By Adam Roberts – 7/21/2021
The Tokyo Olympics opening ceremony is set for Friday and we now know who will serve as flag bearers for the U.S. delegation. Veteran women’s basketball star Sue Bird of the Seattle Storm says she has an idea what it will be like.
Joining her will be Major League Baseball infielder Eddy Alvarez. Both are familiar with the Games, Bird is the owner of four gold medals she’s won with Team USA since 2004.
Alvarez scored a silver medal in speedskating at the 2014 Winter Olympics before joining the Miami Marlins. In the past, just one person has been selected as flag bearer, but this year the International Olympic Committee urged each country to appoint one male and one female as a symbol of gender equality. The IOC vowed that this will be “the first gender-equal Olympic Games ever.”
Of course the news this week pertaining to the Olympics has mostly circulated around COVID spread and the possibility of the games’ cancellation. As of right now the games are on as planned, with some softball and soccer games already in the books ahead of Friday’s ceremony.