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Katie Ledecky, Nick Mead named Team USA flag bearers for 2024 Olympics closing ceremony

profilephotocropby: Suzanne Halliburton08/08/24suzhalliburton
katie ledecky olympics closing ceremony
Grace Hollars-USA TODAY Sports

Katie Ledecky, the United States most-decorated female athlete, along with rower Nick Mead, will carry the flag for Team USA, during Sunday’s Olympic Closing Ceremonies.

Team USA shared the announcement early Thursday as the Olympics in Paris wind down.

Ledecky shared on X “Honored to lead Team USA at the Closing Ceremony with Nick! Proud of my teammates here in Paris, and excited to celebrate with all of them on Sunday.”

Ledecky learned she was going to carry the flag from Olympics teammate Bobby Finke, the only American male swimmer to win an individual gold. She was visibly emotional.

“You’re making my cry,” she told Finke. A video of the conversation captured the moment.

“This is a huge honor,” Ledecky said. “Can’t wait for closing ceremony and it’s been an honor representing our country here in Paris and I’m so proud to be a part of this team.”

Katie Ledecky owns 14 medals, most by an American woman

Ledecky won four medals at the Paris Olympics. She won her signature, the 800-meter freestyle, which gave Ledecky her ninth career gold. That allowed her to tie Soviet-era gymnast Larisa Latynina for the most career golds earned by a female Olympian.

Mead’s gold was so impressive because of how rare it is for American rowers to win this Olympics event. He and his three teammates took gold in men’s rowing fours. The last time the Americans did so was in 1960 at the Olympics in Rome. The rowing events were 25 miles outside Paris at the Vaires-sur-Marne Nautical Stadium.

Take a look back at the thrilling race.

The Olympics close this Sunday. And the closing ceremony should be a more relaxed affair than the four-hour opening. The Paris Games kicked off with boat parade of athletes floating down the Seine River to a temporary stadium by the iconic Eiffel Tower. Basketball legend LeBron James and budding tennis superstar Coco Gauff were the American flag bearers.

On Sunday, the closing ceremonies head just north of Paris to the Stade de France in Saint-Denis. That’s where the track competition was held each this past week. Thomas Jolly, who produced the sometimes controversial Opening Ceremonies, also will direct the closing.

The athletes will walk, rather than float, into the stadium, so it will look more traditional. There will be a parade of athletes, plus lots of highlights. Then, Paris will hand off the Olympics flag to Los Angeles. Because the next time the Summer Olympics convene, it will be on home soil, with the Opening Ceremonies set for glistening So-Fi Stadium.