Skiing in a tiger skin

Pete Taufatofua from the Kingdom of Tonga does not beat records, but it destroys stereotypes

At a distance of 15 km, he lagged behind the winner of Dario Kolonya for almost 23 minutes, taking 114th place. But it is still universal, which of them is cooler. The Swiss, who won the "cut" at the third Olympics in a row. Or a Thakwondter engineer from distant islands, who has eaten more than one pood of unfamiliar snow and overcoming incredibly cold barriers only to get to winter games.

He also hit the summer in Rio-2016 from the fourth time. Taufatofua could not go to the Athens to the qualification forum due to the lack of finances with the local sports federation. Selection for tournaments in Beijing-2008 and London-2012 ended for him with crutches, wheelchairs and hospital beds, because in preliminary competitions he chopped to death for his native kingdom. Before Brazil, Pete again went through all the circles of hell and made his way into the main round, proving that a person from the Pacific wilderness even without money (he was collected on the road and fees in the whole world) is capable of a lot. He did not gain the Taekwondian of Glory in the country of wild monkeys, but after the opening ceremony, where he carried the flag of his state in national clothes with a naked torso, became popular.

It seemed that it was necessary to continue to engage in martial arts and prepare for Tokyo. But Taufatofua, who suffered in childhood by dystrophy, caught fire with a new idea:

“I saw skiers and was amazed. They run with amazing enthusiasm, but after the finish, they immediately fall on the snow. It impressed me. "

“Man, it took you 20 years to be at the summer festival. Imagine how much it will take a wild dream ... ” - friends told him. But having a bachelor's degree of Pede, which, in principle, could calmly play for Australia (his mother comes from the green continent), did not listen to anyone.

He began small. “I tied pieces of wood to my legs and ran along the sand, trying to slide and look for balance,” says a 33 -year -old Polynesian engineer who often earnings and engaged in gymnastics and martial arts with difficult teenagers in a rehabilitation center for youth in Brisben.

In parallel, he drove on rollers along the tracks from morning to evening. However, you will not run on wheels in Pyeongchang. I had to master the “long gibberries”, get used to funny boots and sticks, as well as study the secrets of lubrication. The first training in the snow was helped by him to organize a media team of the IOC. Taufatofua himself recalls this with horror: "My legs moved, I froze wildly and thought: what I got into ...". Nevertheless, he survived and “defeated” a sprint at the World Championship in Lahti, finishing the 153rd of 156 participants. It was a little victory.

Further - ski -rollers and qualification races (athletes from exotic countries are allowed to fill the standards in this way). But when it remained to pass one exam, it turned out that the summer session ended. I had to urgently reorient on snow pokatushki.

The gathering in Austria was held with a bang, but then a real detective happened. At the stage in Turkey, Pete “failed” in every sense, in Poland - fell on the descent and lost his ski in the snow. In Armenia, he did not guess with grease and crawled more slowly than the turtle. In order to catch the penultimate start in Croatia, he rushed by a taxi from Yerevan to Tbilisi and took a ticket to Zagreb through Istanbul. And - was late for the transplant ... The money was almost over, the Stirlitz was close to failure. There was a saving flight to London to his brother, who led the money, and the madman made a decisive trip to Isaphordur. In this Icelandic town on the edge of the earth 24 hours before the Dedlin, he spent the test race and received the coveted invitation to South Korea. Pierre de Cuberten, I am sure, would be happy.

... And on Friday, in a race of 15 km, Pete entered history, becoming the first Olympic skier from Tong. Yes, he was overtaken by the more experienced and familiar to North Fun Argentine, Brazilian, Chilian, Lebanese, Moroccan, Ecuado -Dean and Portuguese with an Indian. But the Colombian and Mexican Taufatofua made, bringing the last three (!) Minutes.

“I spent 12 weeks in the snow for my whole life! - exclaimed the hero after a unique achievement. - Yes, I'm without a medal. But, perhaps, someone from the islands in the Pacific Ocean, inspired by my story, will decide to repeat a similar Olympic path. It is important to periodically get out of the comfort zone, not to be afraid of criticism and failures - then everything will work out. ”

Pete Nicholas did it. And in one year! In Tokyo-2020, he is already gathering in a new guise. Of course, sports. In which one? Taufatofua squints and smiles slyly.