Yong Beom Choi of Korea and Edina Mueller of Germany have been named flagbearers of their respective countries at the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games Opening Ceremony.
Mueller will join triathlete Martin Schulz in leading the German team out during the parade in Paris.
The 41-year-old Mueller is the reigning KL1 Paralympic champion and also has a silver medal in the event from Rio 2016.
She has also medalled at the Games in wheelchair basketball, claiming gold at London 2012 and a silver at Beijing 2008.
A World Championships gold medallist in 2016, Paris 2024 will be Mueller’s fifth appearance at the Games.
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“That’s a crazy feeling,” Mueller said about being the flagbearer.
“For me, it’s perfect. I can enjoy it completely and fully.”
For Choi, the occasion is extra special as he will become the first South Korean Paracanoeist to compete at the Paralympic Games.
He qualified for the Games after a seventh-place finish at the World Championships in May, only 10 months after taking up the sport.
While he has been a paddler since middle school, Choi lost a leg in a car accident in March 2022 and took up Paracanoeing in July last year and will compete in the KL3 in Paris.
“I was happy when I heard that I was selected as a flagbearer. I think it's the glory of the family,” he said.
“I've played a lot of games, but I'm more nervous because it's the first time I've played the flagbearer.”
The Paralympic Opening Ceremony will continue the Paris 2024 tradition of the curtain raiser being held outside a stadium - a historic first.
While Olympians were paraded along the beautiful River Seine, the opening of the 17th Paralympic Games on August 28 (8:00 PM, local time) will take place at the iconic Place de la Concorde and the Champs-Elysées.
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