Five-time Olympic medallist Anna Meares has been named as Australia's flagbearer for the 2016 Rio Olympic Games at a ceremony in Melbourne's Federation Square, one day after the 32-year-old was confirmed for a fourth Olympic appearance.
Meares, who won gold in the 500m time trial at Athens in 2004 and gold in the London 2012 sprint, will lead the Australian team at the opening ceremony at the Maracanã Stadium on August 5.
"It's a huge honour. When Kitty (Chiller) flew to Adelaide and told me I was extremely emotional, we were both pretty emotional. It kind of felt like she was proposing to be quite honest. She asked and I said yes!," Meares. "I've never marched at an Olympic Games, what a way to do it as a first-timer. All my life I dreamt of being an Olympian, an Olympic champion and representing Australia I never contemplated or dreamt that I could be the flagbearer.
ADVERTISEMENT
"For me, a country girl, a coalminer's daughter, to become the second cyclist in history to be an Australian Olympic Team flag bearer, leaves me very emotional and proud."
Meares joins 1936 flagbearer and 1932 one kilometre time trial gold medallist Dunc Gray as the only cyclists to have been awarded the honour.
At the Federation Square event, 2016 Chef de Mission Kitty Chiller explained the choice of Meares as flagbearer.
You can read more at Cyclingnews.com
via Cyclingnews Latest News http://ift.tt/29pakwt
No comments:
Post a Comment