The Real Reason Tonga's Beloved Flag Bearer Didn't Go To The Beijing Olympics

Where's Tongan athlete Pita Taufatofua?

Taufatofua first captured the hearts and minds of many in 2016 when he made his Olympic Games debut in Rio de Janeiro. Immediately the Olympic competitor dazzled everyone with his mega-watt smile and coconut-oil clad physique all while bearing his country's flag during the opening ceremony. LET THE GAMES BEGIN. "I was representing 1,000 years of history. We didn't have suits and ties when we traversed the Pacific Ocean," Taufatofua told The Guardian in 2019 about his decision to buck the protocol and swap the traditional suit and tie for his native Tongan garb. Fortunately, that was only the beginning for Taufatofua as he returned to the Olympics in both 2018  and 2020 competing in taekwondo and cross-county skiing respectively. 

Sadly, however, Taufatofua has been notably missing in action at the Beijing 2022 Olympic Winter Games. But where is he? And why isn't he there? The answer just might surprise you.

Three-time Olympic athlete Pita Taufatofua is a humanitarian first and foremost!

On February 1 Taufatofua took to Instagram to let his devoted fans know that he would not be competing in the 2022 Olympics. "Three Olympics in a row I have been blessed with all of your kindness," he penned in the bombshell Instagram post. "The last two years, competition and travel has been non-existent. Not everything is in our control. That said, I embrace both the good and the bad as part of life, and I do so with a smile. This time I will not be sharing the Beijing Olympics games with you all. But I continue with joy as I prepare to support all the Olympians who have worked so hard to represent their countries. They are all flag bearers, they all stand for that voice that calls us all to become our very best." He did, however, hint at a return in 2024. "Paris 'we' are coming!" he declared!

Later Taufatofua cited the fatal volcano eruption and tsunami that ravaged his nation in January for his absence. "Even with the qualification criteria, I wouldn't have been able to go to Beijing, too many people who are hungry for me to not be focused there," he told the New York Times. "I'll certainly miss it," he added, but "what the Olympics stands for is more than just sport, and so I feel there's some level of Olympic effort that we're doing now anyway."