Sarawakian diver Bertrand, Johorean sailor Nur Shazrin to carry Malaysia’s flag at 2024 Paris Olympic

Composite photo of Bertrand and Nur Shazrin. Photo credit: OCM

By DayakDaily Team

KUCHING, July 3: Sarawak-born national diver Bertrand Rhodict Lises will carry Malaysia’s flag, Jalur Gemilang, at the opening ceremony of the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris.

The 19-year-old diver, alongside Johor-born sailor Nur Shazrin Mohamad Latif, has been given the honour with the role of flag-bearer for the Games’ opening ceremony on July 26.

Olympic Council of Malaysia (OCM) president Tan Sri Dato Sri Mohamad Norza Zakaria stated that the Executive Board has chosen Bertrand and Nur Shazrin to carry the Jalur Gemilang during the parade of athletes, after considering various factors, including athletes’schedules and performances.

“Bertrand is selected by virtue of being a debutant, while Nur Shazrin is an experienced athlete who will be making her third appearance (in the Olympic Games). In celebrating the future, we embrace the present,” he said in a statement issued on July 1.

Bertrand will make his Olympic debut in Paris after becoming the first Malaysian athlete to qualify on merit in July 2023. He is the fourth Sarawakian to be given the honour, following Kuda Ditta (Athletics in Rome 1960), Bryan Nickson Lomas (Aquatics – Diving in Athens 2004) and Dato’ Pandelela Rinong (Aquatics – Diving in London 2012).

Bertrand won a bronze medal in the Men’s Synchronised 10m Platform at the 19th Asian Games Hangzhou 2022.

Nur Shazrin, who won gold in the dinghy category at the 19th Asian Games in Hangzhou, will be competing in her third Olympics after Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2020. She is the first sailor chosen to bear the flag during the opening ceremony.

The opening ceremony will take place on the Seine River, with athletes parading in boats for each national delegation. The procession will end its 6-kilometre route in front of the Trocadéro, where the final Olympic protocol and ceremonies will occur.

As of July 1, the Malaysian contingent comprises 25 athletes across eight sports: Archery (Ariana Nur Dania Mohamad Zairi, Syaqiera Mashayikh and Nurul Azreena Mohd Fazil), Badminton (Lee Zii Jia, Goh Jin Wei, Aaron Chia Teng Fong, Soh Wooi Yik, Pearly Tan Koong Le, Thinaah Muralitharan, Chen Tang Jie and Toh Ee Wei), Cycling – Road (Nur Aisyah Mohamad Zubir), Cycling – Track (Dato’ Mohd Azizulhasni Awang, Muhammad Shah Firdaus Sahrom and Nurul Izzah Izzati Mohd Asri), Diving (Bertrand Rhodict Lises and Nur Dhabitah Sabri), Golf (Gavin Kyle Green and Ashley Lau), Sailing (Khairulnizam Mohd Affendy and Nur Shazrin), Shooting (Johnathan Wong Guanjie), Swimming (Khiew Hoe Yan and Tan Ruoxin), and Weightlifting (Muhammad Aniq Kasdan).

The final universality slot will be decided this week between sprinters Muhammad Azeem Fahmi and Shereen Samson Vallabouy. – DayakDaily