The opening ceremony of the 2024 Paris Olympics will take place on Friday night, and PGA Tour player Shane Lowry will be one of two athletes who will carry the Irish flag during the ceremony, accompanied by 100m hurdler Sarah Lavin.
Golf returned to the Olympic Games at the Rio Games in 2016, and while not all golfers who compete in the Olympics take part in the Opening Ceremony, many still enjoy the experience.
It’s a great honour to be the flag bearer.
“This is a huge honour for me and my family. Anyone who knows me knows how patriotic I am and how much I love representing Ireland around the world and playing for my country,” Lawrie wrote on Twitter.
Lawry won the British Open at Royal Portrush in Ireland in 2019 and has also played in two Ryder Cups for Europe.
“I’ve always worn the Irish flag with pride,” Lawrie said. Irish Independent“This is something that’s so far away that I don’t think I ever dreamed of as a kid. To be able to experience something like this is something that I’ll remember for the rest of my life.”
Rabin and Lawrie will take part in one of the most unique opening ceremonies: For the first time in the Olympics’ five-year history, Paris will not host an opening ceremony in a stadium. Instead, the pair will walk more than three miles along the Seine River.
Photo by Sam Burns/Sportsfile via Getty Images
6,500 athletes in 85 boats will sail past Paris’ most famous landmarks, including the Eiffel Tower, the Louvre and Notre Dame Cathedral.
With this unique choice of opening ceremony, not all athletes will be able to attend, so a limited number of athletes from countries with large athlete populations will take part.
For Lawrie, being selected is a huge honour as this will be his second time competing in the Games, having also competed in the 2020/2021 Tokyo Games.
The Olympic men’s golf tournament will be held from 1-4 August at Le Golf National in Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines.
Savannah Lee Richardson is a golf staff writer for SB Nation Playing Through. Follow us for more golf articles. Follow You can follow us on all major social platforms. You can also follow us on Twitter Follow Her Instagram account is @golf_girl_sl.
