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2018 WINTER OLYMPICS

Tonga standard-bearer topless despite sub-zero temperatures

Pita Taufatofua was, alongside the Russian athletes and a unified Korean flag, one of the images of the Winter Olympics opening ceremony.

Pita Taufatofua, con el torso desnudo y con sandalias, ondea la bandera de Tonga en la ceremonia de inauguración de los Juegos Olímpicos de Pyeongchang.
SEAN M. HAFFEY
Update:

All eyes were on the Russian athletes parading under the neutral Olympic logo, and North and South Korea's participants entering the Pyeongchang 2018 opening ceremony carrying a 'unification flag'.

Standard-bearer braves sub-zero temperatures

But as the Winter Olympics got underway in South Korea on Friday, Tonga standard-bearer Pita Taufatofua also proved - not for the first time - to be one of the headline images.

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Taufatofua, who is to compete in cross-country skiing, raised eyebrows among spectators by appearing greased up and topless - despite freezing temperatures of -2ºC during the ceremony.

Taufatofua also sported look at Rio 2016

At the Summer Olympics curtain-raiser in Rio de Janeiro in 2016, Taufatofua had caused a sensation by going with the same look, which also features the ta'ovala, a traditional Tongan garment.

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