The Olympic Federation of Ireland is delighted to announce that gymnast, Galway’s Emma Slevin will be Ireland’s flag bearer at the Parade of Nations during the Opening Ceremony of the Youth Olympic Games in Buenos Aires on Saturday, 06 October.
Emma, who competed as part of Team Ireland at the European Youth Olympics Festival back in 2017 is Ireland’s first ever gymnast to compete at the Youth Olympic Games will lead a team of 16 Irish athletes into the Parade of Nations.
Speaking about the announcement, Emma said; “It’s a great honour for me to have been chosen as the Irish flag bearer for the Opening Ceremony of the Youth Olympic Games. I feel privileged to be a part of Team Ireland and to lead my fellow athletes in the Parade of the Nations is absolutely fantastic, I am gleaming with pride!”
Team Ireland will swing into action at the 2018 Youth Olympic Games on Sunday, 07 October with Nhat Nguyen from Dublin leading the Irish into competition as he takes to the badminton court at 9am (GMT: 13:00) on Sunday Morning for the Group Play Stage of the tournament. Dublin’s Niamh Coyne and Sligo’s Mona McSharry will dive into competition in the Women’s 50m Breaststroke from 10am (GMT: 14:00) while Glaway native Emma Slevin takes to the floor at 2pm (GMT: 18:00) for the Women’s Floor Gymnastics competition.
Team Ireland in Buenos Aires comprises of a squad of 16 athletes from 9 sports. The team of 5 male athletes and 11 female athletes includes Nhat Nguyen (Badminton) and Mona McSharry (Swimming), recipients of Olympic Solidarity Scholarships which were awarded to assist with qualification and preparations for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.
This is the third edition of the Youth Olympic Games which are hosted every four years. The Games, running from October 6 to October 18 will feature more than 4,000 talented junior athletes aged 15 to 18 from 200 countries in over 32 sports.
