The Tokyo Summer Olympics are the “first-ever gender-balanced Olympic Games in history,” part of a push by the IOC to promote equality between male and female athletes. That push extended to the Opening Ceremony on Friday, where a rule change allowed countries to select both a male and a female flag bearer to share the honor of carrying their nation’s colors into the mostly empty Olympic stadium.
But what sounds like a great idea on paper isn’t always a great idea in practice. It turns out trying to carry and wave a giant flag together is about as awkward as sharing an umbrella:
The Malaysian flag bearers did pretty well…
…while Tonga’s flag bearers had an interesting technique.
Across the 205 countries at the games, there were a variety of different strategies on display, some more successful than others:
The rule change admittedly did result in some pretty powerful moments, though. For several countries, including China and Mongolia, it meant having a woman carry their flag during the Parade of Nations for the first time.
Still … couldn’t they really have each had their own flag?
You may also like
Why Tom Brady’s ‘gentle’ roast of Trump at Biden’s White House was actually ‘deeply vicious’
McConnell implores unvaccinated Americans to get shots ‘as rapidly as possible’