Shooter and mountain-biker to carry Swiss flag at Olympics opening

The Olympic Village in Paris, pictured on July 23, 2024. APA/GEORG HOCHMUTH

Sports shooter Nina Christen and mountain-biker Nino Schurter will be the Swiss delegation’s flag-bearers at the opening ceremony of the Paris Olympics on Friday, Swiss Olympic has announced.

Christen, 30, revealed herself to the Swiss public at the Tokyo 2021 Olympics by winning two medals: bronze in the 10 metre rifle event and gold in the three-position rifle match. The athlete from canton Nidwalden will compete in the same two events in Châteauroux, some 250 kilometres from Paris.

Meanwhile 38-year-old Schurter is coming off the disappointment of the 2021 Olympic Games in Tokyo, where he finished just off the podium. But the Graubünden mountain biker – who has won 10 world championship titles – will be aiming for a fourth podium finish in Paris on Sunday, after winning bronze in Beijing in 2008, silver in London in 2012 and gold in Rio de Janeiro in 2016.

Amherd in Paris

The current Swiss president, Viola Amherd, is visiting the Olympic Games in Paris until Sunday. She will attend the opening ceremony on Friday, after taking part on Thursday in the Summit on Sport and Sustainable Development.

Amherd, who is also sports minister, will use her visit to attend as many events as possible in which Swiss athletes are taking part, the Federal Department of Defence, Civil Protection and Sport (DDPS) said in a press release on Thursday.

On Sunday, Amherd will visit the “Maison Suisse”, in the gardens of the Swiss Embassy, where she will take part in a reception hosted by the city of Lausanne and the canton of Vaud under the banner “Olympic Capital”.

Among the guests will be International Olympic Committee president Thomas Bach and members of international sports federations.

At the Rio Games, Schurter already had the honour of representing Switzerland as a flag-bearer, but at the closing ceremony.

Christen and Schurter follow sprinter Mujinga Kambundji and fencer Max Heinzer, the first two flag-bearers in 2021. But whereas the previous Games saw flag-bearers parade in front of empty stands in Tokyo – due to Covid – Christen and Schurter will be waved on by jubilant crowds along the Seine in Paris on Friday.

Adapted from French by DeepL/dos

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