David Bridges
Swimmer Katie Ledecky and rower Nick Mead, two of Workforce USA’s gold medal winners, have been named because the flagbearers for Workforce USA on the closing ceremony of the 2024 Olympics on Sunday, August 11.
The information was introduced on Thursday, August 8, by the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee (USOPC). The occasion will function town of Paris handing over the summer time video games baton to Los Angeles, the host metropolis for the 2028 Olympics.
The four-time Olympian is probably the most embellished American lady in any sport on the Olympics and probably the most embellished feminine swimmer of all time, with a complete of 14 medals.
.@katieledecky solutions the decision 🫡
The 14x Olympic medalist receives the information from @Robert_Finke that she’ll be considered one of Workforce USA’s flag bearers on the Closing Ceremony. 🇺🇸#ParisOlympics pic.twitter.com/bvTYp1eHxv
— Workforce USA (@TeamUSA) August 8, 2024
The 27-year-old swimmer, well-deserving of the consideration, obtained the information from her teammate Bobby Finke. “I actually can’t consider anyone higher to guide us out of those Olympic Video games,” he instructed Ledecky throughout a FaceTime name. She was visibly moved, reacting with an “oh” earlier than tearing up.
“You’re making me cry,” Ledecky responded.
“It is a enormous honor,” she added. “I can’t look ahead to the closing ceremony. It’s been an honor representing our nation right here in Paris, and I’m so proud to be part of this workforce.”
Nick Mead made historical past as a member of the primary U.S. males’s 4 rowing workforce to win Olympic gold since 1960.
Now, he’ll make much more historical past as the primary rower to guide Workforce USA as considered one of our flag bearers on the Closing Ceremony. 🇺🇸#ParisOlympics pic.twitter.com/4cBLXz4s6T
— Workforce USA (@TeamUSA) August 8, 2024
Ledecky didn’t attend the opening ceremony on July 26, the place LeBron James and Coco Gauff have been the flagbearers for Workforce USA, as a consequence of her competitors schedule beginning the next day. She will probably be joined by Mead, a 29-year-old two-time Olympian who earned his first medal as a part of Workforce USA’s gold medal-winning males’s 4—the primary U.S. gold within the occasion for the reason that 1960 Olympics.
In an announcement supplied by Workforce USA, Mead highlighted what an “unimaginable honor” it’s to function flagbearer, noting that rowing has by no means had an athlete chosen for the function.
“To share this privilege with Katie makes it all of the extra particular,” stated Mead. “My expertise on the Paris Video games has been the dream of a lifetime, and I’m full of immense delight, gratitude, and pleasure. I additionally want to thank town of Paris and the whole nation of France for internet hosting an unimaginable Video games. I’ll cherish these recollections eternally.”
The closing ceremony, scheduled to start at 3 p.m. ET on Sunday, will probably be held on the Stade de France, which has served because the venue for a lot of occasions throughout these Video games, together with observe and area.
Cameron Steel
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