BEIJING — John Shuster already considered it the honor of a lifetime to represent the U.S. in his fifth Olympic Games. Wednesday, the curling skip from Chisholm, Minn., earned an even more meaningful distinction.
The 2018 Olympic gold medalist was chosen as one of the U.S. flag bearers for Friday's opening ceremony of the Beijing Winter Games. Shuster and bobsledder Elana Meyers Taylor were picked for the honor by their fellow American athletes, who voted for one man and one woman to lead the U.S. delegation into Beijing's National Stadium.
Meyers Taylor will not march in the opening ceremony after testing positive for COVID-19. While she officially receives the title of flag bearer, speedskater Brittany Bowe will walk in her place at the front of the U.S. athlete parade.
Shuster, 39, will be the third Minnesotan to carry the American flag in an opening ceremony. Short track speedskater Amy Peterson of Maplewood had the honor at the 2002 Winter Games in Salt Lake City, and alpine skier Cindy Nelson of Lutsen carried the flag at the 1976 Innsbruck Winter Games.
His election also creates a Minnesota-made bridge between the 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Games and the Beijing Olympics. Shuster will bring the U.S. flag into the Beijing stadium four years after Jessie Diggins — an Afton native who won 2018 Olympic gold in cross-country skiing — carried it in the closing ceremony in Pyeongchang.
"Being elected as one of the flag bearers is a tremendous honor,'' Shuster said. "When thinking back to my opening ceremony experiences, I cannot help but be so proud to lead Team USA into an Olympic Winter Games. (It) is one of the greatest honors of my sporting career.''
A two-time Olympic medalist, Shuster is the first American curler to carry the flag at a Winter Games ceremony. He has competed in every Winter Olympics since 2006, when he won a bronze medal — the first Olympic medal won by the U.S. in curling — as a member of Pete Fenson's team.
Shuster is among four U.S. athletes in Beijing who will compete in a fifth Winter Games.
"I can't think of anybody that's more deserving than John,'' said Chris Plys of Duluth, Minn., a longtime friend of Shuster who will play alongside him in Beijing. "I can't wait to walk into that arena behind him. He not only represents curling well, he represents our country well.''
Meyers Taylor called her election as flag bearer the biggest honor of her career. She has won two silver medals and one bronze in four Olympic Winter Games.
"While I cannot carry the flag and walk in with the rest of Team USA, Brittany is very deserving of the opportunity to lead our delegation on my behalf,'' she said. "I'm excited to watch her and John lead Team USA at the Opening Ceremony.''
More than 150 of the 223 American athletes in Beijing are expected to walk in the Opening Ceremony.
