JORDAN LEE AND Britney Arendse have the honour of carrying the Irish flag at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games opening ceremony on Tuesday.
Both Lee and Arendse are first-time Paralympians and will be in action on Day 5 on Sunday, 29 August when Lee’s high jump and Arendse’s power lifting competitions take place.
4,521 athletes from 168 countries will compete across 22 sports over the next two weeks.
“This came as the most pleasant of shocks when I was approcahed to be a flag bearer,” said Arendse. “This is a great honour and I know that my parents and all my neighbours and friends will be delighted when they hear the news.
“Now I can’t wait to get to the stadium and, along with Jordan, lead out my team mates behind the tricolour.”
“This is honestly a dream come true,” added Lee. “I did not expect this but I am truly embracing it. I actually got a little bit emotional when I was asked, I know that this will be a moment that will love forever and I can’t wait to get out there”
Swimmer Barry McClements is the first of the Irish in action when he takes place in the 400m freestyle at 1am on Wednesday morning. Colin Judge starts his table tennis group stage match shortly afterwards.
The ceremony will be aired live on RTÉ 2 tomorrow with coverage starting at 11:50am before a highlight show at 7:00pm.
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