Before his Olympic debut in 2016 Taufatofua had endured countless broken bones, torn ligaments and several months in a wheelchair, which contributed to two failed attempts at reaching previous Games.
Buoyed by achieving his lifetime dream he then qualified as a cross country skier for last year's Pyeongchang Winter Olympics, where he finished 114th out of 119 competitors.
However, the new challenge is arguably his toughest to date with only 12 places available in the K1 200m event he is targeting Tokyo 2020 qualification.
"In Tonga we work with what we have and I believe we can achieve this," he said.
Only one Tongan athlete has ever stood on the Olympic podium, boxer Paea Wolfgramm, who claimed silver at the 1996 Atlanta Games - but Taufatofua hopes to emulate that.
"I've always trained to win a medal, but in the past it's really been about becoming an Olympian," he said. "Now I want to row my way to Olympic gold and carry the spirit of my people with me."
The World Canoe Sprint Championships in Szeged, Hungary in August will provide Taufatofua with his first chance to qualify for the Games, if he can secure a top-five finish.
Realistically though he will be focusing on the Oceania continental qualifier in February 2020, but he has not abandoned thoughts of returning to the taekwondo mat come the Olympics as well.
"Two different sports at one Olympics, now that would be something wouldn't it?"
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