'Every athlete's dream': Nicolas Jarry selected as Chile's flagbearer for Paris Olympics

Tennis is assured of having at least one representative at the Opening Ceremony of the Paris Olympics: In his Olympic debut, world No.20 Nicolas Jarry will be one of Chile's two flag-bearers for the official commencement of the Games on July 26.

Jarry will lead a delegation of 48 Chilean athletes from 19 sports in the role alongside rower Antonia Abraham, in a ceremony that will be historic in more ways than one. The first Opening Ceremony to be held outside of a stadium in Olympic history, athletes will float down boats on the Seine River. The river parade will follow the course of the Seine, from east to west, before concluding at the Trocadéro.

“I am very excited, happy, and proud to have the opportunity to carry the Chilean flag at these Olympic Games," Jarry told Chile's *La Tercera* newspaper. These are going to be my first Olympic Games, and it means a lot to me. I think it is a dream for every athlete to carry the flag high up and walk … well, in this case, it will be on a boat in Paris, so it will be a little special and different.

"But the truth is that it is a very nice responsibility. I am very pleased to be in this position and I am going to try to ... enjoy the moment."

Read more: Tennis guide: Who is playing the 2024 Paris Olympics at Roland Garros?

Jarry joins a who's-who of tennis players to receive this national honor at the Games, including Roger Federer, who twice led the Swiss delegation in the parade of nations, in 2004 and 2008. In 2012, Novak Djokovic, Agnieszka Radwanska, Maria Sharapova and Stan Wawrinka were among the tennis players selected, while Rafael Nadal, Andy Murray and Caroline Wozniacki were three notable names to be chosen in 2016.

At the last Olympics in Tokyo three years ago (delayed from 2020 as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic), four players were co-flag bearers, in the first year that the Olympics offered the position of honor to one male and one female athlete: Lu Yen-hsun for Chinese Taipei, Veronica Cepede Royg for Paraguay, Petra Kvitova for the Czech Republic, and Jelena Ostapenko for Latvia.

The tennis event begins at Roland Garros on July 27, and Jarry will be hoping that his return to the terre battue will go better than his Grand Slam effort. After reaching his first ATP Masters 1000 final in Rome, Jarry lost in the first round at Roland Garros to Corentin Moutet.