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Four-time Olympian Kara Winger to bear flag for Team USA at Tokyo Olympics closing ceremony

TOKYO, JAPAN - AUGUST 03: Kara Winger of Team United States competes in the Women's Javelin Throw Qualification on day eleven of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games at Olympic Stadium on August 03, 2021 in Tokyo, Japan. (Photo by Ryan Pierse/Getty Images) (Ryan Pierse, 2021 Getty Images)

The United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee today announced that four-time Olympian Kara Winger will bear the flag for Team USA during the closing ceremony at the Olympic Games this Sunday.

Winger was chosen by a vote of fellow Team USA athletes, according to a release from the United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee.

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She is the fourth track and field athlete to lead the U.S. Olympic Team in the closing ceremony and the first since Bryshon Nellum carried the flag in 2012.

“It’s an incredible honor to be selected by my fellow Team USA athletes to be our flag bearer,” Winger said in a statement. “There’s no better way to conclude my career as an Olympic athlete than to lead the U.S. team into the Closing Ceremony. On behalf of Team USA, we want to thank the Tokyo Organizing Committee, the people of Tokyo and the country of Japan for hosting these Olympic Games and bringing the world back together again through sport.”

Winger is one of two captains for the U.S. track and field team in Tokyo. During the Olympic games she placed 17th in the javelin competition, marking her second-best performance competing in an Olympic Games.

Closing ceremony Team USA flag bearers through the years (summer only)

1952: Bob Kurland, Basketball

1956: Pete Rademacher, Boxing

1960: Mike Troy, Swimming

1964: Don Schollander, Swimming

1968: Al Oerter, Track and Field

1972: Mike Burton, Swimming

1976: Willie Davenport, Track and Field

1984: Jeff Blatnick Wrestling

1988: Terry Schroeder, Water Polo

1992: Peter Westbrook, Fencing

1996: Michael Matz, Equestrian

2000: Rulon Gardner, Wrestling

2004: Mia Hamm, Soccer

2008: Khatuna Lorig, Archery

2012: Bryshon Nellum, Track and Field

2016: Simone Biles, Gymnastics

2020: Kara Winger, Track and Field


About the Author
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Briana Zamora-Nipper joined the KPRC 2 digital team in 2019. When she’s not hard at work in the KPRC 2 newsroom, you can find Bri drinking away her hard earned wages at JuiceLand, running around Hermann Park, listening to crime podcasts or ransacking the magazine stand at Barnes & Noble.

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