Who are the flag bearers for the 2024 Paris Olympics opening ceremony?

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Who are the flag bearers for the 2024 Paris Olympics opening ceremony?

2024-07-26 23:44 Last Updated At：23:51

PARIS (AP) — Most countries will have two athletes hoisting a large flag in the boats along the Seine River for the Paris Olympics opening ceremony Friday.

It's considered an honor to be chosen for the duty at the Games, and for years there was just one flag bearer per nation. In a tradition that began at the Tokyo Olympics three years ago, delegations now select one woman and one man to share the job during the curtain-raiser — although sometimes, if there's only one athlete present, that person will tote the flag alone.

That's the case this time with six teams. Belize, for example, will have its flag carried by its lone competitor, 100-meter sprinter Shaun Gill.

Here is a look at the flag bearers for some of the 205 teams scheduled to take part in the opening ceremony:

—Britain: Helen Glover, rowing (two-time gold medalist in the coxless pair) and Tom Daley, diving (Tokyo gold medalist in 10-meter synchronized diving and owner of three Olympic bronzes)

—Canada: Maude Charron, weightlifting (Tokyo gold medalist in the 64-kilogram category) and Andre de Grasse, athletics (Tokyo gold medalist at 200 meters)

—China: Ma Long, table tennis (five-time gold medalist) and Feng Yu, artistic swimming

—Eritrea: Biniam Girmay, cycling (first Black rider to win a Tour de France stage) and Christina Rach, swimming (16 years old)

—France: Melina Robert-Michon, athletics (discus), Florent Manaudou, swimming (London gold medalist in the 50-meter freestyle and three-time Olympic silver medalist)

—Greece: Antigoni Ntrismpioti, athletics (race walker) and Giannis Antetokounmpo, basketball (two-time NBA MVP, 2021 NBA champion with the Milwaukee Bucks)

—Puerto Rico: Jasmine Camacho-Quinn, athletics (Tokyo gold medalist in the 100-meter hurdles) and Sebastian Rivera, wrestling

—Qatar: Shahd Ashraf, athletics (women’s 100 meters) and Mutaz Barshim, athletics (Tokyo co-gold medalist in the high jump with Gianmarco Tamberi, who is one of Italy's flag bearers)

— Refugee Team: Yahya Al Ghotany, taekwondo (born in Syria) and Cindy Ngamba, boxing (born in Cameroon)

—Ukraine: Elina Svitolina, tennis (Tokyo bronze medalist in women's singles and three-time Grand Slam semifinalist) and Mykhailo Romanchuk, swimmer (Tokyo silver medalist in the 1,500-meter freestyle and bronze medalist in the 800-meter freestyle)

—United States: Coco Gauff, tennis (U.S. Open singles champion, French Open champion doubles champion) and LeBron James, basketball (four-time NBA MVP, four-time NBA champion, career scoring leader).

AP Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/2024-paris-olympic-games

Algeria's 78-year-old president is expected to breeze to a second term in election

2024-09-08 08:15 Last Updated At：08:20

ALGIERS, Algeria (AP) — Algerians voted Saturday in an election to decide whether army-backed President Abdelmadjid Tebboune gets another term in office — five years after pro-democracy protests prompted the military to oust the previous president after two decades in power.

There is little suspense about the result with Tebboune expected to win easily. The question is more about how many voters cast ballots.

Tebboune said after voting that he hoped “whoever wins will continue on the path towards a point of no return in the construction of democracy.”

Polls closed late Saturday and vote counting was underway as Algerians awaited an announcement of the results. The country's election authority at 12:10 a.m. said that vote counting to so far suggested voter turnout was 48% in Algeria and 19.6% for precincts abroad — outpacing the country’s 2019 presidential election, where 39.9% of voters turned out to vote.

It's unclear whether Tebboune will consider such a figure a triumph. In the lead-up to Saturday, his backers and rivals all urged Algerians to come out and vote after boycotts and high abstention rates in previous elections marred the government's ability to claim popular support.

Algeria is Africa's largest country by area and, with almost 45 million people, it's the continent's second most populous after South Africa to hold presidential elections in 2024 — a year in which more than 50 elections are being held worldwide, encompassing more than half the world's population.

The campaign — rescheduled earlier this year to take place during North Africa's hot summer — was characterized by apathy from the population, which continues to be plagued by a high cost of living and drought that brought water shortages to some parts of the country.

“Uncle Tebboune," as his campaign called the 78-year-old, was elected in December 2019 after nearly a year of weekly “Hirak” demonstrations demanding the resignation of former President Abdelaziz Bouteflika. Their demands were met when Bouteflika resigned and was replaced by an interim government of his former allies, which called for elections later in the year.

Protesters opposed holding elections so soon, fearing the candidates running that year were close to the old regime and would derail dreams of a civilian-led, non-military state. Tebboune, a former prime minister seen as close to the military, won. But his victory was stained by boycotts and election day tumult.

Throughout his tenure, Tebboune has used oil and gas revenue to boost some social benefits — including unemployment insurance as well as public wages and pensions — to calm discontent. To cement his legitimacy, Tebboune hopes more of the country's 24 million eligible voters participate in Saturday's election than in his first election when only 39.9% voted.

Many Algerians remain unconvinced that elections will usher in change.

Activists and international organizations, including Amnesty International, have railed against how authorities continue prosecuting those involved in opposition parties, media organizations and civil society groups.

Some have denounced this election as a rubber stamp exercise that can only entrench the status quo.

“Algerians don’t give a damn about this bogus election,” said former Hirak leader Hakim Addad, who was banned from participating in politics three years ago. “The political crisis will persist as long as the regime remains in place. The Hirak has spoken.”

Twenty-six candidates submitted preliminary paperwork to run in the election, although only two were ultimately approved to challenge Tebboune.

Both avoided directly criticizing Tebboune on the campaign trail and, like the incumbent, emphasized election participation.

Abdelali Hassani Cherif, a 57-year-old head of the Islamist party Movement of Society for Peace, made populist appeals to Algerian youth, running on the slogan “Opportunity!” Youcef Aouchiche, a 41-year-old former journalist running with the Socialist Forces Front, or FFS, campaigned on a “vision for tomorrow.”

Both challengers and their parties risked losing backing from supporters who thought they were selling out by giving the impression the election was democratic and contested.

Walking near a vote center in downtown Algiers, longtime FFS supporter Mhand Kasdi said his party had betrayed its ideals by putting forth a candidate for the first time since 1999.

“It is giving its backing to a rigged election,” the 55-year-old gas station manager said, adding that Aouchiche and Hassani “are going to help make the regime's candidate look good."

Voting in his hometown Saturday, Aouchiche called on Algerians to vote for him “to give young people the confidence to put an end to the despair that drives them to take the boats of death in an attempt to reach the other side of the Mediterranean,” referring to those who migrate to Europe.

Andrew Farrand, the Middle East and North Africa director at the geopolitical risk consultancy Horizon Engage, said both challengers were looking more at the 2025 legislative elections than this 2024 presidential contest. Because Algerian law funds political parties based on the number of seats they win in legislative elections, they hope campaigning now positions them for a strong 2025 performance.

“It’s a long game: How can I mobilize my base? How can I build up a campaign machine? And how can I get into the good graces of the authorities so that I can be in a position to increase my seats?” he said. “We’ve seen that in their choice not to overtly criticize president … paired with a very strong message to Algerians to come out and vote.”