SYDNEY, July 24 (Xinhua) -- Australian Olympic Committee (AOC) announced on Wednesday that paddler Jessica Fox and hockey veteran Eddie Ockenden were selected as flag-bearers for the Australian team at the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games in Paris.
Fox will become the second paddler to carry the flag following the late Dennis Green who carried the flag at Munich 1972. Born in the French city of Marseille, the 30-year-old Australian won gold in canoe slalom in Tokyo at her third Olympics.
"I am proud to follow in the steps of so many great Australians who have carried the flag. The Olympic Games bring us together as sports, as athletes and as a nation. And of course, I am immensely proud to represent Australia in the country of my birth," said Fox.
"This is my fourth Games, and I am lucky to be competing in three events. My first race is the heats the afternoon after the opening ceremony, so I'll get a sleep in. I feel this is such an honor and opportunity, that I wouldn't miss it for the world," she added.
Fox's compatriot Ockenden will become the second hockey flag bearer in Australian history, following in the footsteps of Ric Charlesworth who led the team at Seoul 1988.
The 37-year-old hockey stalwart made his international debut in 2006. After bringing home one Olympic silver medal and two bronze ones, Ockenden is on track to become the first Australian hockey player to appear at five Olympic Games.
Ockenden revealed that he was "lucky enough" for a fifth time to compete at an Olympic Games.
"I'm very grateful for the opportunity to now have this honor and experience something with such a strong history and deep meaning," he said.
The AOC also noted that as dual flag bearers, the Fox-Ockenden duo are the third pair behind Denise Boyd and Max Metzker who carried the Olympic Flag and not the Australian flag at Moscow 1980, as well as Cate Campbell and Patrick Mills who became the first dual flag bearers to carry the Australian Flag at Tokyo 2020.
The opening ceremony for the Paris Olympics will take place on Friday evening at the iconic Seine. ■
