Long distance runner Clementine Mukandanga and cyclist Eric Manizabayo have been named flagbearers of Team Rwanda at the glamourous opening ceremony of the 2024 Olympic Games which officially kick off in Paris, France, on Friday, July 26 and run through Sunday, August 11.
The duo is part of eight athletes—five women and three men—representing Rwanda at Paris 2024 Olympics.
Mukandanga is the only Rwandan athlete in the Olympic Team who qualified for the Paris 2024 Games. She achieved the required "Minima" time of 2:26:50 at the 39 Firenze Marathon in December 2023 with a time of 2:25:54, the fourth fastest in the event's history and a personal best, improving on her previous record set in Florence in 2022.
She will compete in the full marathon slated for August 11 at Hôtel de Ville and Les Invalides.
At the age of 38, she is the oldest in the Rwanda Olympic Team.
Meanwhile, Manizabayo made it to Paris on a wildcard. He is one of three cyclists in the Rwandan Olympic team for Paris alongside Djazilla Mwamikazi and Diane Ingabire.
Manizabayo, who is making his debut at the Olympic Games, will compete on August 3 in the Road Race which will take place at Pont d' Iéna.
Overall, besides Mukandanga and Manizabayo, the other athletes representing Rwanda at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris include women cyclists Diane Ingabire and Djazilla Mwamikazi, athletics star Yves Nimubona, swimmers Peyre Mitilla Oscar Cyusa and Lidwine Umuhoza Uwase and fencer Tufaha Uwihoreye.
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A ceremony outside a stadium
For the first time in the history of the Olympic Summer Games, the opening ceremony will not take place in a stadium. Paris 2024 is breaking new ground by bringing sports into the city and the same will be true of the opening ceremony, set to be held in the heart of the city along its main artery: The Seine.
Taking on a new guise, the parade of athletes will be held on the Seine river with boats for each national delegation.
These boats will be equipped with cameras to allow television and online viewers to see the athletes up close. Winding their way from east to west, the 10,500 athletes will cross through the centre of Paris, the overall playing field for the Games on which these competitors will display their sporting prowess over the next 16 days.
The parade will come to the end of its 6-kilometre route in front of the Trocadéro, where the remaining elements of Olympic protocol and final shows will take place.