Tokyo Olympians Sarah Lavin & Liam Jegou to carry Flag at European Games Opening Ceremony
Tokyo Olympians Sarah Lavin and Liam Jegou have been named by the Olympic Federation of Ireland as the Permanent TSB Team Ireland Flagbearers for the European Games in Krakow this month. The multi-sport Games will see 121 athletes compete across seventeen sports between the 20th of June and the 2nd of July, with the Opening Ceremony taking place in the Henryk Reyman Stadium in Krakow on the 21st of June.
From Limerick, Olympic 100m Hurdler Lavin will be competing in her second European Games and will be aiming to beat her personal best time of 12.79. This year she has been in exceptional form and will bring her Olympic and European Games experience to the team.
From Ballyvaughan in Co. Clare, Jegou has also been performing well this year in the C1 Canoe Slalom, and the European Games debut for this discipline will see eight Team Ireland athletes compete in the Slalom events. The course for Krakow 2023 at the Kolna Sports Centre, is one that is familiar to Jegou and the team, and they have competed on it several times over the past few years.
Speaking on her selection as one of the Permanent TSB flagbearers for the team, Sarah Lavin said,
“It’s a complete and utter honour to be asked to be flagbearer, to represent Ireland at any given games, and especially when there are 120 athletes competing at these multi-sport Games. The best of Irish talent. To be able to represent them and to carry the Irish flag, that’s a massive honour.”
Thrilled to be also selected for the Permanent TSB flagbearer honour, Liam Jegou added,
“It’s brilliant, I’m very proud and very excited to fly the flag at the European Games. Team Ireland is such a strong team, you look at all the results from all the athletes, and to fly the flag is such a huge honour. I didn’t get to go to the Opening Ceremony for the Games in Tokyo, so it’s going to be a great moment, I look forward to it.”
Speaking about the importance of having sponsors like Permanent TSB supporting Team Ireland for the Games, as sponsors of the flagbearer announcement, Lavin added,
“It’s incredible having sponsors like this, it makes our job easier. Permanent TSB has a strong community ethos, no different to Team Ireland, we all come from different communities around the country and are coming together to give the best performance we can, and I want to thank them and I hope we can do them proud too.”
Speaking at the announcement today, Permanent TSB CEO, Eamonn Crowley said,
“As proud title sponsor of Team Ireland, we are extremely proud to support these athletes on their journey, whether they are competing in the European Games for the first time this summer, or if that path takes them to Paris for the 2024 Olympic Games.
“Having both Sarah and Liam announced as the Permanent TSB flagbearers for the European Games today, is a great example of the diversity and depth of our sporting ability in Ireland as a nation.
“It is an incredible achievement to have been chosen to represent Team Ireland and we look forward to supporting Sarah, Liam and all of the team as they compete in Krakow at the end of June.”
Commercial Director with the Olympic Federation of Ireland, Catherine Tiernan added,
“We are delighted to announce the Permanent TSB flagbearers today, two great representatives of Team Ireland, and we are looking forward to watching them lead the team into the stadium in Krakow next week. We want to thank our sponsors Permanent TSB and our Partners Allianz, Deloitte, Flogas and McKeever for all their support in helping us get our athletes to the European Games.”
This is the third edition of the European Games, which is a multi-sport event run by the European Olympic Committees and will see athletes compete across districts in the Krakow-Malopolska region.
Download the Team Ireland Media Guide for the European Games 2023
