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Tonga's Pita Taufatofua once again represented his country as a flag bearer while shirtless at the opening ceremony of the Tokyo Olympics, but this time he had some company.
Taufatofua showed off his well-oiled and well-toned chest and stomach, five years after initially capturing the world’s imagination by putting his body on display at the opening of the 2016 Olympics.
This time, he wasn’t the only one.
Rillio Rii, a rower from Vanuatu and one of three Olympians from the small South Pacific country, took a page from Taufatofua’s book by lathering on oil and showing off his glistening pecs while he carried his nation’s flag.
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Taufatofua, a taekwondo athlete, emerged as an Olympic star when he appeared shirtless during the opening ceremony in Rio de Janeiro. He repeated the feat at the 2018 Games in Pyeongchang, where he competed as a cross-country skier.
Even the Olympics couldn't help pick up on the trend.
"Pita, we see you and we raise you," the official Olympics Twitter account tweeted, while showing a photo of Rii.
"If it ain't broke, don't fix it," it wrote.
Pita, we see you and we raise you 🕶️#VAN | #OpeningCeremony https://t.co/KVmx3DrLg9 pic.twitter.com/fkK0ssxOsl
— Olympics (@Olympics) July 23, 2021
TODAY's Savannah Guthrie, who covered the opening ceremony along with NBC Sports' Mike Tirico, took note of the moment as Taufatofua entered the stadium alongside fellow taekwondo athlete Malia Paseka
“Perhaps the only Olympic nation made famous for its flag bearing,” Savannah said during coverage of the ceremony.
“Let’s just take a moment,” she deadpanned.
Savannah Guthrie was legitimately perfect when Pita Taufatofua came walking out for Tonga. "Let's just take a moment..." #OpeningCeremony
— Greg Wyshynski (@wyshynski) July 23, 2021
YES Tonga's Pita Taufatofua and his oiled-up chest are back
"Let's just take a minute" -Savannah #OpeningCeremony— Kavitha A. Davidson (@kavithadavidson) July 23, 2021
Many thanks to @SavannahGuthrie for giving us all a moment as Pita Taufatofua enters the #OpeningCeremony. #Olympics
— bobby (@GoBobbo) July 23, 2021
Taufatofua has said he was taken aback by interest in him appearing shirtless.
"I had no idea how much attention that would get," he told People in 2018. "In Tonga where you have a lot of traditional dances, the oil and the outfit I was wearing was quite normal. But in Rio it turned out to be a pretty big deal."
And lest you think he was even a wee bit chilly while ditching a top at the Winter Olympics, have no fear.
""I wasn't cold at all," he told TODAY in 2018. "When you're from Polynesia, the warmth comes from inside-out, not outside-in."
