PARIS, France (Jul 26, 2024) - A total of 12 Taekwondoin today had the honour of carrying their country’s flag during the historic Opening Ceremony of the Olympic Games Paris 2024. Since participating in the Sydney 2000, this is the second largest number of Taekwondoin as the flag bearer.
For the first time in Olympic history, the Opening Ceremony took place outside the stadium with the athletes paraded by boat down the river Seine. The unique ceremony, made the athletes a central part of the show and provided them with an unforgettable experience as they were cheered by hundreds of thousands of fans.
Among the Taekwondo flagbearers were Olympic Refugee Team athlete Yahya Al Ghotany who only started training in Taekwondo five years ago when he fled Syria and joined the Taekwondo Humanitarian Foundation programme in the Azraq Refugee Camp. He now becomes the first Olympian from the camp and the team’s flagbearer.
Al Ghotany was joined by Olympic champion and first ever gold medallist from Cote D’Ivoire Cheick Sallah Cisse who also received the honour of being flagbearer at Tokyo 2020.
For the Jordan delegation, it was a clean sweep for Taekwondo as the male and female spots went to Tokyo 2020 silver medallist Saleh Elsharabaty and Rama Abo-Alrub respectively.
Other Taekwondo flag bearers included Abdoul Issoufou who won Niger’s second ever Olympic medal at Rio 2016 with silver and Saudi Arabia’s first female Taekwondo Olympian Dunya Ali Abutaleb.
The full list of flagbearers can be found below:
- Yahya Al Ghotany (EOR)
- Cheick Sallah Cisse (CIV)
- Saleh Elsharabaty (JOR)
- Rama Abo-Alrub (JOR)
- Dunya Ali Abutaleb (KSA)
- Laetitia Aoun (LBN)
- Michelle Tau (LES)
- Miljana Reljikj (MKD)
- Abdoul Issoufou (NIG)
- Gibson Kaogo Mara (PNG)
- Ana Da Costa Da Silva Pinto (TLS)
- Maria Sara Grippoli Gagliardo (URU)
