Tokyo 2020: Shirtless Tongan flagbearer Pita Taufatofua has sights on third Olympic sport

Pita Taufatofua of Tonga stands on stage during the closing ceremony of the PyeongChang 2018 Winter Olympic Games. Photo / Getty

First taekwondo, then cross-country skiing... and now controversial athlete Pita Taufatofua is setting his sights on competing in a third Olympic sport.

The 35-year-old youth worker from Brisbane became an internet sensation as Tonga's shirtless, oiled-up flagbearer at the 2016 Rio Olympics and re-emerged in a traditional ta'ovala at last year's Winter Olympics in South Korea.

After competing in taekwondo in Rio, Taufatofua qualified for the cross-country skiing in PyeongChang.

Taufatofua is now aiming to compete in a water sport at the Tokyo Olympics next year, posting to Facebook that his "life is about to change again".

I hear it calling...... #Water #Tokyo2020 #Soon

Posted by Pita Taufatofua on Tuesday, April 16, 2019

Last year, Taufatofua told NBC he was confident of success in the water.

"If I qualify for the Olympics in that sport, I will medal in that sport...[it] is a sport that's much more aligned with being a Tongan and being a Pacific Islander," he said.

On Radio New Zealand, he said: "I will hopefully be the first male in history to do three completely different Olympic sports in three different arenas. One of the biggest things I do is I set dreams which are impossible and then find a way to get there."

Pita Taufatofua suffered a crushing defeat in the first round of the men's +80kg taekwondo competition at the Rio Games. Photo / Getty

Taufatofua has been accused of cheating to qualify for the Winter Games last year. Photo / Getty

The way he got to Korea has raised concerns, with the International Ski Federation considering changes to the qualification system for cross-country skiing.

This after several of Taufatofua's competitors claimed he had cheated.

He was able to qualify via roller-skiing, in a system introduced to encourage people from countries not known for skiing.

Taufatofua suffered a crushing first-round defeat in the taekwondo in Rio and finished in 114th place (from 119 competitors) two years later.