Short track speed skater Charles Hamelin and hockey player Marie-Philip Poulin will be Canada’s flag bearers at the opening ceremonies of the Beijing Olympics on Friday.
The Canadian Olympic Committee announced the news on Wednesday.
Hamelin, 37, is in his fifth and last Olympic Games. For his part, Poulin, 30, is participating in the Olympics for the fourth time. Together they won a total of eight Olympic medals during their career.
Figure skaters Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir were Canada’s flag bearers at the opening ceremony of the 2018 Pyeongchang Games. Basketball player Miranda Ayim and rugby player Nathan Hirayama received the honor last summer at the Tokyo Summer Games.
No Quebec athlete had been the flag bearer at the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games since 2006, when hockey player Danielle Goyette received this honor at the Turin Games. Short track skater Kim Boutin was Canada’s flag bearer at the closing ceremony of the Pyeongchang Games four years ago.
The Beijing Games Opening Ceremony will take place on Friday, February 4 at 8 p.m. local time, or 7 a.m. Eastern Time. However, the first Olympic competitions took place on Wednesday, with the presentation of mixed doubles curling matches.
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