Rio Rii

Riilio "Rio" Rii^[1]^[2] (born 22 June 1994) is a Ni-Van rower.^[3] He was the flagbearer of Vanuatu at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo,^[4] earning attention for his shirtless, oiled get-up compared to Tongan fighter Pita Taufatofua.^[5] In the men's single sculls race, Rii finished 30th overall.^[6]

Career

He started in the sport at 19, having taken up cricket before, and has won a gold medal at the Commonwealth Rowing Championships,^[7] as well as appearing at three World Rowing Championships.^[8]

^ "Rowing - RII Riilio". Tokyo 2020 Olympics. Tokyo Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games. Archived from the original on 28 July 2021. Retrieved 4 September 2021.
^ "'Shirtless Tongan' makes Olympic history | NBC Olympics". nbcolympics.com. Archived from the original on 28 July 2021. Retrieved 4 September 2021.
^ "Sport: Vanuatu rower Rio Rii begins training stint in Queensland". RNZ. 14 January 2020. Archived from the original on 4 August 2021. Retrieved 19 July 2021.
^ "Rower Rillio Rio Rii to carry Vanuatu's flag at Tokyo Olympics opening ceremony". Loop Vanuatu. 9 July 2021.
^ "Vanuatu's Riilio Rii steals hearts at Tokyo Olympics as he carries country's flag". Fox News. Archived from the original on 9 August 2021. Retrieved 9 August 2021.
^ Natoga, Anasilini. "Rower Rillio Rii on his path to Tokyo 2020". Vanuatu Daily Post. Archived from the original on 29 June 2021. Retrieved 19 July 2021.
^ "Rio to Tokyo: Vanuatu rower's inspiring Olympic journey". RNZ. Archived from the original on 9 August 2021. Retrieved 9 August 2021.
^ "Rillio Rii". World Rowing. Archived from the original on 9 August 2021. Retrieved 9 August 2021.

This biographical article relating to sports in Vanuatu is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.