Winter Olympics 2018: Pita Taufatofua appears topless at opening ceremony as Tonga’s only athlete in Pyeongchang

The same man who shot to fame at the 2016 Rio Olympics will represent Tonga in the cross-country skiing at the Winter Games

Pita Taufatofua walks out at the Winter Olympics opening ceremony topless despite temperatures dipping to -1 Celsius (Getty)

Remember Pita Taufatofua? Maybe not by name, but the image of the Tongan athlete walking out at the Maracana Stadium during the 2016 Rio Olympic Games opening ceremony went down as one of the iconic images of the XXXI Olympiad.

Well Taufatofua is back, only this time at the 2018 Winter Olympics as he appeared as Tonga’s flag bearer and lone Tongan athlete who will compete in Pyeongchang from the Pacific Island.

In the lead up to the ceremony, Taufatofua said that he would not repeat the stunt of walking out in traditional Tongan attire due to the extreme temperatures in the Taebaek Mountains.

But lo-and-behold, the 34-year-old was given a rapturous welcome when he walked out at the Pyeongchang Olympic Stadium completely topless, oiled up and carrying the Tongan flag, even though the temperature was an icy -1 degrees Celsius.

“I won’t freeze. I am from Tonga,” Taufatofua said ahead of the ceremony. “We sailed across the Pacific. This is nothing!”

Taufatofua soon wrapped himself up in warmer clothing as he took his place in the stands along with the rest of the athletes, with nearly 3,000 hailing from 91 countries as well as the 169 Russians who are competing under the ‘Olympic Athletes from Russia’ banner due to the ban on their country after the state-sponsored doping scandal last year.

Taufatofua claimed it was nothing compared to what his ancestors went through (Getty)

Taufatofua also carried the Tongan flag topless at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio (Getty)

Having competed at Rio 2016 in Taekwondo, Taufatofua will now represent Tonga in cross-country skiing this month, having qualified for the event on the final day of qualification on 20 January in Japan after seven failed attempts.

He will become just the second Tongan to compete in the Winter Olympics, following in the footsteps of for luge competitor Bruno Banani.