One of the most memorable athletes from the 2016 Rio Olympics has officially qualified for the 2018 Winter Games in PyeongChang, South Korea.
Pita Taufatofua gained international attention during the Rio Opening Ceremony for carrying the Tongan flag while shirtless and very oiled up.
His journey to become a dual season Olympian was anything but easy. Pita unveiled his goal in Dec. 2016 to transition from taekwondo to skiing.
🇹🇴 flag bearer Pita Taufatofua goes from taekwondo to skiing and reveals his plan for @pyeongchang2018! pic.twitter.com/dKb9FQwDPt
— Olympic Channel (@olympicchannel) December 5, 2016Earlier this month he was just one race away from qualifying, but missed out on making it to two separate races after what can only be described as a whole lot of bad luck.
So on the final weekend of Olympic qualifying, he traveled to Iceland and finished well enough to secure his spot in PyeongChang.
After completing the race and learning he officially qualified, Taufatofua told the Olympic Channel it was "a miracle."
“After Rio I decided to find the hardest sport possible, because I needed a new challenge, and the hardest sport possible was cross country skiing,” he said.
Taufatofua added that he has sacrificed everything over the past year to qualify in skiing.
"Financially I'm in the worst position ever but I'm the happiest ever," Taufatofua explained. "People don't see the hard work that goes behind, they just see the shiny guy that walks with the flag."
During his quest to qualify, Taufatofua says he had to lose 15 kgs to be a bit faster and had to use roller skis to train because there's no snow in Tonga.
Now that he's heading back to the Olympics, Taufatofua says he hopes his story will encourage more people to reach within themselves to be what they're meant to be.
"There's nothing special about me, other than I don't quit, anyone can be that person."
