Kellie Harrington and Brendan Irvine to carry Irish flag at opening ceremony
The pair will carry their country’s flag during Friday’s opening ceremony.
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Boxers Kellie Harrington and Brendan Irvine will carry the Irish flag in the athlete’s parade at the opening ceremony of the Tokyo Olympics on Friday.
Former world champion Harrington will be making her debut at the Games while Irvine, a former European and Commonwealth Games medallist, competed in Rio in 2016.
Harrington said: “This means so much to me, to be able to represent not only myself as a person, but as a boxer, for boxing, for my family and for Ireland.
“It’s an amazing honour, there are so many athletes out here, and to be chosen as one of the flagbearers is absolutely fantastic.”
As part of its commitment to gender equality, the International Olympic Committee involved all competing nations to nominate a male and female athlete to share flag-carrying duties.