Tonga at the 2014 Winter Olympics
Template:Infobox Olympics Tonga 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.[1] A total of 50,000 TOP (about $27,000 USD) was announced by the Tongan Government to support the team at the Olympics.[1][2] 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.[3][4] His name change was criticised by International Olympic Committee Vice President Thomas Bach, who described it as being "in bad taste".[5]
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.[6]
| 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
- ^ a b "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.
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