Sports
Michael Phelps to Lead Team USA into Olympics
The Olympic games start on Friday, Aug. 5, and Towson native Michael Phelps will lead the way for the USA during the opening ceremony.
RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL — Michael Phelps will carry the American flag on Friday into the 2016 Olympics, leading Team USA into the opening ceremony for the games.
For the Towson native who is also the most decorated Olympian of all time, it will mark a first.
It's the first time Phelps has been tapped for the honor, which comes through a vote by fellow members of Team USA.
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“I'm honored to be chosen, proud to represent the U.S., and humbled by the significance of carrying the flag and all it stands for,” Phelps said in a statement provided by Team USA on Wednesday.
Phelps said he learned he was selected to carry the flag upon emerging from the pool Tuesday afternoon.
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"I think that was the biggest smile that I've had on my face in a really long time," Phelps told the "Today" show.
With 18 gold medals to his name, Phelps is the first American male swimmer to qualify for five Olympic teams.
"For Sydney, I just wanted to make the team. For Athens, I wanted to win gold for my country. For Beijing, I wanted to do something nobody else had done. In London, I wanted to make history. And now, I want to walk in the opening ceremony, take it all in, represent America in the best possible way and make my family proud," Phelps, 31, said. "This time around, it's about so much more than medals."
Phelps will swim in the 200-meter butterfly on Aug. 8, the 200-meter individual medley on Aug. 10 and 100-meter butterfly on Aug. 11.
When he leads the U.S. delegation into the opening ceremony on Friday, he will be the fifth swimmer to serve as flag bearer for Team USA at the Olympic Games. The last swimmer to do so was four-time Olympic medalist Gary Hall at the 1976 Olympic Games in Montréal.
"It's a huge honor to me, and as swimmers, we don't really think that we have this opportunity," Phelps told the "Today" show Wednesday morning. "The opportunity that I have is a dream come true and one that I will remember for the rest of my life."
The 2016 Olympic Games will take place from Aug. 5 to Aug. 21 in Rio de Janeiro.
Pictured, Michael Phelps. Photo Credit: Team USA/Flickr.
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