Island nation of Tonga target 2018 Winter Olympics
With the curtain falling on the Rio Summer Olympics, the focus will soon shift to South Korea and the Pyeongchang 2018 Winter Olympics. And there is one unique participant-to-be – the tropical island of Tonga – that is hoping to break some popular expectations for warm weather nations in the winter games.
Based in various European countries, there is a group of Tongan skiers who have been recruited to compete now that the country has been officially accepted by the International Ski Federation (FIS). Tongan athletes Reinhard Langer, Makeleta Piukala, Kasete Naufahu Skeen and Dyan Wackerbauer have all set their sights on the Olympics in two years.
Piukala is already taking part in competitive cross-country competitions.
Royal Tonga Ski Federation Secretary-General Leafa Mataele Wawryk is hoping the country’s foray into winter sports is not seen as foolish.
“We do not want this to be an overnighter, we do not want to be called the novelty team,” Wawryk said to a radio station in New Zealand. “We want to be the team that is going to compete to win medals. We want people to take us seriously and we want everywhere in the world to respect us.
“I believe we have some athletes that can win medals. They can.” she said.
Tonga first appeared in the Winter Olympics last time out in Sochi. They were represented by Bruno Banani who finished 32 out of 39 in the men’s luge competition. Unfortunately, he drew some negative attention because he changed his name to Banani from Fuahea Semi. The name “Bruno Banani” is shared by a German fashion label, and it is thought he only took up the sport for publicity reasons.
Tongan officials are hoping they can avoid the celebrity status of the “Cool Runnings” moment of the Jamaican bobsled team back in 1988 in Calgary. Other famous Winter Olympians from warm-weather countries include another luger, Anne Abernathy from the US Virgin Islands, as well as Kenyan cross-country skier Philip Boit.
It is no wonder that the Tonga athletes are looking to European mountains for training and inspiration to compete. Ski holidays in France are popular for sport enthusiasts all over the world, and offer access to the same pistes and runs as the world’s best skiers and snowboarders.
Image Credit: Steffen Rumke (Wikipedia.com)