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Tongan flag-bearer Pita Taufatofua previously captured the hearts of fans watching the Summer and Winter Olympics, but he wasn’t at the Beijing Games’ opening ceremony on Friday.
Taufatofua has been helping his home country recover from the devastating volcano and tsunami disasters that plagued the country last month.
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Flag-bearers Malia Paseka and Pita Taufatofua of Team Tonga lead their team out during the Opening Ceremony of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games at Olympic Stadium on July 23, 2021, in Tokyo, Japan. (Jamie Squire/Getty Images)
"Three Olympics in a row I have been blessed with all of your kindness. The last two years, competition and travel has been non-existent," he wrote on Instagram this week. "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 Olympic 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 within that calls us all to become our very best.
"Right now I have another task that calls me, I must answer. But make no mistake, my sword is sharp and my mind if ready. I am just getting started. We have something up our sleeve, an idea, a feat, a dream. It lives next the impossible, a place that excites me. Thank you all for continuing to share this quest. Your support means everything. Somewhere inside each and every one of you there is an Olympian….Paris ‘we’ are coming!"
Malia Paseka and Pita Taufatofua, of Tonga, carry their country's flag during the opening ceremony in the Olympic Stadium at the 2020 Summer Olympics, Friday, July 23, 2021, in Tokyo, Japan. (Hannah McKay/Pool Photo via AP)
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Taufatofua competed in the last few Summer Olympics, including last year in Tokyo. He made history as Tonga’s first Winter Olympics athlete in 2018 when he qualified for cross-country skiing.
Since the volcano eruption and subsequent tsunami, Taufatofua has been raising money for relief. His efforts have raised more than $800,000.
Flag-bearer Pita Taufatofua of Tonga leads the team during the Opening Ceremony of the PyeongChang 2018 Winter Olympic Games at PyeongChang Olympic Stadium on Feb. 9, 2018, in Pyeongchang-gun, South Korea. (Jamie Squire/Getty Images)
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As aid arrived to the island, Tonga was also hit with its first COVID infection. The island is now in an open-ended lockdown in hopes of keeping the virus at bay.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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