How a German underwear company created Tonga's first-ever Winter Olympian
Bruno Banani is Tonga's first-ever winter Olympian, and he's competing in the men's luge event, but that's not his real name.
Banani is the result of a clever ploy by Tonga and a German marketing firm, in an attempt to create the country's very first winter Olympian.
Tonga is an extremely small country made up of 176 islands in the South Pacific, and the nation's royal family decided they needed a representative at the Winter Olympics.
In an attempt to popularize her country, Princess Salote Mafile'o Pilolevu Tuita formed a partnership with a former acquaintance, and founder of the new public relations firm, Makai.
Together, Tonga and Makai started their search for the country's first winter Olympian. In addition to specific athletic criteria, the chosen person was required to change his name to Bruno Banani, which is also the name of a famous German underwear label.
While at home, Fuahea Semi heard an advertisement about tryouts to represent Tonga at the Winter Olympics. After hearing the commercial, Tonga decided he needed to tryout, and the rest is history. Semi was eventually chosen to become Tonga's first winter Olympian, and that's how he became Bruno Banani.
Isabel Barschinski, a former German slider, was hired to help select and train the athlete. Approximately 20 Tongans signed up for the tryout, but Barchinski immediately knew that Banani (Semi) was the one.
"It was just his personality. He's humble. He's not coming to the front of the line, 'Look at me, here I am.' He would just stand there and listen all the time. You could see he was trying to learn. He was perfect," Barschinski said via ESPN.
After being chosen, Banani moved to Germany with Barschinski and immediately began to train. Despite improving drastically over time, Banani narrowly missed the 2010 Winter Olympics, but officially qualified for Sochi in December 2013.
Upon Banani's arrival in Sochi, Princess Salote Mafile'o Pilolevu Tuita and Makai achieved their goal - they managed to create the nation's first winter Olympian.
Before competition began, Banani hinted that this could be the end of his journey, but after representing his country during the opening ceremony, Banani revealed that he might continue this wild ride.
"I'm not sure what I'm going to do. Being away from my family for most of the year is really hard. But I also really love the sport. And I can see my improvement. It's hard. Maybe I will continue on. Maybe not. I don't know," Banani said.
Despite being called Fuahea by family and friends, the Olympian admitted that Bruno Banani is here to stay.
"This is the name that made history for me. And I will stay with it. The name will always be there. Whatever people want to call me, it just doesn't matter."