Sue Bird was named along with baseball player Eddy Alvarez as Team USA's flag bearers for the opening ceremony of the Tokyo Olympics. The duo was voted for this honour upon voting of fellow Team USA athletes.
The 40-year-old guard, who plays for the Seattle Storm in the WNBA, is only the second basketball player ever to be given this honour.
— Sue Bird (@S10Bird) July 21, 2021
The previous basketball player to also carry the flag was current Team USA coach Dawn Staley, who did it at the 2004 Olympics in Athens.
“It’s an incredible honor to be selected the flag bearer for Team USA,” Bird said. “I know what that means, because I got to witness Dawn Staley go through it when she was selected in 2004. It’s an honor that is bigger than the moment in that you’ve been selected by your fellow Team USA athletes to represent the entire delegation, and it will last forever.”
The 2004 Olympics were Bird's first and since then, she has won four consecutive gold medals with Team USA (2004, 2008, 2012, 2016).
MORE: Preview to Women's Basketball at Tokyo Olympics
Bird along with Diana Taurasi are both going for an unprecedented fifth consecutive gold medal, which gives them the most in women's basketball history.
Team USA have dominated the sport since the women's category was introduced to the Olympics in 1976, winning eight of a possible 11 and are going for their seventh consecutive in Tokyo.
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