Coco Gauff will be the U.S. female flag bearer at the Paris Olympic Opening Ceremony on Friday, becoming the youngest American to ever to hold the honor.
Gauff, 20, will join LeBron James, who was named the male flag bearer on Monday. She will be the first tennis player to be a U.S. flag bearer at an Opening or Closing Ceremony.
Both athletes were chosen through voting by fellow U.S. Olympic team members across sports. When Gauff was born in March 2004, James was 62 games into his first NBA season.
“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. “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.”
Gauff will break the record of youngest U.S. Opening Ceremony flag bearer held by Cindy Nelson (an Alpine skier at the 1976 Winter Games), according to the OlyMADMen.
Gauff is the first Olympic rookie to be a U.S. Opening Ceremony flag bearer since runner Lopez Lomong in 2008.
Fellow U.S. tennis team member, Chris Eubanks, had the distinct honor of telling Gauff she was named as a flag bearer.
The Opening Ceremony airs live on NBC and Peacock on Friday at noon ET. Coverage will be hosted by Mike Tirico, Kelly Clarkson and Peyton Manning.
The ceremony will include a parade of boats carrying the athletes over the Seine, passing iconic landmarks. The route ends across from the Eiffel Tower at the Trocadero, where the final elements of protocol and final shows will take place.
SEE MORE: Coco Gauff’s Olympic debut: Part deux
Gauff made the Tokyo Olympic team at age 17 but was unable to compete. She announced five days before that year’s Opening Ceremony that she had to withdraw after testing positive for COVID-19.
Gauff is now ranked a career-high No. 2 in the world in singles. In the last year, she won her first Grand Slam titles in singles and in doubles.
At the U.S. Open last September, she became the youngest American to win a Grand Slam singles title since Serena Williams took the first of her 23 titles at the 1999 U.S. Open at 17.
Then at the French Open this past June, Gauff teamed with Czech Katerina Siniakova to capture the women’s doubles title. Gauff became the youngest woman to win a Grand Slam in both singles and doubles in 19 years.
“In your phone under your vision notes, you wrote that you want to win a medal at the Olympics. Gold, silver, bronze – it doesn’t matter,” Gauff wrote for NBCOlympics.com going into the Paris Games. “But you’ve already won, you’ve made your childhood dream of playing at the Olympics, representing the United States, a real reality. And now, finally, you get to enjoy it.”
The Paris Olympic tennis competition will be held at the same site as the French Open – Roland Garros. Gauff was the 2022 French Open singles runner-up to Poland’s Iga Swiatek.
Swiatek, who is in the Paris Olympic field, is ranked No. 1 in the world and won four of the last five French Opens.
Gauff is also expected to play doubles at the Olympics with Jessica Pegula.
Starting with the Tokyo Games, nations have been encouraged to select one male and one female Opening Ceremony flag bearer. Previously, nations traditionally had one flag bearer.
The U.S. flag bearers at the Tokyo Opening Ceremony were basketball player Sue Bird, who won her fifth gold at those Games, and baseball player Eddy Alvarez, who also competed in short track speed skating at the 2014 Winter Games.
SEE MORE: How to watch the Opening Ceremony of the 2024 Paris Olympics: TV and stream schedule
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