16 Swimmers Will Carry Nations’ Flags in Closing Ceremonies

While not as widely recognized as those that open the bi-annual event, every Olympic Games ends with a parade of nations that serve not only as a ceremonial extinguishing of the Olympic flame, but an opportunity to roll forward the anticipation from the Games’ start into a reflection on their majesty in their finish.

• See: the full list of Olympic flag-bearers for the closing ceremony
• See: 22 swimmers chosen as flag-bearers in opening ceremoniy

The closing ceremonies, just like their counterpart, includes a parade of nations, where all 207 delegations, including the Refugee Olympic Team, will have their chance to march. The countries go in the same order as they started, and each will be led by an athlete (or athletes) carrying their nation’s flag.

26 nations will have their flags carried by a volunteer, as their delegations have already headed home.

But for the other 181 delegations, this will be a final chance to say goodbye to Rio. For many countries, the flag bearer of the opening ceremonies are the faces of their nations to viewers around the world, often first learning of those countries’ existences for the first time, those carrying the flags in the closing ceremonies will leave the final imprint.

Included on that list are 16 swimmers, a pair of synchronized swimmers, and one water polo player.

The full list of athletes under the FINA umbrella carrying their nations’ flag on Sunday night is below (in order that they will appear):

*Notable contributors in the pool

Swimming

• Noah Mascoll-Gomes, Antigua and Barbuda
• Angelika Sita Ouedradgo, Burkina Faso
• Billy Scott Irakoze, Burundi
• Penny Olekiak, Canada*
• Lara Butler, Cayman Islands
• Chloe Marie Helene Sauvourel, Central African Republic
• Soule Soilihi Athoumane, Comoros
• Mohamed Ismael Ibrahim, Djibouti
• Benjamin Schulte, Guam
• Katinka Hosszu, Hungary*
• Hrafinhildur Luthersdottir, Iceland*
• Christoph Meier, Liechtenstein
• Colleen Furgeson, Marshall Islands
• Miri Alatrash, Palestine
• Adzo Rebecca Kpossi, Togo
• Kirsty Coventry, Zimbabwe*

Synchronized Swimming

• Natalia Ishchenko and Svetlana Romashina, Russia*

Water Polo

• Predrag Jokic, Montenegro*