Tonga at the 2000 Summer Olympics Tonga at the 2000 Summer Olympics Tonga sent a delegation to compete at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, Australia from 15 September to 1 October 2000. Sydney was Tonga's fifth consecutive appearance at a Summer Olympic Games. The Tongan delegation to Sydney consisted of two track and field athletes; Toluta'u Koula and Ana Siulolo Liku; and weightlifter Tevita Kofe Ngalu. Neither of the track athletes advanced beyond the first round of their events, while Ngalu came 13th in the men's 105 kg category. The Tonga Sports Association and National Olympic Committee was recognized by the International Olympic Committee on
Olympic Games in the opening ceremony. Though the flame has been an Olympic symbol since 1928, the torch relay was only introduced at the 1936 Summer Games to promote the Third Reich. The Olympic mascot, an animal or human figure representing the cultural heritage of the host country, was introduced in 1968. It has played an important part of the Games' identity promotion since the 1980 Summer Olympics, when the Russian bear cub Misha reached international stardom. The mascot of the Summer Olympics in London was named Wenlock after the town of Much Wenlock in Shropshire. Much Wenlock still hosts the Wenlock