Belfast boxer Paddy Barnes will carry the flag for Team Ireland at the opening ceremony of the Rio Olympics this summer.
Today marks 100 days to go until the start of the Rio 2016 Olympic Games, the Olympic Council of Ireland (OCI) has named double Olympic bronze medallist as its flagbearer.
“I am delighted to announce that our hugely talented boxer Paddy Barnes has been selected as Team Ireland’s flag bearer for the Opening Ceremony,” OCI President Patrick Hickey said. “Paddy already has two Olympic medals to his name, and he’s a reigning Commonwealth Games champion. So we have high hopes of him bringing home another medal.
“More importantly, his commitment to the cause of Irish boxing and Irish sport makes him a role model for aspiring young athletes in Ireland and the natural choice as Ireland’s flag bearer.”
Barnes said: “I’m delighted to have been asked to carry the Irish flag into the Olympic Stadium at the Opening Ceremony. It’s an amazing feeling to represent Ireland at an Olympic Games and I’ve been lucky enough to experience it twice before already.
“Going to my third Olympic Games as the flag bearer for Team Ireland now is just an incredible honour. I will be going for gold in Rio in the ring but I will also have the responsibility of helping to build a really positive environment for all Irish athletes.
“I could not be more excited about the next 100 days.”
Only finding out its 100 days to #RioOlympics2016 🙈 may start training!
— Paddy Barnes (@paddyb_ireland) April 27, 2016
The announcement was made at a Team Ireland media day at the Conrad Hotel in Dublin.
17 Rio-bound Irish athletes were also present, including Ellis O’Reilly and Kieran Behan (Gymnastics) Joe Ward, Brendan Irvine, David Joyce (Boxing) Mitch Darling (Hockey) Annalise Murphy (Sailing) Ollie Dingley (Diving) Lucy Mulhall and Tom Daly (Rugby 7’s) Judy Reynolds (Dressage) Aoife Clark, Cathal Daniels, Joseph Murphy, and Clare Abbott (Eventing), Arthur Lanigan O’Keefe (Modern Pentathlon) and Fionualla McCormack (Athletics).
