Fox And Ockenden Named as Flagbearers

Paddler Jessica Fox and hockey veteran Eddie Ockenden will lead the Australian Olympic Team as Flag Bearers in Friday’s Paris 2024 Opening Ceremony on the River Seine.

The pair was announced by Chef de Mission Anna Meares at a special ceremony at the Paris Mint today, the same venue that produced the Paris 2024 medals.

Fox, who is a NSW Institute of Sport (NSWIS) athlete will become the second paddler to carry the flag following the late Dennis Green who carried the flag at Munich 1972.

Eddie Ockenden will become the second hockey Flag Bearer, following in the footsteps of Ric Charlesworth who led the Team at Seoul 1988.

They will add to the list of 25 Australians who have previously carried the flag, beginning with George Parker in Antwerp in 1920.

The pair will carve out their own special history, performing the task on a boat with the parade taking place on the River Seine.

Born in Marseille and moving to Australia aged four, Fox is the first Australian canoe slalom athlete to compete at four Games.

She says it’s a huge honour and a privilege to be named.

“I am proud to follow in the steps of so many great Australians who have carried the flag. The Olympic Games bring us together as sports, as athletes and as a nation. And of course I am immensely proud to represent Australia in the country of my birth.

“I’m so proud to be part of this team. It is one of the greatest moments of my career to be named Flag Bearer and to have the opportunity to present us to Paris & the world by leading us out in the opening ceremony.

“This is my fourth Games, and I am lucky to be competing in three events. My first race is the heats the afternoon after the opening ceremony, so I’ll get a sleep in. I feel this is such an honour and opportunity, that I wouldn’t miss it for the world.

“I am used to a busy schedule with racing and have worked with our team to make sure I’m as best prepared as I can be for this and have a plan in place to ensure I can be ready the next day and Anna and the AOC have been amazing as well to support that.

“It’s so exciting and of course the fact that we will be on water makes it even more attractive to me. I think using the iconic River Seine in the heart of Paris will make this a spectacular and memorable opening ceremony. It’s original and it’s innovative, and I can’t wait!

Eddie Ockenden, the first Australian hockey player ever to compete at five Olympic Games says

“It goes without saying it’s an incredible honour to be asked to carry the Australian flag into the Opening Ceremony.

“I have been lucky enough to now compete at five Olympic Games. I have watched the Opening Ceremony at my past Games and felt such pride seeing our flag entering the stadium and leading our Teams.

“I’m very grateful for the opportunity to now have this honour and experience something with such a strong history and deep meaning.

“I feel like I’ll be able to take so much positive energy out of this for the Kookaburras, and I hope the whole the Australian Team connect to this energy as well.

“I’m immensely proud to be representing Australia, Tasmania and my sport hockey”, he said.

Australia’s Chef de Mission Anna Meares says the pair each possess all the attributes that the Team is looking for in a Flag Bearer.

“It was such a pleasure to ask Jess and Eddie to take on this role. They are both so deserving and provide great leadership within their sports and more broadly.

“Each has longevity, character, humility and great support in the Australian community.

“These decisions are never easy, but I felt extremely comfortable asking Jess and Eddie and even more so when they explained what the honour meant to them, when they eventually found the words.

“Jess is a natural leader. She currently holds roles on both the IOC and the AOC Athletes’ Commissions and sits on the IOC Coordination Commission for the Summer Youth Games in Dakar 2026. She transcends sport and her incredible gold medal run in Tokyo connected with the nation, and still evokes so much emotion for many Australians.

“She is a giant in her sport – an Olympic champion and a world champion. Only last week she received the rare honour of being asked to carry the Olympic Torch as part of the torch relay here in France. On top of all that, she remains humble and compassionate.

“Similarly, Eddie has been a figure in our national hockey team since 2006. He has played more games for our national team than any other man and in Paris expects to play his 450th game for Australia which is incredible.

“He is at his fifth Games, a feat no other Australian hockey player, male or female, has achieved. He won a bronze medal in Beijing, bronze medal in London and silver in Tokyo, it is clear how valuable he is to the team in their on-field play and their off-field culture.

“Eddie is humble but driven, he is hardworking and dedicated. He is a great leader in himself, and I know he will lead our team together with Jess with immense pride, gratitude and grace.

As dual Flag Bearers, they become the third pair behind Denise Boyd and Max Metzker (Moscow 1980) who carried the Olympic Flag and not the Australian flag and Cate Campbell and Patrick Mills (Tokyo 2020) who became the first dual Flag Bearers to carry the Australian Flag.

Historical Note: There were no Australian Flagbearers for Athens (1896), Paris (1900) and St Louis (1904). In London (1908) and Stockholm (1912) Australia and New Zealand competed as “Australasia” and on both occasions the Flagbearers were New Zealanders. No Games were held in 1916 due to World War One. Rower Merv Wood carried the Flag at two Games – Helsinki 1952 and Melbourne 1956.

Eddie Ockenden

• First Australian hockey player to compete at 5 Olympics
• Silver at Tokyo 2020, bronze at Beijing 2008 and London 2012
• Most Games by an Australian Hockey player ever – set to bring up 450th game in Paris. 3rd most games by any hockey player from any country in history
• 2 x World Cup Champion – 2010 and 2014
• 2 x FIH Pro League Champion – 2019 and 2024
• 7 x Champions Trophy winner
• Born and raised in Tasmania
• Father of three

Jess Fox

• First Australian to compete in Canoe Slalom at 4 Olympics
• C1 gold at Tokyo 2020, K1 silver at London 2012, K1 bronze at Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2020
• 10-time individual World Champion and 3-time team World Champion
• Winner of 11 overall World Cup titles
• Mother Myriam a canoe slalom Olympian for France (1992 & 1996) and father Richard a canoe slalom Olympian for Great Britain (1992). Sister Noemie making her Olympic debut at Paris 2024
• Born Marseilles, moving to Australia with her family when she was four

Opening Ceremony Fun Facts

• The Opening Ceremony is part of Paris 2024’s vision to be bold, original and unique
• Opening with the Parade of athletes is a break with tradition – as part of Paris 2024’s aim to hold Games created for and by athletes
• The Opening Ceremony will be the largest in Olympic history – tens of thousands of spectators watching the 6km boat parade route along the Seine
• The river parade will start from the Austerlitz Bridge, around the two islands at the centre of the city (the Île Saint Louis and the Île de la Cité) before passing under several bridges and gateways. Athletes on board the parade boats will get glimpses of some of the official Games venues, including Parc Urbain La Concorde, the Esplanade des Invalides, the Grand Palais, and lastly the Iéna bridge where the parade will come to a stop before the ceremony’s finale at the Trocadéro.
• Free admission for many spectators – and cameras on board and along the route will bring an estimated global TV audience of 1.5 billion fans watching live into the heart of the athletes’ parade
• The fleet is made up of 94 boats – a mix of traditional Parisian barges, wooden boats and leisure boats.
• Australia will be 3rd last in the Order of Nations – as a future host, followed only by USA (LA2028) and host country France.
• Around 80 Aussie athletes are expecting to take part in this unique Opening Ceremony – this is on par with previous Games’ athletes attendance at the Opening Ceremony