- Australia’s Olympic flag bearers revealed
- Jess Fox and Eddie Ockenden have been given the honour
- Veterans will lead their team in Paris
Jessica Fox and Eddie Ockenden will be Australia’s flag bearers at the opening ceremony of the Paris Olympics.
The announcement was made on Wednesday on the Seine, two days before the start of the Games, with an unprecedented parade of barges along the famous Parisian waterway.
French-born Fox, 30, is seeking three gold medals in canoe and kayak slalom events at her fourth Games and is one of the biggest names competing at the Paris Olympics.
She will defend her Olympic title in C1 and will be among the favourites in K1 and canoe slalom, a new event at the Games.
Fox’s younger sister, Noemie, is making her Olympic debut in canoe slalom.
Ockenden, 37, is competing in his fifth Olympic Games with the Kookaburras and is a three-time Olympic hockey medallist.
The unassuming Tasmanian has already racked up more than 400 Tests and could end his career as the most-capped Australian in any sport.
Olympic gold has eluded him but silver in a penalty shoot-out defeat in Tokyo has not deterred the 37-year-old from pressing on in Paris.
Eddie Ockenden (left) and Jess Fox (right) will be Australia’s flag bearers in Paris