He is the second Tongan to compete in the
Winter Olympics, after 2014 luger
Bruno Banani. Taufatofua hoped to qualify for the one-man (K-1) 200-metre kayak event. However, in February 2020, he qualified for the 2020 Summer Olympics for taekwondo, after winning gold in the M+80 kg, his second Olympic competition for the sport.
Olympic appearances 2016 Summer Olympics in his first bout Taufatofua appeared as Tonga's flag bearer in the
Parade of Nations during the
Olympics opening ceremony, which was held on 5 August 2016 in
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. During the parade, he wore nothing but a
taʻovala (a Tongan mat which is wrapped around the waist), with his face and torso appearing noticeably shiny. Initially, many assumed that he was sweating profusely, but it became apparent that he had applied copious amounts of oil to his torso. Taufatofua's shirtless, oiled-up appearance garnered him fame on social media as footage of his appearance went viral. Taufatofua made an appearance at the
closing ceremony of the games, showing up after a musical number in the same costume he wore during the Parade of Nations.
2018 Winter Olympics As Tonga's only representative in the
2018 Winter Olympics, Taufatofua was again the flagbearer for his country in the
2018 Winter Olympics Parade of Nations. Despite the temperatures being below freezing—and telling the media before the ceremony that he would not walk shirtless—he again wore nothing but a traditional
Taʻovala mat wrapped around his waist, baring an oiled chest and torso. On Friday 16 February 2018, he competed in the
15km skiing freestyle race, coming in 114th place out of 119 skiers.
2020 Summer Olympics Taufatofua led his nation in the 2020 Opening Ceremonies, again shirtless and oiled; however, this time he had a co-flagbearer,
Malia Paseka, who was also there to compete in Taekwondo. This marked the third time the Tongan Olympian carried his country's flag in
tapa cloth (a form of traditional Tongan clothing). In addition to showing off his oiled physique, Taufatofua also wore a pearl necklace in tribute to those who had recently passed (namely as a result of the
COVID-19 pandemic) as well as in dedication to his parents and family. The black pearl featured on the necklace held personal significance to him and his family. Prior to the opening ceremonies, Taufatofua shared a photograph of the necklace on Instagram, beginning the caption with the words, "FOR THOSE WE LOST - you will always be a pearl in the safety of our hearts."
2026 Winter Olympics During the
2026 Winter Olympics opening ceremony, Pita Taufatofua appeared as one of the eight carriers of the
Olympic flag. == Personal life ==