RIO DE JANEIRO — Two weeks ago, Pita Taufatofua gained a sudden, if fleeting, international fame.
At the opening ceremony of the Rio Games, Taufatofua carried the flag of the tiny South Pacific nation Tonga while shirtless and covered in coconut oil, his sculptured torso gleaming. Besides lighting up the internet, his eye-opening appearance earned him a segment on the “Today” show, in which the hosts enthusiastically, and to some controversy, oiled him up.
But Taufatofua is fundamentally an athlete. And with the Olympics almost over, he finally got his chance to be an athlete on Saturday morning, in the heavyweight taekwondo competition.