Team GB’s Abbie Brown and Joe Clarke will lead the team at the Opening Ceremony of the Kraków 2023 European Games this evening (21 June).
Rugby sevens co-captain Brown, who hopes to make Paris 2024 her third Olympic Games, and Olympic canoe slalom champion Clarke were selected for the honour by Team GB Chef de Mission Paul Ford. They were put forward for consideration by their sports as athletes that exemplify the Olympic Values and uphold the Team GB Values of Pride, Responsibility, Respect and Unity.
Brown and Clarke follow in the footsteps of double Olympic champion boxer Nicola Adams, who carried the flag at the Baku 2015 European Games, and Olympic bronze medal-winning judoka Sally Conway, who had the honour at Minsk 2019.
Brown and her teammates will be looking to secure a quota spot for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games by claiming European Games gold, while Clarke will seek to lay the foundations for his own Paris 2024 qualification in the kayak off the back of his gold medal at the World Cup in Ljubljana-Tacen last weekend.
Brown said: “I was so shocked when Paul rang me, I didn’t expect it at all and I never thought this would be something I’d get the chance to do. It’s going to be a really special moment for me, but also a really special moment for my team because that’s who I’m going to be representing. It’s such an honour to be chosen and a privilege to be able to walk out alongside the rest of the Team GB rugby girls and boys.”
Clarke said: “It’s an absolute honour to be one of the flagbearers. When I got asked I was super proud and excited. I told my parents and they were buzzing! To carry the flag for Team GB is a massive thing and something you dream of – I’ve seen plenty of athletes do it on TV so to be among them is pretty special. ”
Team GB Chef de Mission Paul Ford said: “Being given the honour of leading Team GB out at a Games is a big milestone in an athlete’s career, and when I spoke to both Abbie and Joe you could hear the excitement in their voices. Both are world class performers and leaders whose values represent what the entire team is here to do: be highly competitive, advance qualification for Paris 2024, and embrace being part of One Team GB.”
