The opening ceremony of the Tokyo Olympic Games just ended on the evening of July 23, and as was customary in the past, delegations from all over the world will enter the stadium one by one, and the flag bearer of the delegation of each country or region will first appear in front of the audience.
A major highlight of this Olympic Games is that many countries or regions have sent a man and a woman as a flag bearer for the first time, and the Chinese delegation is no exception, and it is the first time that at the opening ceremony of the Summer Olympic Games, a female flag bearer holding the Chinese flag - women's volleyball player Zhu Ting was sent.
The emergence of double flag bearers, and even female flag bearers, on the one hand, is in response to the IOC's call for gender equality, on the other hand, it also reflects the evolution of the Chinese delegation's flag bearers, no longer a single national men's basketball team athletes, as long as the image is appropriate and the achievements are outstanding, any athlete can play.
The following is an inventory of the flag bearers of the Chinese delegation at the opening ceremonies of previous Olympic Games.
Opening Ceremony of the 23rd Olympic Games in Los Angeles, USA in 1984: This Olympic Games is the first time that a delegation was sent to the meeting after the founding of New China, and wang Libin, a national men's basketball player, served as the flag bearer of the Chinese delegation.
Opening ceremony of the 24th Olympic Games in Seoul, South Korea in 1988: National men's basketball player Song Tao served as the flag bearer of the Chinese delegation.
Opening ceremony of the 25th Olympic Games in Barcelona, Spain in 1992: National men's basketball player Song Ligang served as the flag bearer of the Chinese delegation.
Opening ceremony of the 26th Olympic Games in Atlanta, USA in 1996: National men's basketball player Liu Yudong served as the flag bearer of the Chinese delegation.
Opening ceremony of the 27th Olympic Games in Sydney, Australia in 2000: National men's basketball player Liu Yudong served as the flag bearer of the Chinese delegation.
Opening ceremony of the 28th Olympic Games in Athens, Greece in 2004: National men's basketball player Yao Ming served as the flag bearer of the Chinese delegation.
Opening ceremony of the 29th Olympic Games in Beijing in 2008: National men's basketball player Yao Ming served as the flag bearer of the Chinese delegation.
Opening ceremony of the 30th Olympic Games in London, England in 2012: National men's basketball player Yi Jianlian served as the flag bearer of the Chinese delegation.
Opening Ceremony of the 31st Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil: For the first time, the Chinese delegation to the Olympic Games broke the "tradition" and replaced the famous national foil athlete Lei Sheng as the flag bearer of the Chinese delegation.
Opening ceremony of the 32nd Olympic Games in Tokyo, Japan: National women's volleyball player Zhu Ting and national taekwondo athlete Zhao Shuai served as flag bearers of the Chinese delegation.
Combing through the data, it was found that when China's Olympic delegation selects a flag bearer, it will still use height as the core element. Even the shortest Liu Yudong is 1.98 meters tall, far better than the average person, and the "little giant" Yao Ming is 2.26 meters tall, the highest among the flag bearers. The foil swordsman Thunder, who successfully broke the "tradition", is 1.93 meters tall, comparable to a men's basketball player. In addition, Zhu Ting and Zhao Shuai, who held the flag at the opening ceremony of the Tokyo Olympic Games, are also 1.98 meters tall and 1.88 meters tall.