Manon Claeys and Joachim Gérard to carry Belgian flag at Paralympics opening ceremony
Para-dressage rider Manon Claeys and wheelchair tennis player Joachim Gérard will be the Belgian flag bearers at the opening ceremony of the Paralympic Games in Paris on Wednesday evening, Paralympic Team Belgium announced on Monday.
The International Paralympic Committee (IPC) has not yet released many details about the opening ceremony, which will take place on the Champs-Élysées and Place de la Concorde in Paris. However, the two Belgian flag bearers are now known.
Claeys won two bronze medals in dressage at the previous Paralympic Games, three years ago in Tokyo. Gérard took a bronze medal in the tennis singles competition eight years ago in Rio de Janeiro. At the Tokyo Paralympic Games, he became unwell with heart problems and was in intensive care.
“As a proud paralympic athlete, I feel enormously honoured with this assignment,” Claeys said. “We have a role to play as role models for people with disabilities, but also for others, because we show that anything is possible if you don't give up.... It gives me an extra boost to make Belgium proud.”
“It's a great honour," said Gérard. "Even for an ‘old hand’ like me, it's something extraordinary, especially since these are my last Games. Hopefully, I can show Paralympic Team Belgium the way to victory and inspire the younger athletes with my experience.”
The Belgian Paralympic delegation comprises 29 athletes. Three years ago in Tokyo, para-dressage rider Michèle George and goalball player Bruno Vanhove were the team's flag-bearers. Wheelchair sprinter Peter Genyn carried the flag during the closing ceremony.
Manon Claeys at a press conference to present the athletes representing Belgium at the 2024 Paralympic Games, 14 August 2024 © BELGA PHOTO NICOLAS MAETERLINCK
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