Current:Home > FinanceCoco Gauff joins LeBron James as US flag bearers for opening ceremony -GrowthSphere Strategies
Coco Gauff joins LeBron James as US flag bearers for opening ceremony
View
Date:2025-04-17 05:03:41
PARIS — Three years ago, Coco Gauff was kept out of the Olympics after testing positive for COVID-19 days before her scheduled departure.
This time, she'll be carrying the U.S. flag at the opening ceremony.
Gauff will join NBA superstar LeBron James as the opening ceremony flag bearers for Team USA at the 2024 Paris Olympics, the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee announced Wednesday. She is the first tennis player to serve in the role.
The pair were selected to lead the U.S. delegation into the Games in a vote of fellow athletes, conducted by Team USA's athletes' commission. At recent Olympics, the U.S. has selected one male athlete and one female athlete to serve as flag bearers.
"I never thought in a million years I would have the honor of carrying the American flag for Team USA in the Opening Ceremony," Gauff said in a statement. "I could not be more proud to lead my teammates with LeBron as we showcase our dedication and passion on the biggest stage there is − at a moment where we can bring athletes and fans together from around the world."
Meet Team USA: See which athletes made the U.S. Olympic team and where they are from
Gauff, 20, is making her Olympic debut in Paris after blossoming into one of tennis' brightest stars. She has won two Grand Slam titles − including the U.S. Open championship last summer − and is currently No. 2 in the world in the Women's Tennis Association's world rankings.
The opening ceremony for the Paris Games begins Friday at 1:30 p.m. ET, or 7:30 p.m. in Paris. It is slated to be the first in Olympic history to take place outside of a stadium, with athletes floating down the Seine River on barges rather than parading into a stadium.
The U.S. is expected to fill at least one full boat of the nearly 100 in the parade; Countries with smaller delegations will share boats.
While James and Gauff will lead the athlete delegation at the Games, the U.S. political delegation will be led by First Lady Jill Biden. According to a statement released by the White House on Monday, she will be joined by a handful of politicians − including U.S. Senators Chris Coons, D-Delaware, and Alex Padilla, D-California −as well as South Carolina women's basketball coach Dawn Staley and figure skating gold medalist Brian Boitano.
The U.S. delegation will also include Casey Wasserman, the chairperson of the organizing committee for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, and Los Angeles mayor Karen Bass. Team USA will be second-to-last in the traditional parade of nations Friday as the host of the next Summer Olympics.
Contact Tom Schad at tschad@usatoday.com or on social media @Tom_Schad.
veryGood! (49)
Related
- Federal Spending Freeze Could Have Widespread Impact on Environment, Emergency Management
- Why did the NFL change the kickoff rule and how will it be implemented?
- Arnold Schwarzenegger gets a pacemaker, becomes 'a little bit more of a machine'
- 'The Bachelor's' surprising revelation about the science of finding a soulmate
- Military service academies see drop in reported sexual assaults after alarming surge
- Case against woman accused in death of adopted young son in Arizona dismissed, but could be refiled
- Lego moves to stop police from using toy's emojis to cover suspects faces on social media
- Zendaya's Hairstylist Ursula Stephen Reveals the All-Star Details Behind Her Blonde Transformation
- Spooky or not? Some Choa Chu Kang residents say community garden resembles cemetery
- Utah women's basketball team experienced 'racial hate crimes' during NCAA Tournament
Ranking
- Trump issues order to ban transgender troops from serving openly in the military
- Tiny, endangered fish hinders California River water conservation plan
- Nevada Supreme Court will take another look at Chasing Horse’s request to dismiss sex abuse charges
- Lands, a Democrat who ran on reproductive rights, flips seat in Alabama House
- Pressure on a veteran and senator shows what’s next for those who oppose Trump
- Indictment accuses Rwandan man of lying about role in his country’s 1994 genocide to come to US
- New concussion guidelines could get athletes back to exercise, school earlier
- DJT had a good first day: Trump's Truth Social media stock price saw rapid rise
Recommendation
Highlights from Trump’s interview with Time magazine
Pickup truck driver charged for role in crash that left tractor-trailer dangling from bridge
Finally: Pitcher Jordan Montgomery signs one-year, $25 million deal with Diamondbacks
NBC hired former RNC chair Ronna McDaniel. The internal uproar reeks of blatant anti-GOP bias.
The 401(k) millionaires club keeps growing. We'll tell you how to join.
Trial date set in August for ex-elected official accused of killing Las Vegas journalist
Diddy investigated for sex trafficking: A timeline of allegations and the rapper's life, career
California Restaurant Association says Berkeley to halt ban on natural gas piping in new buildings