It’s the first time Phelps has been tapped for the honor, which comes through a vote by fellow members of Team USA.
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Michael Phelps will carry the American flag on Friday into the 2016 Olympics, leading Team USA into the opening ceremony for the games. At the 2008 Beijing games, Phelps won an Olympic-record eight gold medals.
Phelps has captured 18 golds and 22 medals overall, far more than any other Olympic athlete, and he’ll be the first USA male swimmer to compete in five Summer Games. At the men’s 200-meter butterfly at the U.S. Olympic trials, Phelps’ time was announced as 1:54.84, which confirmed he would in fact be competing this year.
“I think I’m at the point where whatever is left here I will be able to turn the page and say I was able to finish my career how I wanted to and for me that’s all that matters”, he added.
“To have our first born be able to watch – I’ll say this just in case it comes back – my potential last Olympics just so you guys don’t beat me to death about coming back”, said Phelps, drawing laughter from the packed hall. For Beijing, I wanted to do something nobody else had done. “In London, I wanted to make history”, Phelps said.
Phelps is just the second USA swimmer chosen to carry the flag in the Opening Ceremony, joining Gary Hall (1976, Montreal).
That has not been the case in Rio where the 31-year-old has been acting more like a wide-eyed teenager at his first Games rather that a detached veteran nearing the finish line. Since then, Phelps went through six weeks of inpatient therapy, gave up alcohol, reconnected with his estranged father, got engaged and became a father for the first time with the birth of his son, Boomer.
In a way, this is a ideal capper to Phelps’ career, no matter how many medals he adds to his already staggering total in Rio.
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United States’ Michael Phelps, left, jokes with his teammate James Feigen during a swimming training session prior to the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Tuesday, Aug. 2, 2016.
