Tomorrow, July 26, is the Opening Ceremony of the 2024 Summer season Olympics in Paris. And whereas all eyes shall be watching the spectacularly adorned boats floating down the Seine River, we’ll even be protecting a lookout for this 12 months’s flag bearers for Crew USA—a extremely regarded function on the Video games. This 12 months’s U.S. feminine flag bearer is tennis star Coco Gauff, who just isn’t solely the primary U.S. tennis participant to obtain the excellence, but in addition the youngest U.S. athlete to be chosen for the function at simply 20 years previous.
Gauff, who was chosen by means of a vote by her fellow Crew USA athletes, will wave the celebrities and stripes for the almost 600 American rivals at this 12 months’s Video games. She’ll be joined by the male flag bearer, basketball star LeBron James, and follows within the footsteps of previous feminine athletes granted this function—together with velocity skater Brittney Bowe on the 2022 Beijing Video games and basketball participant Sue Chook on the 2020 Video games in Tokyo.
Listed below are 5 different information to know concerning the tennis star as she preps to dominate on the Olympics and the U.S. Open tennis championship, which begins August 26.
1. That is her Olympic Video games debut.
Regardless of her many accolades, that is Gauff’s first time competing within the Olympics, in accordance with the USOPC.
2. Gauff is the youngest lady to win the U.S. Open since Serena Williams.
She received in 2023 at simply 19 years previous. Presently, she’s ranked No. 2 on the planet in ladies’s singles tennis, per the Ladies’s Tennis Affiliation.
3. She was named one in every of Time journal’s “Lady of the Yr” in 2024.
Gauff was acknowledged by Time for being a vocal chief and activist in America’s racial justice motion throughout the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic, when she was simply 16.
4. She has a ardour for fashion and style.
Gauff has talked about her love of style and the way she desires to include extra fashion into her profession at some point, probably along with her personal clothes line. She’s additionally partnered with standard manufacturers like American Eagle, New Stability (her clothes sponsor), and hair model Carol’s Daughter. She not too long ago introduced her participation in American Eagle’s upcoming “Reside Your Life” back-to-school marketing campaign, and an upcoming product collaboration referred to as “Coco Gauff x American Eagle” that can launch August 15.
5. Paris is one in every of her favourite cities.
It is apt that Gauff’s first Olympic Video games shall be held in her favourite metropolis. She beforehand advised Roland Garros media crew, “I really like the Eiffel Tower and love the meals. I just like the language. Paris is the primary metropolis I visited in another country. I visited after I was 10 and ever since then I cherished it.”
Coco Gauff and LeBron James will lead the U.S. groups throughout the Opening Ceremony on July 26 at 7:30 p.m. native time in Paris, which you’ll watch dwell on Peacock, NBCOlympics.com, NBC.com, USA Community, CNBC, and E!. For extra Olympics protection, comply with together with Effectively+Good’s Summer season of Champions collection.
