Bryony Page and Alex Yee: Meet Team GB's Paris 2024 Closing Ceremony Flagbearers
Trampoline gymnast Bryony Page and triathlete Alex Yee have been selected by Team GB to be the Closing Ceremony Flagbearers at the Olympic Games Paris 2024, on Sunday 11 August.
Page completed her Olympic medal set with gold at the Bercy Arena a week earlier after continuing on her history-making trajectory, which started with a first medal for Britain in the sport with silver at Rio 2016. Followed by bronze at Tokyo 2020, Page has added two-time world champion to her resume since then.
Yee, meanwhile, is the most successful Olympic triathlete ever, quite some feat considering the success of the Brownlee brothers. Yee has four Olympic medals over two Olympic Games, including individual gold in Paris after an epic encounter with friend Hayden Wilde of New Zealand, and bronze in the mixed team event alongside Sam Dickinson, Beth Potter and Georgia Taylor-Brown.
The Paris 2024 Closing Ceremony will conclude 16 days of Olympic competition, but fans are already looking forward to more drama at the Paralympic Games Paris 2024 taking place in the city from 28 August to 8 September.
The Stade de France will host the farewell to the Olympians from 20:00 (BST).
Team GB athletes have amassed 65 medals, with the final medal to round out the tally, a bronze added by Emily Campbell’s bronze in the women’s +81kg weightlifting.
This equals the tally from London 2012 and just two behind the all-time best at Rio 2016 (67 medals).
So many stories from Team GB on the field of play but highlights, aside from Page and Yee, include Ellie Aldridge becoming the first Olympic gold medallist in kitesurfing, Kate Shortman and Izzy Thorpe becoming Britain's first-ever Olympic medallists in artistic swimming, while Toby Roberts became the first medallist for Team GB in sport climbing with top spot in Boulder & Lead.
Ethan Hayter, Dan Bigham, Charlie Tanfield, Oliver Wood, and Ethan Vernon secured a milestone when winning silver in the men’s cycling team pursuit to claim Team GB’s 1000th sporting medal of the modern Olympic Games.
Olympic Games Paris 2024 passing the torch to LA 2028
Page and Yee were nominated by a British Olympic Association panel for their Olympic spirit and will carry the Union Flag into the Stade de France where a big party atmosphere will include performances by Billie Eilish, H.E.R., Red Hot Chili Peppers, and Snoop Dogg, before the ceremonial passing of the torch to the next hosts, Los Angeles 2028.
“When I got the call to tell me, I couldn’t believe it, it truly is such an honour," said Page. "For a sport like trampolining, which is quite niche, it’s quite amazing - and to be able to hold the flag for all of the Team GB Olympians here is incredible.
"It’s a very emotional and proud moment, and I cannot wait to hold the flag for every single athlete who has competed - congratulations to every single one of them for their performances and how they have supported every other team member, it’s such a special team to be a part of.
“To have won an Olympic gold at my third Games and now to be given this honour, it just caps the incredible experience that Paris 2024 has been for me."
Yee was "really excited and honoured to be given the opportunity to be one of the Team GB flagbearers", he said. "It means a lot to me.
“The Closing Ceremony is a key part of the Olympic experience and having not got to experience it in Tokyo, I wanted to come to it in Paris. So, to be able to go to it, first of all, was really special, but then to get the phone call this morning to be asked to hold the GB flag was really, really special.
“There’s been so many incredible performances over the last two weeks from Team GB, so to be selected as somebody who’s represented Team GB well and made the country proud is really special.”