Topless flag bearer steals show

The ‘Hot Tongan’ is so 2021. In 2022, it is all about the shirtless flag bearer from American Samoa.

Nathan Crumpton and his entirely oiled-up torso braved the cold throughout Friday’s Olympics opening ceremony as he carried his country’s flag into Beijing’s renowned “Bird’s Nest” stadium. With temperatures hovering all-around minus-5 levels Celsius, American Samoa’s lone athlete competing at the Online games turned an quick social media sensation as he made his way as a result of the stadium.

The shirtless trend was started in 2016 by Tongan athlete Pita Taufatofua at the Rio Online games, the place he was formally labelled the “Sizzling Tongan.” Taufatofua, who qualified for Rio in taekwondo, then competent for the up coming two Olympic games in equally 2018 and 2020 but announced on social media that he would be not able to attend his fourth-straight Video games in 2022.

So when the planet required new a shirtless idol, Crumpton was the person for the career. He manufactured these types of a splash that he even acquired a shoutout on Twitter from Taufatofua himself in what appeared like an official passing of the torch.

And Taufatofua was not the only 1 who was amazed, as Crumpton’s shiny upper body manufactured pretty the perception on hundreds of thousands of viewers all over the environment.

Crumpton’s fashion choice is specially extraordinary when you assess it to what some other nations around the world determined to wear when they produced their entrances. Workforce Canada, for instance, appeared like they had been prepared to courageous an arctic experience completely decked out in winter equipment.

Right after probably a number of very hot showers, Crumpton will start off to put together for the men’s skeleton celebration, in which he will be American Samoa’s first Winter Olympic athlete in 28 several years. He arrives in ranked 26th based mostly off this season’s Worldwide Bobsleigh and Skeleton Federation’s rankings.

Here’s hoping he has some thing a small warmer packed for when he slides head 1st down the monitor.

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