Olympic champions Maude Charron and Andre De Grasse named Team Canada’s Paris 2024 Opening Ceremony Flag Bearers
PARIS (July 24, 2024) – On Wednesday, the Canadian Olympic Committee (COC) announced that Olympic champions Maude Charron and Andre De Grasse will be Team Canada’s flag bearers for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games Opening Ceremony. The two athletes were given the news of their selection on a special video call with Olympic champion Bruny Surin, Team Canada’s Paris 2024 Chef de Mission, and Eric Myles, COC Chief Sport Officer.
“The Paris 2024 Opening Ceremony will be one-of-a-kind and Canada will be led by two athletes that personify our nation,” said Surin. “As Olympic champions, Maude and Andre were chosen not only for their amazing achievements but also for the inspirations they continue to be for all Canadians. It will be an unforgettable moment that I can’t wait to experience along with them.”
In her Olympic debut at Tokyo 2020, Charron won gold in the women’s 64kg weight category, becoming just the second Canadian weightlifter ever to become an Olympic champion. She topped the standings in both the snatch (105kg) and clean and jerk (131kg) portions of the competition.
At Paris 2024, Charron will compete in the 59kg weight class because the 64kg event has been removed from the Olympic program for these Games. In her first major international competition at 59kg, the 2022 IWF World Championships, Charron won bronze – her first career world championship medal. She lifted a total of 231kg after hoisting 103kg in the snatch and 128kg in the clean and jerk, all of which were national records for the weight class. She has since broken those national records twice more, most recently lifting 106kg in snatch and 130kg in clean and jerk to win bronze at the IWF World Cup this past March. After missing the 2023 IWF World Championships to recover from a knee injury, Charron competed at the Santiago 2023 Pan American Games, where she won the 59kg silver medal.
“Fourteen years ago, I was running with the Olympic torch in the streets of Rimouski and I believed it was the closest I would get to Olympism in my life. Today I’m learning I will be a co-flag bearer for our country I’ve represented with honour for the last 10 years,” said Charron. “Words are not enough to express my gratitude and the joy I feel to be chosen to lead the way for this extraordinary and talent-filled team.”
With six Olympic medals to his name, De Grasse is Canada’s most decorated male summer Olympian. At Rio 2016, De Grasse became the first Canadian athlete to win Olympic medals in all three sprint events – bronze in the 100m, silver in men’s 200m and bronze as a member of Canada’s 4x100m relay team. His silver in the men’s 200m was the first time a Canadian reached the Olympic podium in that event since Percy Williams at Amsterdam 1928.
At Tokyo 2020, De Grasse became the first Canadian in 25 years to win an Olympic gold in any track event when he stood atop the podium in the men’s 200m. That followed his second straight Olympic bronze in the 100m. He then anchored the 4x100m relay to the silver medal.
“I’m speechless – I’ve been trying to get the words out,” said De Grasse. “It’s definitely overwhelming, but I’m really pumped up and I’m really excited to try to take that on for the country and bring it home for Team Canada. So thank you. Thank you to everybody that has been part of giving me that opportunity. I look forward to representing the country to my highest capability.”
Charron continues to make history as the first weightlifter to serve as Team Canada’s Opening Ceremony flag bearer at an Olympic Games. De Grasse will be the first track and field athlete to have the honour since at Atlanta 1996. Both Charron and De Grasse were among the athletes featured in the COC and CBC/Radio-Canada’s joint campaign for Paris 2024, titled “Brave is Unbeatable”. The campaign highlights the side of athletes that’s not often seen, and the various obstacles they must overcome to compete on the world stage.
“In sharing the news of their selection, I was reminded of just how special an honour this is and what it means to all athletes who will proudly lead their countries across the Seine on Friday night,” said Eric Myles, COC Chief Sport Officer. “Maude and Andre are champions both on and off the field of play and exemplify the determination and engagement of our delegation for Paris 2024. I’m incredibly happy for them and this is a richly-deserved honour.“
A full list of Canadian Olympic flag bearers can be found here.
Team Canada’s Flag Bearer Selection Committee is composed of one athlete representative selected by the COC Athletes’ Commission, Martha McCabe; Paris 2024 Chef de Mission Bruny Surin; COC President, Tricia Smith; COC CEO and Secretary General David Shoemaker; and COC Chief Sport Officer Eric Myles, who is a non-voting member. The COC does not disclose the number of athletes nominated nor the details of the selection process.
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MEDIA CONTACTS
Thomas Hall
Team Canada’s Press Chief
WhatsApp: +1(514) 709-1054
E: thall@olympic.ca
Caroline Sharp
Team Canada’s Sport Communications Lead
WhatsApp: +1 (613) 323-5605
E: csharp@olympic.ca
Patrick Godbout
Media Attaché for Weightlifting
WhatsApp: +1 (514) 213-9897
E: patrick@sailing.ca