Samiksha Jaiswal (Editor)

Tonga at the 2014 Winter Olympics

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IOC code
  
TGA

Competitors
  
1 in 1 sport

Tonga at the 2014 Winter Olympics

NOC
  
Tonga Sports Association and National Olympic Committee

Website
  
www.oceaniasport.com/tonga

Flag bearer
  
Bruno Banani (opening and closing)

Medals
  
Gold Silver Bronze Total 0 0 0 0

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. A total of 50,000 TOP (about $27,000 USD) was announced by the Tongan Government to support the team at the Olympics. The country did not win a medal at these Games.

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. His name change was criticised by International Olympic Committee Vice President Thomas Bach, who described it as being "in bad taste".

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.

References

Tonga at the 2014 Winter Olympics Wikipedia