Daley and Glover GB flagbearers at opening ceremony
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Published
Diver Tom Daley and rower Helen Glover have been chosen as Great Britain’s flagbearers at the opening ceremony for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.
Four-time Olympic medallist Daley, 30, will contest his fifth Olympics after ending his long wait for gold at Tokyo 2020 in the men’s 10m synchro.
“I am extremely proud. Being able to be flagbearer at the opening ceremony is a dream come true,” Daley told BBC Sport.
Two-time Olympic champion Glover, 38, is competing at her fourth Games and said carrying the British flag would be “the biggest honour of my life”.
The Paris 2024 opening ceremony, held on the River Seine, takes place on Friday, 26 July.
Each national delegation, totalling around 10,500 athletes, will travel a six kilometre route on boats along the river.
Daley is set to become the first British diver to compete in five Games, having come out of retirement to compete in Tokyo three years ago.
An Olympian at the age of just 14 at Beijing 2008, Daley won gold alongside Matty Lee in Tokyo to add to three bronze medals he has achieved in individual and synchronised 10m events.
In Paris, he will seek to defend his title alongside team-mate Noah Williams.
“This Olympics is something I would consider to be a bonus Olympics,” said Daley, whose son, Robbie, convinced him to return.
“This Olympics has been about enjoying it, embracing every moment and taking everything in as much as I can. To be flagbearer too is just the icing on the cake.”
Glover, who has three children, bids for her third Olympic title after coming out of retirement for a second time – ending her career following both the Rio and Tokyo Games.
The three-time world champion, who will compete in Paris as part of the women’s four, became the first mother to row for Great Britain at an Olympics when she finished fourth alongside Polly Swann in the women’s pairs in Tokyo.
“I never thought I would be an Olympian. Being part of history as a flagbearer, I haven’t really got my head round it yet,” Glover said.
“Everyone I have told so far has cried, and I cried when I was told, which goes to show how much of an honour it is and how much it means.”
It is the first time in the history of the summer Games that the opening ceremony will not take place inside a stadium.
The athletes will make their way from east to west through the heart of the French capital, beginning at Austerlitz bridge at 18:30 BST and ending in the shadow of the Eiffel Tower at Trocadero.
On being selected alongside Glover, Daley said: “Helen is such an incredible athlete and we were talking about our kids and our reasons for getting back into our sports.
“Being a sportsperson and a parent changes your psychology and puts things into perspective. That’s something that will be really special to share with Helen.”
Sailor Hannah Mills and rower Mohamed Sbihi shared the role in Tokyo, where for the first time nations were permitted to select both male and female flagbearers at the opening ceremony.
Andy Murray carried the flag in Rio five years ago, while cyclist Chris Hoy led Team GB into London’s Olympic Stadium in 2012.
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Published17 April
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