List of flag bearers for the United States at the Olympics

Firsts

US team manager Matthew Halpin was the first to carry the flag at the 1906 Intercalated Games, though that event is no longer considered by the International Olympic Committee to be part of Olympic history. Ralph Rose became the first competitor to have the honor when he led the team out at the 1908 Summer Games, the first official Olympic Games to feature a parade of nations. The first woman to represent the United States was fencer Janice Romary in 1968, her sixth consecutive Summer Olympics. Taffy Abel was the first person to represent the United States at the Winter Olympics when he was chosen to carry the flag at the inaugural Games in Chamonix in 1924.

Irish-born Pat McDonald, one of the "Irish Whales", became the first athlete to be selected as the flag bearer twice when he performed his second duty in 1924. In 1956 two other athletes led the U.S. team out for a second time, James Bickford at the Winter Olympics and Norman Armitage at the Summer Games.

Selection and reactions

The flag bearers are chosen by a vote of the team captains of each sport.

Athletes view their selection of flag bearer as a great honour:

"It's more than a dream. "I keep saying, I'm not sure if this is true or not true. I'm making the team and now I'm the first guy coming to the stadium and the whole world will be watching me carry the flag. There are no words to describe it."

"I feel happy, honored. I'm feeling so blessed to get an opportunity to present the United States of America, to present the United States flag in front of my team."

"I'm still shaking. I was incredibly surprised when Brian [Martin] told me, and I'm still trying to process it all. To be the person leading the U.S. team into the opening ceremony is just such a great honor."

Flag dipping

Olympic protocol is that the flag bearer dips their flag to the head of state as part of the parade. It has become tradition that the U.S. flag is not dipped, though the origins of this are surrounded by legend and are widely misreported:

"The motives for the original refusal, the identity of the flag-bearer and the truth behind the quotation and other issues remain much murkier in the historical record than legend-tellers portray ... The evolution of this flag mythology reveals a great deal about the complex strains of early 20th century American nationalism."

The parade of nations was introduced at the 1906 Intercalated Games with Matthew Halpin as the U.S. flag bearer. Halpin gladly dipped the flag, noting that when he did so King George I of Greece "staked me to a smile that made me feel like I belonged". The controversy began at the 1908 Summer Olympics in London where flag bearers were expected to dip the flag to Edward VII on two occasions. Research by the International Society of Olympic Historians concluded that the flag bearer was Ralph Rose and that he might not have dipped the flag to the British King on one of those occasions. Martin Sheridan is often attributed with the explanation of this supposed disrespect by stating at the time "This flag dips to no earthly king" but no evidence of this can be found. Modern versions of the story describe how the Stars and Stripes have never been dipped during the parade of nations since 1908 but this is apocryphal. It has been dipped on three occasions since then: 1912, 1924, and 1932.

The 1932 winter games were held in Lake Placid and, though head of state President Herbert Hoover would normally have greeted the parade of nations, the duty was passed to New York governor Franklin Roosevelt. This was the last time that the flag was dipped at the Olympics as political forces intervened thereafter. The head of state awaiting the athletes at the 1936 Summer Games was Adolf Hitler, to whom the U.S. refused to lower their flag. The 1940 Olympics were cancelled due to the onset of World War II and, in 1942, the United States Congress introduced the United States Flag Code which stated: "That no disrespect should be given to the flag of the United States of America, the flag should not be dipped to any person or thing." However, since the Flag Code is legally unenforceable, it appears to be merely codified tradition.

Foreign-born representatives

Several foreign-born athletes have represented the United States at the opening ceremonies. Irishman Pat McDonald was the first in 1920 and he, at the age of 42, became the oldest Olympic track & field champion. Though he did not compete, he also went on to lead the U.S. team at the following Summer Olympics.

Rolf Monsen, a multi-discipline Winter sports athlete born in Oslo, Norway, competed as an American in 1928 and 1932. He qualified for the 1936 Games and though an injury prevented him from taking part, he was still chosen to carry the flag.

The American team at the 1936 Summer Games were led by Berlin-born, highly regarded gymnast Al Jochim.

Olga Fikotová was a discus-thrower at the 1956 Summer Olympics and the only athlete to win a gold medal for her home country Czechoslovakia in that year. She began a much-publicised romance with American athlete Harold Connolly, much to the frustration of the Communist authorities. Fikotová was accused of being a traitor and the Czechoslovak Olympic Committee banned her from representing her country again. Now living in the U.S., she would go on to compete for her adopted country in the next four Summer Games. Despite not being able to replicate her success, Fikotová was chosen to lead the American team at the 1972 Games in Munich, West Germany.

Lopez Lomong carried the flag at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, China and became the fifth flag bearer to be born outside the United States. As a teenager in war-torn Sudan, Lomong was one of several thousand boys brought to America as a refugee in 2001. His selection came during a time when the U.S. and other Western countries had been critical of the Chinese government's close links with Sudan, a country accused of human rights violations and war crimes.

List of flag bearers

List of flag bearers: