Tonga at the 2014 Winter Olympics
| Tonga at the Olympic Games | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ||||||||||||
| At the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi | ||||||||||||
| Competitors | 1 in 1 sport | |||||||||||
| Flag bearer | Bruno Banani (opening[1] and closing)[2] |
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| Medals | Gold 0 |
Silver 0 |
Bronze 0 |
Total 0 |
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| Olympic history (summary) | ||||||||||||
| Summer Games | ||||||||||||
| Winter Games | ||||||||||||
Tonga made its Winter Olympics debut at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia from 7–23 February 2014. The team consisted of one luge athlete and two officials.[3] A total of 50,000 TOP (about $27,000 USD) was announced by the Tongan Government to support the team at the Olympics.[3][4] The country did not win a medal at these Games.
Competitors
| Sport | Men | Women | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Luge | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Total | 1 | 0 | 1 |
Luge
Tonga qualified a place in the men's singles when Bruno Banani finished in the top 38 (with a maximum of three per nation qualifying) during the 2013–14 Luge World Cup. Banani, whose birth name is Fuahea Semi, had attracted media attention by changing his name to that of a German lingerie company, as part of a marketing ploy.[5][6] His name change was criticised by International Olympic Committee Vice President Thomas Bach, who described it as being "in bad taste".[7]
In the men's singles, Semi / Banani finished thirty-second out of thirty-nine, with a combined time of 3:33.676, six seconds behind gold medal winner Felix Loch of Germany.[8]
| Athlete | Event | Run 1 | Run 2 | Run 3 | Run 4 | Total | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Time | Rank | Time | Rank | Time | Rank | Time | Rank | Time | Rank | ||
| Bruno Banani | Men's singles | 53.656 | 34 | 53.637 | 31 | 53.162 | 30 | 53.221 | 33 | 3:33.676 | 32 |
References
- ↑ "Sochi 2014 Opening Ceremony - Flagbearers" (PDF). http://www.olympic.org/. Sochi 2014 Olympic and Paralympic Organizing Committee. 7 February 2014. Retrieved 7 February 2014.
- ↑ "Sochi 2014 Closing Ceremony - Flagbearers" (PDF). The International Olympic Committee (IOC). February 23, 2014. Retrieved 23 February 2014.
- 1 2 "Luge hopeful qualifies as Tonga's first winter Olympian". Yahoo Sports (Yahoo). 23 December 2013. Retrieved 10 January 2014.
- ↑ "Bruno qualifies for 2014 Winter Olympics in a first for Tonga". Tonga Daily News. Retrieved 10 January 2014.
- ↑ "Tongan rugby player earns Winter Olympics spot", Stuff.co.nz, 20 December 2013
- ↑ "Luge ‘hoaxster’ name change now legal, just wants to race for Tonga at Sochi Olympics", Vancouver Sun, 1 February 2013
- ↑ "Luge-Tongan changes name to brand in bid for Olympic glory", Reuters, 11 February 2012
- ↑ "Bruno Banani finishes 32nd at Sochi Olympics". Matangi Tonga (Nukuʻalofa, Tonga). 11 February 2014. Retrieved 11 February 2014.