As the countdown to the Paris 2024 Olympics’ Closing Ceremony changes from being measured in days to hours, the Australian Olympic Committee has named our two flag bearers Kaylee McKeown and Matt Wearn.
Both McKeown and Wearn have contributed their gold medals to Australia’s history-making tally at the Paris Games, in swimming and sailing respectively.
The two certified Aussie legends were announced to have received the honour on Saturday, and will be leading Team Australia at the parade for the Closing Ceremony.
Kaylee McKeown blew away her competition in the pool by winning not one but TWO individual gold medals in the 200m backstroke and the 100m backstroke, as well as a bronze medal in the 200m individual medley.
Oh, and plus two gold medals in team events! So five medals in total?!?!
And if that doesn’t make her a true blue hero, then dropping the F-bomb in her post-match interview does. I don’t care that it was in 2021. For that reason ALONE she deserves the flag bearer position. And a seat in Parliament.
Meanwhile, Matt Kearn cemented his status as the king of the seas by placing first in the men’s dinghy sailing event — making that back-to-back gold medals at the Olympics in that event.
Imagine being so good at something, you win a gold medal. And then four years later you do it a second time, just because you can. Inspirational.
The Australian Olympic Committee’s Chef de Mission Anna Meares said she was “proud” to select the two for the honour, and raved about each of the incredible athletes.
“Kaylee’s performances speak for themselves, to become Australia’s first four-time individual Olympic champion is extraordinary. Her results are exceptional, but her character, her personality and her charm really resonate with what makes this Australian Olympic team so special,” she said.
“Matt has shown incredible resilience to defend his Olympic title. Understanding the challenges he has overcome to be here in Paris, is a great testament to the athlete and person Matt is. He is very humble, despite making Olympic history as the first man to win the laser class back-to-back.”
The Paris 2024 Olympics have been Australia’s most successful Games ever in terms of our incredible gold medal tally, beating our previous record of 17 golds.
And not only that, but we gave the Americans such a good run for their money at the start of the Games that they totally rigged their medal tallying system to beat us. Plus we beat France too, and that is always something to celebrate.
Congrats to Australia’s flag bearers, onya’s Kearn and McKeown. Oi oi oi’s all around!
[Image: Getty]
The post Australia’s Flag Bearers For The Closing Ceremony Have Been Named: Kaylee McKeown & Matt Wearn appeared first on PEDESTRIAN.TV .
