Princess Chosen
On November 20, 2009 in Calgary, luger Bruno Banani was preparing to make history: he began the fight for a ticket to the Olympics in Vancouver and the status of the first resident of Tonga at the Winter Games. Banani only needed to get to the end of the track and not fall off the sled. But in reality, the stakes were much higher.
A professional luge career begins at 10 or 12 years old, 21-year-old Banani hit the track for the first time nine months before the start in Calgary, when he first saw snow. Professionals in this sport make 200 attempts a year, and the Polynesian's peers roll in more than 2000 races. For Bruno, the race in Canada was one of the first on the men's track.
The story of Banani, described on the website of the International Luge Federation, has become a real find for screenwriters. After all, the 21-year-old son of a coconut picker went to the Olympics at the behest of the princess. Pilolev Tuita, sister of the reigning king of Tonga, admired Prince Albert II of Monaco: the man developed bobsleigh in his country and went to the Olympics five times as a participant.
The princess in 2008 held a casting for the role of the first luger from Tonga. Each of the candidates had to pass a test: slide down a small hill on an impromptu sled with wheels. “Nothing complicated. Maybe 10-20 km/h,” Banani was quoted by ESPN.
As a result, Bruno Banani won, who got involved in this adventure because of the desire to financially help his father and mother, who suffered from blood cancer. Soon he was invited to train with the German luge team, one of the best in the world. Preparation began with a three-week course in Altenberg under the guidance of trainer Isabelle Barczynski, who by that time was already well acquainted with Banani.
It was Barczynski who chose the winner. She interviewed each of the candidates. According to the coach, many candidates honestly answered the question about their goals: they wanted to go to Europe for free. Of all, Banani stood out, who dreamed of playing rugby as a child. He said he was excited about the new challenge and wanted to wear his country's colors on the world stage.
Barczynski admitted that she could not resist such an answer. “He is humble. He does not go to the front of the queue and shout: “Look at me, here I am,” she said. “He just stood there and listened all the time. It was clear that he was trying to learn. He was perfect."
The German specialist started training from the 11th turn of the track out of 17, that is, from the level of 10-year-olds. A week later, Bruno already started with a mark for juniors. “I wanted speed,” Banani admitted.
Barczynski noted that "he was not bad." “After about one to two weeks, we started from the top of the course,” she said.
By April 2009, the Tongan authorities created a local luge federation, which was admitted to the IOC, thanks to which Banani began training under the wing of the International Luge Federation. And the athlete was sponsored by a brand of underwear, the name of which “incredibly” coincided with the name of the luger Bruno Banani.
In May, Bruno Banani released a line of lingerie featuring the athlete, a sled, his autograph and the signatures "Coconut Power" and "Be Hot". Banani himself took several more three-week courses - on the track with artificial ice in Königz, as well as in Lillehammer and Sigulda. He made it to the level of the women's starts and was preparing for his official debut in Calgary on the men's track.
Bruno Banani at the Sochi Olympics (Photo: Julian Finney/Getty Images) The main test during training was the arrival at the International Training Week in Whistler - at that time the future track of the Games in Vancouver. It was here that on the opening day of the Olympics, due to an error in the design of the track, Georgian luger Nodar Kumaritashvili crashed to death. But Bruno slowly completed the race without a single mistake.
To qualify for the Olympics, Banani needed to qualify: score five points in five World Cups. One point is given if the athlete reaches the finish line without falling off the sled, regardless of the time. As a result, Bruno lacked only one point to go down in history: during the last race, he accelerated strongly and fell off the sleigh, having received a concussion.
How a Tongan luger pissed off the IOC
The story received an unexpected continuation in November 2011. Banani continued to engage in luge, and during the World Cup in Whistler, the Vancouver Sun correspondent asked why the casting site of the Princess of Tonga under the photo of Bruno Banani had a different name. Sanochnik and his team denied the allegations.In turn, Spiegel published an investigation that claimed that the luger Bruno Banani was a project of the European branch of the Makai marketing agency from Leipzig. It turned out that in 2008, the director of the company, Matthias Ile, and trainer Isabelle Barschinski, commissioned by the royal family, held a casting in Tonga, where two candidates were selected: former military man Taniela Tufugu and IT student Fuahea Semi. It quickly became clear that the training of athletes costs a lot of money, and the country cannot afford it, and the candidate was left alone - Fuahea Semi.
Seven needed money for his sports career. In Germany, Ile introduced the future Olympic participant to the management of the underwear company Bruno Banani. As a result, Semi changed his name on the advice of marketers and with the permission of his parents.
“Our agency was quite young at the time. We just wanted to prove that we think outside the box, - said Ile. - And Bruno Banani promote underwear outside the box. They were the first to send underwear into space."
Now the luger from Tonga had to introduce himself every time as Bruno Banani. And on his equipment should be marked Banani. “It was all part of the deal. I didn’t think it was so important, ”the athlete admitted.
After the unsuccessful selection for the Vancouver Games, Bruno wanted to get out of the adventure because he believed that he had failed everyone who bet on him - from the royal family, country and sponsors, ending with family. In addition, his mother had already died of cancer.
The International Olympic Committee (IOC), led by Thomas Bach, did everything to prevent Banani from participating in the 2014 Games, since rule No. 40 of the Olympic Charter was violated: it prohibits athletes from appearing in advertising for companies not from the pool of Olympic sponsors. Under the rules, the IOC sets a period of time before and after each Games when an athlete is only allowed to work with Olympic sponsors.
“I really think it’s a perverted marketing idea, it’s tasteless,” then-IOC vice-president Thomas Bach said in 2013.
But rule number 40 does not say a word about the prohibition of changing the name. In this regard, the IOC could not influence the situation in any way. "I'm a former athlete and I respect the Olympics, but we found a loophole," Ile told ESPN. “We had an idea to change his name for the sake of marketing appeal.”
After criticism from the IOC, Banani was interceded by the International Luge Federation and a number of other organizations. As a result, Bach had to admit that if Banani got the right to participate in the Sochi Games, then the IOC could not do anything.
Banani qualified for the Luge World Championships in 2011. In the 2011/12 season at the American-Pacific Championship as part of the World Cup in Calgary, he unexpectedly won bronze medals for specialists. And in December 2013, the athlete fulfilled the selection criteria for the 2014 Games in Sochi.
Bruno Banani was the flag bearer for the Tonga national team at the Sochi Olympics. (Photo: Quinn Rooney/Getty Images) Five years after starting training, the former student finally got his way and became the first athlete from Tonga to compete in the Winter Olympics. Bruno Banani finished 32nd out of 39 but fulfilled the dream of the whole country.
According to Bruno, he did not know that he would be involved in an advertising campaign, but only pursued his dream of defending the colors of the flag in the sports arena. At the same time, Barshchinski noted that even at the casting, everyone was told about the need to change their name, and not a single participant left after that.
Bruno's sister noted, "the family didn't pay attention to the hype." "We didn't care about the underwear story," Atela said. “It was important that my brother had a talent that could allow him to participate in the Olympic Games.”
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