Photo: Lintao Zhang/Getty Images
Three-time Olympic speed skater Brittany Bowe and five-time Olympic curler John Shuster led Team USA during the Opening Ceremony for the2022 Beijing Winter Olympics.
On Friday morning, Bowe, 33, and Shuster, 39, served as flag bearers for the team during the Parade of Nations at Beijing’s National Stadium, also known as the “Bird’s Nest.” There, the athletes walked to a selection of international classical music.
During the Opening Ceremony, Shuster and Bowe spoke with NBC News about getting to lead Team USA and what the honor meant to them. “Leading this amazing group of athletes, this is so cool,” said Shuster.
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Added Bowe: “This is an absolute honor of a lifetime. I can’t think of a more powerful and uniting moment as an athlete and as an American. And it’s an absolute honor to lead Team USA into the Opening Ceremony.”
The NBC broadcast also showed glimpses of Shuster and Bowe’s families cheering them on stateside, with Shuster’s family in Superior, Wisconsin, and Bowe’s in Ocala, Florida.
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Bowe was selected toreplace elected flag bearerElana Meyers Taylor, a 37-year-old bobsledder who has won medals in the past three Winter Olympics, in the ceremony after Taylor tested positive for COVID-19.
Shuster made history as the first curler to carry the U.S. flag during the Opening Ceremony, according toUSA Curling.
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In all, the U.S. Olympic team has a delegation of 223 athletes.
“It’s my honor to once again be asked to participate in the presentation of the Opening Ceremony. And on behalf of our country, I will proudly introduce our U.S. Olympians to the world as they take that first step of defining their legacy,” Johnson said in a statement prior to the event.
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At the 2018 PyeongChangWinter Olympics, Olympic luger Erin Hamlin was picked to lead Team USA during the Parade of Nations.
Beijing also hosted the2008 Summer Olympics, where15,000 performersfilled the stadium floor during that year’s Opening Ceremony.
Chinese filmmaker Zhang Yimou, who directed the 2008 Opening Ceremony, told theWashington Postthat the 2022 event would feature only 3,000 performers.
“In 2008, the Olympics was a brilliant stage and chance for our country to show ourselves,” Yimou said. “It’s different now. China’s status in the world, the image of the Chinese, and the rise of our national status, everything is totally different now.”
To learn more about all the Olympic and Paralympic hopefuls, visitTeamUSA.org. Watch the Winter Olympics, beginning Feb 3, and the Paralympics, beginning March 4, on NBC.
source: people.com
