TOKYO — Crew USA has introduced the athletes who function flag bearers on the Opening Ceremony of the Tokyo Olympics on Friday: basketball participant Sue Chicken and baseball participant Eddy Alvarez.

Chicken and Alvarez are the primary duo to share the glory of main the U.S. delegation into the Opening Ceremony for the Olympics. They have been chosen by a vote of fellow Crew USA athletes.

Final 12 months, the Worldwide Olympic Committee (IOC) amended its coverage to permit nationwide groups to nominate two flag bearers, one feminine and one male, in promotion of gender equality. The IOC additionally required that at the least one male and one feminine athlete be included in every of the 206 nationwide delegations that can compete in Tokyo.

Of the 613 athletes who have been named to the U.S. Olympic Crew, greater than 230 are set to stroll in Friday’s Opening Ceremony.

Chicken is a four-time Olympic champion and she or he’ll be in pursuit of her fifth straight gold in Tokyo. The 40-year-old made her debut in Athens in 2004. She holds a mixed 9 Olympic and FIBA World Cup medals, which is essentially the most of any basketball athlete, male or feminine, throughout the globe. She can be a four-time WNBA champion and is presently the defending league champion with the Seattle Storm.

As for Alvarez, the 31-year-old is competing on the U.S. Olympic baseball crew, however he truly earned a silver medal in speedskating within the 2014 Winter Video games in Sochi. He presently performs within the Miami Marlins Minor League system. He’ll be the primary athlete from the game of baseball to hold the U.S. flag within the Opening Ceremony.

As upcoming host nations, the U.S. and France will probably be two of the ultimate three nations to stroll within the Opening Ceremony, with host nation Japan closing out the occasion.