Paris 2024 Opening Ceremony: Record-breaking number of sailors picked as flag bearers
by World Sailing 27 Jul 2024 03:25 AEST
26 July 2024
Anne-Marie Rindom © Sailing Energy / World Sailing
The Paris 2024 Opening Ceremony will be a historic occasion for sailing as an Olympic sport, with 13 nautical athletes selected as flag bearers at the showpiece spectacle.
The previous record for sailors holding their national flag at an opening ceremony was 12, set at Rio 2016. That number has now been topped, meaning sailing is the fifth best represented sport amongst flag bearers in Paris.
When the ceremony kicks off at 7:30pm local time, teams will process down the river Seine, past iconic Parisian landmarks like the Notre-Dame, Louvre and Eiffel Tower, in what will be the first ever Olympics Opening Ceremony to be held outside a stadium.
Taking to the water will be a fitting tribute to the 13 sailors selected to lead out their nations. Here's a complete look at each of the sailors that got the call, which includes a mix of veterans, gold medallists and first-time Olympians.
Bermuda: Adriana Penruddocke (women's dinghy / ILCA 6)
Adriana Penruddocke will have the honour of carrying the flag of Bermuda at the Paris Opening Ceremony in her first ever Olympic appearance.
The sailor booked her spot in Marseille after finishing sixth at the Pan American Games in Chile. She is one of eight athletes, and the only sailor, representing Bermuda at the Olympics this summer.
British Virgin Islands: Thad Lettsome (men's dinghy / ILCA 7)
Having just graduated from Tulane University, Thad Lettsome is now lining up a debut appearance at the Olympic Games.
Lettsome is the first British Virgin Islands sailor to head to the Games since Robby Hirst competed in the Laser class at the 1996 Atlanta Games.
He will compete in the men's dinghy, but will first have the chance to hold his national flag alongside 200 metre sprinter Adaejah T. Hodge.
Cayman Islands: Charlotte Webster (women's dinghy / ILCA 6)
Charlotte Webster's dream of becoming an Olympian became that little bit more special after it was announced she'd be a flag bearer for the Cayman Islands.
Webster is following in the footsteps of Tomeaka McTaggart and Florence Allan to become the third female Cayman Islands sailor to compete at an Olympic Games.
Denmark: Anne-Marie Rindom (women's dinghy / ILCA 6)
Defending Olympic champion Anne-Marie Rindom enters Paris 2024 as the official flag bearer for Denmark and the only sailor in the country's team that has been to a Games before.
Rindom won bronze in Rio and clinched Laser Radial gold in Tokyo to become the joint-most successful Danish woman in Olympic history.
If she retains her crown in Marseille, in what will be her fourth Games appearance, Rindom will become the most decorated female athlete from her nation ever.
Fiji: Viliame Ratulu (men's dinghy / ILCA 7)
While Fiji is best known for its rugby, sailor Viliame Ratulu plans to chart a new path after being picked to carry the national flag in Paris.
Ratulu was the first of his family to pick up sailing and trained with World Sailing's Youth Emerging Nations Program on his way to competing at a World Youth Championships. He will be one of two Fijian sailors at this Games, alongside Sophia Morgan who previously competed in Tokyo.
Finland: Sinem Kurtbay (mixed multihull / Nacra 17)
Veteran Finnish sailor Sinem Kurtbay will hoist her national flag at the Olympics opening ceremony before turning her attention to the mixed multihull later in the Games.
Kurtbay featured in Tokyo and competed in the same class alongside Akseli Keskinen, finishing 13th overall. The pair secured a bronze medal at the 2022 World Championships and will reunite once more off the coast of Marseille.
Lithuania: Rytis Jasiunas (men's windsurfing / iQFOiL)
Lithuanian windsurfer Rytis Jasiunas will suit up as a flag bearer before taking to the Mediterranean Sea early Sunday afternoon.
Jasiunas is making his first ever appearance at an Olympic Games in the iQFOiL and was chosen to represent his nation with equestrian star Justina Vanagaite. The duo are part of the 50-strong Lithuanian team heading to the Olympics.
Malaysia: Nur Shazrin Mohamad Latif (women's dinghy / ILCA 6)
Malaysian sailing star Nur Shazrin Mohamad Latif will balance flag bearing duties with delivering on the hopes of a nation when she competes in the women's dinghy.
Latif is appearing in her third consecutive Olympic Games and will be hoping to build upon her gold medal win at the 2022 Aisan Games in Hangzhou, where she triumphed in the ILCA 6.
Montenegro: Milivoj Dukic (men's dinghy / ILCA 7)
Three-time Olympian Milivoj Dukic will serve as a flag bearer for Montenegro after reaching his fourth Games.
Dukic competed at London, Rio and Tokyo in the Laser and will return to compete in the men's dinghy class with a world ranking of 28 heading into the competition.
New Zealand: Jo Aleh (mixed dinghy / 470)
New Zealand sailing icon Jo Aleh will add Olympic flag bearer to her already impressive list of career accomplishments.
The experienced sailor is a former World and Olympic champion, having picked up a memorable gold at London 2012 in the 470 with crewmate Polly Powrie, before securing silver in Rio in the same class.
Aleh has now teamed up with Rio silver medallist Molly Meech to chase another medal, this time in the 49erFX, at the Paris Games. Aleh is also the athlete representative on the World Sailing board.
Singapore: Ryan Lo (men's dinghy / ILCA 7)
Ryan Lo will lead out the Singapore team at the Opening Ceremony in recognition of his achievements in sailing to date.
Lo is a three-time Southeast Asian Games gold medallist and competed at Tokyo 2020 in the Laser. He is also a former world champion and in 2023 managed to clinch a gold medal in the ILCA 7 class at the Asian Games.
Spain: Tamara Echegoyen (women's skiff / 49erFX)
Tamara Echegoyen will be hoping to replicate the magic of 2012 in Marseille, but before that she will carry the Spanish flag at the Opening Ceremony.
Echegoyen won a gold medal in the Elliott 6m class at London 2012, together with her crew of Angela Pumariega and Sofia Toro. She will now line up in the women's skiff with an eye on winning another Olympic medal.
Sweden: Josefin Olsson (women's dinghy / ILCA 6)
Olympic silver medallist and former world champion Josefin Olsson will be on the hunt for another medal after carrying the Swedish flag across the Seine.
She competed at the London and Rio Olympics but got her silver at the third time of asking, reaching the podium at Tokyo 2020 in her Laser Radial.