Tongan set to make history on luge track

Banani trades sand for snow to become island's first winter Olympian

Tonga's Bruno Banani has qualified as the Pacific nation's first ever winter Olympian, the International Luge Federation (FIL) said this week, in an achievement every bit as remarkable as Jamaica's famous bobsled team.

Banani, who hails from a tropical archipelago famed for its sunshine and white sandy beaches, will head for the frigid Russian resort of Sochi in February after finishing 28th out of 42 starters at a World Cup meet in Park City, Utah, comfortably making the top 38 cut-off needed to qualify, the FIL said.