Winter Olympics 2022 - Dave Ryding and Eve Muirhead selected as Team GB flag bearers for Beijing opening ceremony

Updated 03/02/2022 at 18:00 GMT

Both athletes are heading to their fourth Winter Olympics, and their longevity and influence in the team has been rewarded by their selection to carry the union flag into the Bird’s Nest. Ryding recently became Britain’s first alpine skier to win a World Cup event with victory in Kitzbuhel, while Muirhead is a Sochi 2014 bronze medal winning curler looking to go one or two better.

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World Cup winning alpine skier Dave Ryding and Sochi 2014 curling bronze medallist Eve Muirhead have been selected as Team GB’s flag bearers for the opening ceremony of the Winter Olympics.

They will carry the union flag into the Bird’s Nest stadium in Beijing, as the second pair chosen by Britain to do so following a switch to one male and one female athlete for Tokyo 2020.

Ryding and Muirhead are both competing at their fourth Olympics and go into the Games in superb form. Ryding recently became the first British alpine skier to win a World Cup event with victory in Kitzbuhel, while Muirhead - who is looking to better her bronze from eight years ago - recently won the European Championships with her women’s rink.

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“It’s very special, I never thought I would get asked and when I did, it was the best feeling,” Muirhead told Eurosport.

“I feel very honoured and privileged to accept and be one of the flag bearers. It’s going to be a very special evening, getting the chance to lead the athletes out from Great Britain will be a moment I’ll never forget.”

Ryding has seen his stock rise in recent weeks, following his historic achievement in Kitzbuhel. He goes into the Games as a genuine medal contender in the slalom, at the age of 35 and having grown up learning to ski on a dry slope in Lancashire.

“I think I’m still in shock, still processing the whole thing and making sure I don’t make a mockery of myself doing it,” he told Eurosport.

Dave Ryding as a Team GB flag-bearer

Image credit: Eurosport

"I’ve not done a bicep curl in about 10 years, I’m certainly no Sir Chris Hoy, doing it with one arm, I’m going to need an extra holster to back me up!

“Immensely proud, I never dreamt of it, I never thought it would be me who would be asked to lead such a great nation, alongside Eve. I’ve trained alongside Eve at a gym before in Stirling, and now we’re walking out together at an opening ceremony."

Both athletes have recalled how they received the news before flying out to Beijing, and Muirhead says keeping quiet was not easy.

“You’re never ever going to turn down the offer, it was such an exciting phone call to get,” she said.

“The hardest part was not telling anyone, it was a secret and we've known for a couple of days. It’ll be nice to share the moment with a lot of people.”

Ryding, who runs a coffee shop with his fiancée in Tarleton, near Preston, was catching up with his side project when he received the news from chef de mission Georgina Harland.

“I was told to expect a call, I was having a meeting at my cafe outside, I got a phone call, a terrible signal, I didn’t know what to say. All I could say is thanks, am I meant to have a big spiel for this?! Obviously trying to reiterate how proud I was."

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