Four-time Olympic swimmer Katie Ledecky and two-time Olympic rower Nick Mead have been named as Team USA flag bearers at the closing ceremony of the 2024 Olympics on Sunday.
The announcement by the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee (USOPC) comes amid growing excitement around Sunday’s ceremony, which will see the city of Paris handover the summer games baton to L.A. which will be the host city in 2028.
A raft of Hollywood stars is expected to participate in this segment of the ceremony, led by Tom Cruise, who is believed to pre-recorded material in Paris this spring and is also rumored to be preparing a skydiving stunt into the Stade de France venue.
The flag bearing honor for Ledecky follows a stellar performance in Paris where she won four medals to become the most decorated U.S. women’s Olympian of all time and the fifth most decorated Olympian in history with 14 medals.
Her win in the 800-meter freestyle in Paris, also made her the seventh Olympian to win four consecutive gold medals in the same event — and only the second swimmer to do so after Michael Phelps.
Speculation is now mounting over whether the swimming champion will return to Team USA for the L.A. 2028 games.
“I am incredibly honored to represent Team USA as a flag bearer as we close our time in Paris together,” said Ledecky in the USOPC release.
Ledecky and Mead were chosen by a vote of all the Team USA athletes through a process led by the Team USA Athletes’ Commission, which serves as the representative group and voice of Team USA Athletes.
Mead was part of the team that secured the gold medal in men’s four rowing, which marked the first for Team USA in the event since the 1960 Olympic Games in Rome.
“My experience at the Paris Games has been the dream of a lifetime and I’m filled with immense pride, gratitude and joy. I also wish to thank the city of Paris, and the entire country of France, for hosting an incredible Games. I’ll cherish these memories forever,” said Mead.
The Closing Ceremony will begin at 9 p.m. in Paris (3 p.m. ET) and will be presented live on NBC and Peacock and in primetime beginning at 7 p.m. ET/PT.
