Andy Murray to carry flag for Great Britain at Rio Olympic opening ceremony
Wimbledon champion Andy Murray has revealed his pride at being selected to be Team GB’s flagbearer for Friday’s opening ceremony at the Rio 2016 Olympics.
Murray, who won gold in the men’s singles at London 2012, is the first tennis player to enjoy the honour and was picked ahead of veteran long-distance runner Jo Pavey and boxer Nicola Adams.
“I am very proud. To represent your country at the Games is an unbelievable experience, but to lead out Team GB will be an incredible honour, the biggest in sport,” he said.
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“This is my third Olympic Games and it is a very special competition for me. I have great memories of London and I am 100 per cent focused on winning here in Rio.
"The privilege of being the flagbearer is a moment I will remember for the rest of my life and will certainly be one of the highlights of my career.”
Sir Bradley Wiggins, who could become Britain’s most decorated Olympian in Brazil this month, had been touted for the role but ruled himself out because he wanted British Cycling to nominate a female rider instead.
Women’s road race world champion Lizzie Armitstead, meanwhile, has blamed “an emergency family situation” for the missed test that triggered a UK Anti-Doping charge.
Armitstead will compete in Rio after overturning the charge at the Court of Arbitration for Sport this week, arguing that the first of three failures to be available for a drug test was not her fault.
The 27-year-old added on Thursday that the third alleged infringement had mitigating circumstances – “a traumatic time” that involved a psychiatric assessment – and that she had passed 16 tests already this year.