The worst-kept secret appears to be true – speedskater Clara Hughes will be Canada’s flag-bearer for opening ceremony at the Vancouver Olympics.
The Herald revealed Tuesday that the 37-year-old Winnipeg native, who lives and trains in Calgary, will be named today to carry the Maple Leaf into BC Place Stadium on Feb. 12 as Canada welcomes the world.
According to CBC, Ingrid Paul, who is Hughes’s coach, confirmed the speculation earlier Friday.
The official announcement is slated for 3:30 p.m. MT in Richmond, B.C., site of the Olympic Oval.
"The only other chance I had to attend one was in Australia, in Sydney, in 2000. An amazing, amazing experience," Hughes told the Herald earlier this week. "But, you know, all I could think walking into that stadium that day was ‘This is really cool but how wild would it be to be marching in at a Canadian Olympics, engulfed by sea of red and white.’ The noise and excitement of doing it in front of Canadians . . . it gave me goosebumps.
"I thought then that it’d be the ultimate.
"And now, 10 years later, here it is, happening."
Hughes won gold in the 5,000-metre event in 2006 at the Turin Winter Games and won bronze in the same distance at the 2002 Games in Salt Lake City. She also won two bronze medals in cycling at the 1996 Summer games in Atlanta.
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