And some unseasonably strong winds. Hello, this is bbc news, the headlines. As more pupils prepare to return to the classroom englands chief medical officer says the risk to schoolchildren from coronavirus is low. Many more are likely to be harmed by not going, than harmed by going, even during this pandemic. Opposition protesters in belarus hold a big demonstration in minsk two weeks after president lukashenkos disputed election victory. President trump declares californias wildfires a major disaster releasing federal funds to victims whove lost their homes. But theres snow in south east australia the unseasonal weather triggered by antarctic air. Now on bbc news, bbc sports nick hope visits pita taufatofua, the taekwondo fighter turned Cross Country skier, to find out how it felt to be the flagbearerfor tongo at the rio olympics. Samba music welcome to brazil for the greatest show on earth. Listen to the welcome for tonga and flag bearer pita taufatofua. The countrys flag bearer won gold on the internet with his shirtless and oiled up performance. They said, youre trending everywhere in the world. I said, i dont know what trending means, but it sounds good. A social media sensation. Could you ever have imagined what was going to happen next . We had no idea. 3 billion people saw that. 200 million google hits. Where is tonga . Who is the tongan flag bearer . All of a sudden, now youre a celebrity. Bruce willis, his face was kind of superimposed on your body. Bruce, bruce. Maybe one day, if he keeps working out, he can become a tongan warrior. Bruce, if youre watching, ill teach you. Tonga is best known for its two forces of nature its ha rd hitting heavyweight rugby players and the dramatic seasonal storms. But in 2016, the nation was thrust into the spotlight for an entirely different reason as footage of pita taufatofuas oiled up torso from the rio 0lympic Opening Ceremony went viral around the world. But who is the real tongan warrior . Well, ive come to his homeland to find out and discover his new target for tokyo 2020. Tonga being a tongan is about heart, its about the spirit. Where i grew up. Tonga . Where were from. Theres a lot of pride with being a tongan. When i have the opportunity to represent a country my mother is australian, my father is tongan i have to choose tongan because thats where the roots lie. Thats where the heart is. We call it the spirit of tonga. This is why tongans are the best flag bearers in the world. The flag at the olympics is light. This thing is where we get the strength to hold it from. One of the big things in tongan culture is eating and sharing meals with everyone. The Family Structure is very important. This is what you have to do to eat in the islands, like, its different. You cant just walk into a Grocery Store and pick up plastic covered meat. Pita, tell us why were here. This here is where my house used to be. It was me and all my siblings and my parents. We used to live here, eight to ten people. This was a one bedroom house. 0ur lounge room was all over here, so we ate, and some people slept in the same area and then my parents and the younger ones were in the one bedroom over here, where this guy is now. What was life like back then . It was tough. We had no running water, so we had to take the buckets out and bring and cart in buckets of water for showers, for washing the dishes, that sort of thing. A cyclone took this house away a few years after we were here. We could have been in the house when a cyclone came through. And then no pita at the olympics with the flag from its pita somewhere over there, maybe not even alive. Your whole life can just disappear like that. But im very grateful that i grew up here. As a kid, there was one thing i always knew that was i was going to be an 0lympian one day. Thats the only thing that was certain in my mind. He was a very determined little kid. You know, whatever pita wanted to do, he will try to do it. Very creative little boy. There is always something, some project that hell think up and he wants everybody to get involved with. That thing that comes out most with him is is his positive outlook to anything he set his mind to do. And when he mentioned that he wanted to go to the olympics, i thought, oh, course he will. Knowing him, hell do it. I wanted to play rugby. I was just physically too small the coaches always thought i was too small, so they never let me. I guess i was quite stubborn. I always had something in me, which i think anyone can have, which is an attitude to never give up. So where im at now is a reflection of what i learnt growing up, just through family and everyone having that same sharing that same heart. I guess youve always fought for the family. All of this fight, this is to show people that they can come from difficult. Difficult circumstances, but they can fight for it. So every time i go to the olympics, i carry the spirit. I carry the spirit of everyone that believed in us. Many people, they didnt believe. They said, youre too small, youll never be youll never be an olympian. Family. This fight. Is for my family and for the country. Singing and clapping applause im the goodwill ambassador for the pacific for unicef. I was at the school and they had completely lost their buildings. We go back 20 years. We only had a cyclone every five or ten years. Now, its every year. We see the effects of climate change. So unicef had come in and provided tents. William is going to be a Police Officer for tonga one day. So weve got another teacher here. This one is going to be a tongan soldier with a naval force. We have a doctor laughter the question was who wants to be strong like pita . Look at these guys over here. Ready . Laughter applause they come to the classroom happy, whether the classroom looks like a building or a tent, theyre just happy to have the opportunity. Who likes vegetables . All me they share their heart, they share their spirit. I cant be tired because of these guys you know, i need this energy. A special moment for me. I always love it when they sing and they share themselves. Shouting but pita may never have been in a position to inspire if he listened to others ahead of the now iconic appearance of the rio olympic Opening Ceremony. We made a request. We want to wear what oui ancestors wore for 1,000 years when they sailed across the pacific. And we were told. No. They said, you have to wear what everyone else is wearing. A shirt, suit, tie. So my coach and i, we had a uniform ready, and we were going through the countries. L, m, n, 0. Once they hit around p, we jumped out, put on the costume, put on the oil, which is traditional. And at this stage, they couldnt stop us as soon as we stepped out to start the marching process towards the stadium, everyones taking photos. That wasnt our plan. Our plan was to represent our tradition and our heritage and we had no idea what impact that would have. The people whod said you had to wear the suit and you defied them, what did they say afterwards . They were so happy people say, was that the best moment, when you walked out at the olympics . I said, no, my best moment was when i qualified for the olympics, for tae kwon do. I had so many broken bones, torn ligaments. We did that for 20 years, just constantly. The body was breaking. It was a dream the dream was in that moment we qualified, not when we walked out. So when we go back and we look at rio, why are you so happy . Whats it like to be an overnight success . So ijust looked them straight in the eye and i said, there is no overnight success. Its 20 years to get to that point. Hows this for a story . I get off the aeroplane and i say to my father, hey, guess what . Ive been invited to the royal function with prince harry and princess meghan. Dad says, thats nice, lets go to the bush, we have to water the cows. The moral of the story you have got to prioritise life. So, when on earth did the idea of becoming a winter olympian come from . For me, its all about challenge and pushing yourself. I just wanted to show people what they could do. Its not easy. I mean, winter. Winter sport. Its like. It hasnt snowed here in10,000 years, so i went and said to the world, im going to do Cross Country skiing at the olympics and i hadnt put on skis yet. Ah, bad idea. I never thought id do a winter olympics. I still look back on it and im like, what were you thinking . I went out there as a two time olympian, two sport olympian whats next . Whats next . Pita has shown us tongans how far we can go up. Very proud. My friends, they rang up and said, did you see what he wore . I said, of course. Thats pizza. We always call him pizza. It shows me that with whatever passion you have, you can reach the skies. And theres simply no limits. The messages here shared are very inspiring and very, very helpful to me and its something i will share. Pita is the person that put tonga on the global map. Now, he is becoming an icon. Its clear to see just how much of an impact pita has had on the people of tonga. Everywhere weve been, hes been stopped, photographed, practically worshipped. Theres so much genuine pride that one of their own has gone out into the world and achieved what he has. But his mission to inspire is not overjust yet. Incredibly, after two different sports at two different olympics, he is now targeting tokyo 2020. My dream for tokyo 2020 is canoeing, something that is aligned with our history as a polynesian. I want to be the first olympian in the modern era to qualify in three unrelated olympian sports, and so i thought, whoa, tae kwon do is my sport but i love being on the water and i love the physicality of pushing myself to the limit. I feel the canoeing gene is in my blood but ive never learned how to do it. To do it in one year, i believe anything can be done. Tell us about the setup you have here . Thats not quite the professional kayak but its a start. Here in tonga we use anything we have, so we have a two man recreational kayak. Our equipment isnt going to help us get to the games but we have to use whatever we have. We apply, well apply the best of us regardless. I think this will be maybe over 35 kilograms and a race kayak might be around eight to 12. Once i find my way onto a light kayak, it will be much easier. Master paul, hes like a brother to me. Hes a coach, hes a chef, cameraman, masseurs. Psychologist. You pay him well, yeah . Yeah. Wejust pay him in pork leg. Sometimes ive got to give him a little push. Find a stick and give a little tap, a whip on him in make sure he sticks to the techniques. We dont have much time, we dont have enough time. We use whats around us and make sure that we cover so much in training and trainers ourself to achieve this. We train you. Welcome to southern hungary for the 2019 canoe sprint world championships. We are all set for whats likely to be a scorching few days of action. To reach the olympics, pita needs to progress not only through the heats and the semifinals but reach the final and finish in the top five. Realistically, thats going to be pretty tough in his debut, so hes hoping effectivelyjust to finish without falling in. You can do a bit of swimming, i hear. Ive been swimming nonstop since i got in these things. Its like theyve got a mind of their own. They just keep throwing you out. If you make a tiny mistake or you think about another boat, theyjust kick you out. Swimming in the water. You guys want to be an olympian . Its not going to be easy. You knew this was a big challenge, is it tougher than you thought it would be . Its so much tougher than i thought. Fortunately, the International Canoe federation run crash courses around world championships. That meant a rather busy week for an international kayaker turned coach. No, no. I mean, sorry. When you start usually in hungary, you are a smaller kid. Afterwards, you have a long time ten years to catch up but you already have Co Ordination from the other sports and you also have muscles to speed up. You just need to learn it in a shorter way, to make it the harder way, for sure. I think he expected it to be tough but the good thing is he never gave up. Within the six days, he improved a lot. It was quite surprising. Im impressed. Good improvement today. I think Everybody Needs to see him. I grew a lot because i died a million times in the session. Peace, much love, pita out. This is it. Pita is moments away from making his kayak debut here in hungary. Its crazy hot today. There is a bit of a breeze, which wont make conditions easy but i think hes just excited to be finally getting going. Next up is heat five of the mens k1200 metres and it looks as though pita taufatofua of tonga is struggling out in lane eight. Looks like were ready. Six are in position, tonga not quite, but away they go. Stefanovic of serbia has powered out at the start and into the lead. Some way back is our tongan paddler, who is not going to pull this back, im afraid. Stefanovic takes the win 33. 97 seconds. Taufatofua finishes almost 25 seconds behind. Thats a really tough introduction to life in his new sport. Talk us through it. I went into the starting blocks and the wind was drifting it. Then i almost had a false start. I thought you know what . I just want to finish a race. My performance was not what i wanted it to be, so i apologise to everyone thats watching. That was my debut. The good news is that it can only get better from here. Unfortunately for pita it wouldnt and hed fare even worse after teaming up with fellow tongan malakai for the 200 metre heats. Its all brave or glory, thats what it is. This time it was brave. Weve made so many mistakes, so i think we got most of them out of the way. Do you still believe tokyo is possible . The same thing that happened with ski. Everybody doubted that it could be done. The debut was absolutely terrible. This was probably a bit worse. I have faith that god will help me and if he does and ill keep trying anyway and keep asking him anyway until he changes his mind. But as if that Olympic Mission wasnt tough enough, pita soon had another target which meant at the same time as refining his control of his kayak and he would also return to his origins and tae kwon do. You dont do things the easy way do you . No, definitely not, definitely not. I mean, its largely impossible to do it in canoeing and even to qualify again in tae kwon do but thats why we want to do it, because its a challenge, and thats what the olympic spirit is. I want to become one of the first dual sport olympians at the same olympics. Ive been here about 20, 30 years. I am a tae kwon do missionary. Pita is good boy and now he is a good man. Before he was a small boy, he wanted to go to the Olympic Games with tae kwon do. You do black belt, any sport, you canjoin. You can see that with pita. Thats why i call pita superman. How special was it today to be able to train with pita . It was really special. And while i was training, i was really tired but i had some spirit to do more kicking, punching and fighting. Are more people doing tae kwon do now because of what he has done as well . Yes, they understand. Pita is a very special fighter. He is representing our kingdom at the olympics. Does he make you believe that anything is possible . Yes, make me believe about the spirit when you play tae kwon do. Tae kwon do is in my blood, ive been doing it since i was five years old. It never leaves you. I may not have had a kick in two years but the body remembers and the spirit remembers and its a place i need to be. So, tokyo 2020, who knows. Who knows whats going to happen . After a heavy block of training, pita was making progress both on the mat and in the water. Butjust days before two crucial olympic qualifiers, he broke a rib and suffered muscle damage. So the odds were stacked well against him at the canoeing continental qualifier, where only the winner would reach tokyo 2020. Taufatofua is fighting but its just not going to be enough. The cook islands will take the olympic place. The tongan will have to try again later in the year. A brutal schedule meant that less than two weeks later, pita was next on australias gold coast for tae kwon dos continental qualifier, again, only victory would do. Taufatofua just needs to close this one out. And thats it. An incredible win in the end against all the odds. Hes qualified for the olympics for the second time in tae kwon do. Huge congratulations. Securing that place for tokyo 2020. Its always the case when you go into the olympics, just the journey to actually qualify, its what nobody sees but its actually the hardest part. We sacrificed a lot but the good lord decided to give as a win, so a third olympics. The Tokyo Olympics will be delayed for a year because of coronavirus. We are facing an unprecedented challenge. In the middle of the staggering collapse of the global sporting calendar in recent weeks, the tokyo games is the last one to fall. The rescheduled games will now start on the 23rd of july, 2021. The world has changed. How is life for you at the moment and hows your family in tonga . Theyre doing really good. Tonga is one of the few countries in the world that recorded zero cases of covid throughout this whole ordeal. Ifeel very happy, not for covid but the fact that we now have an extra year to get ready for the olympics. Ill take any positivity i can get. We havent even scraped the surface of the potential here in the pacific. Weve launched the pita foundation, to help youth help them achieve and have access to free sporting facilities. When you unleash this potential, well help change the world, we will help show people what the spirit and the love of the polynesian people is. We havent even scratched the surface yet. Hes come from this to two Olympic Games. It proves just whats possible, doesnt it . Absolutely. Theres nothing ive done that anyone cant do with the right mindset and the right self belief. My focus is on making sure that we get him there. That we get a medal. Previously, it was about becoming an olympian. Now, i want to bring back a medalfor tonga. By pitas own admission, qualifying for the olympics in canoeing is his biggest challenge yet but history making has become something of a habit for him in recent years. From what ive witnessed here, if anyone can achieve a near impossible and qualify for a Third Straight olympics in a third different sport, its the modern day tongan warrior. Hello there. We are moving into the last full week of august and i think at times it is going to feel as if autumn has arrived early. We are going to have another bout of wind and rain as we head through this week. And it is going to turn cooler as well. To the rest of today, temperatures generally in the mid to high teens, to the low 20s in the south. A mix of sunshine and showers and then through tonight, many of those showers will fade. A few will linger and a few more heavy ones will push back into the south west and parts of wales by the end of the night. Mild in the south, 13, 1a degre