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As one online poster joked in 2016, “Fun fact: #Tonga uses over 90% of the world’s oil to keep their flag bearers at maximum glisten.”
But it wasn’t just Tafatofua’s body oil that grabbed the world’s attention—it was also his impressive washboard abs. In fact, his physique became such an enigma that he later unpacked how he maintains it.
“It’s not just genetic, it’s how I work and approach life,” he told Cosmopolitan in 2018. “I train whenever I can, so if I’m cooking a meal on the stove and I’m waiting for the toast to pop up, I get 40 pushups in there. I wait for the coffee to brew, that’s 3 minutes, and I get another 40 pushups. Before breakfast is even cooked, I’m on 200 pushups.”
Although Tafatofua won’t be grabbing attention for his country this year, he was happy he was able to gain recognition for the island through his Opening Ceremonies schtick.
“It’s all funny for me,” Tafatofua added. “The goal isn’t to be this symbol of masculinity, because that’s so surface level. But if that allows me to get a message across to people, then I want to get a message across to people. A spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down, you know?”
While Tafatofua was missing from the 2024 Opening Ceremony, keep reading to see all the highlights.