Rowers nominated to be flag bearers at Paris 2024 Opening Ceremony

World Rowing is very pleased to hear of several rowers who have been selected to be flag bearers at the Opening Ceremony of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games taking place this evening, Friday 26 July 2024.

Representing Great Britain will be double Olympic gold medallist Helen Glover MBE. Glover is in Paris for her fourth Olympic Games and will this time race in the women’s four. After taking time out of the sport to start a family, she returned as a mother of three to row for Team GB at the Tokyo 2020 Games. Speaking on her selection, Glover said;

“This is probably the biggest honour of my life. I just love the Olympics and have always loved what it stood for. I still pinch myself that I am an Olympian, being a flagbearer and going down in history. I’ve never been to an Opening Ceremony before and I’ll be carrying the flag at my first one.. It’s unbelievable to be in this position.”

Two rowers will represent Romania; Ionela Cozmiuc and her husband Marius. In Paris, Ionela will race in the lighweight women’s double sculls and Marius in the men’s eight. Ionela was over the moon with their selection;

“It’s a huge honour for us to be the flagbearers. We didn’t expect that, but every Olympic athlete dreams about it, so we’re really glad that we’ll do this together as a family.We are the first family from the history of the Olympics (to be flagbearers). We just started this, so we think if in the future there’ll be other families to make this happen, it would be nice.”

Other flag bearers known at the time of publication are:

• Abdalla Ahmed (SUD, M1x)
• Akoko Komlanvi (TOG, W1x)
• Alejandra Alonso (PAR, W1x)
• Antonia Abraham (CHI, W2-)
• Khadija Krimi (TUN, LW2x)
• Soaad AlFaqaan (KUW, W1x)

The Paris 2024 Opening Ceremony will be like never before as, for the first time in history, it will not take in a stadium. The ceremony is set to be held in the heart of the city along its main artery, the River Seine. More information can be found here