Riilio "Rio" Rii (born 22 June 1994) is a Ni-Van rower. He was the flagbearer of Vanuatu at the

2020 Summer Olympics The , officially the and also known as , was an international multi-sport event held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, with some preliminary events that began on 21 July. Tokyo was selected as the host city during the ...

in Tokyo, earning attention for his shirtless, oiled get-up compared to Tongan fighter

Pita Taufatofua Pita Nikolas Taufatofua (born 5 November 1983) is a Tongan athlete in taekwondo, cross-country skiing, and canoe. He is also a UNICEF ambassador and motivational speaker and lives in Brisbane, Australia. Taufatofua became internationally famo ...

. In the men's single sculls race, Rii finished 30th overall.

Career

He started in the sport at 19, having taken up

cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by striki ...

before, and has won a gold medal at the

Commonwealth Rowing Championships The Commonwealth Rowing Championships are a regatta for rowers from Commonwealth nations held in conjunction with the Commonwealth Games. Rowing is classed as an 'optional' sport for the purposes of the Commonwealth Games, but is currently not in ...

, as well as appearing at three

World Rowing Championship The World Rowing Championships is an international rowing regatta organized by FISA (the International Rowing Federation). It is a week-long event held at the end of the northern hemisphere summer and in non-Olympic years is the highlight of the ...

References

External links

* * * 1994 births Living people Vanuatuan male rowers Olympic rowers for Vanuatu Rowers at the 2020 Summer Olympics {{Vanuatu-sport-bio-stub