Pita Taufatofua, Tonga's flag-bearing hottie, eyes 2018 Winter Olympics berth

Think back to the Rio Olympics opening ceremony for a moment. If the first thought that came to mind was the shirtless, oiled-up flag bearer for Tonga, Pita Taufatofua, you likely aren’t alone. (He reprised his look for the Closing Ceremony, as you see above.)

But Taufatofua, a taekwondo athlete who lost his first-round match by the mercy rule, isn’t yet ready to give up on his Olympic dream.

In a video posted on the Olympic Channel on Monday, the 33-year old announced a desire to compete in the 2018 Winter Olympics in PyeongChang, South Korea.

“I’m going to be taking my Olympic dream one step further,” Taufatofua said in the video. “My goal is to let people see, if I can do it, they can do it. The goal is to hunt down that Olympic medal at the 2018 Olympics.”

Taufatofua will pursue cross-country skiing, and already has a biography page on the International Ski Federation website, though he’s, um, not exactly a natural, as you see toward the end of this video:

If he qualifies for PyeongChang, Taufatofua will be just the second Tongan to take part in the Winter Olympics. In 2014, men’s luge competitor Bruno Banani became the first, placing 32nd in his event. Banani gained a measure of fame a couple of years before those Games, when news came that he’d changed from his birth name, Fuahea Semi, to the name of the German underwear brand that sponsored him as a marketing ploy.

Sure there’s likely a process for Taufatofua to get a spot in the field, and based on the video he’s a longshot, but if he agrees to go shirtless for the ceremonies in South Korea, can they just let him in?