On Friday, Coco Gauff—just 20, but no stranger to chalking up records, firsts, and number one rankings—will join LeBron James in hoising the flag to lead the nearly 600-strong American team into the opening ceremony of the 2024 Paris Olympics. It will mark the first time a tennis player has held the flag for the ceremonies.
“There is no greater honor than being chosen by my fellow athletes to be this year’s flag bearer, especially alongside one of my idols, Lebron,” she told Vogue on Wednesday. “I still feel like this is all a dream.”
This will be James’s fourth Olympics and Gauff’s first: While she was selected for the 2020 Tokyo Games, a bout of COVID prevented her from competing. Both athletes were selected as flag bearers by their fellow American Olympians.
“I’m incredibly proud of Coco – I know how great she is as a tennis player, but more importantly, how great she is as a person,” teammate Chris Eubanks, another first-time Olympian, said in a statement. “I don’t think there is anyone more deserving of this honor and I’m excited to see her carry the flag as she leads our U.S. delegation in the Opening Ceremony.”
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