Olympic opening ceremony on Friday
Decision made about German standard bearers
Updated February 4, 2026 – 5:47 p.mReading time: 1 min.
A duo will carry the German flag at the opening ceremony. Due to the distance between the competition locations, there are special regulations.
Ski jumper Katharina Schmid and ice hockey player Leon Draisaitl are expected to carry the German flag at the opening ceremony. The German Olympic Sports Confederation (DOSB) confirmed this on Wednesday afternoon. The “Bild” newspaper first reported. However, there is one special feature: Since Schmidt is already in Predazzo, where the ski jumpers will be fighting for their first medals on Saturday (live on the t-online ticker from 6:45 p.m.), she will carry the flag at the small opening ceremony there. Draisaitl, on the other hand, leads the German Olympic delegation in Milan’s historic San Siro stadium.
The DOSB actually didn’t want to announce the vote of around 135,000 participants until Thursday. In the women’s category, bobsleigh pilot Laura Nolte, snowboarder Ramona Hofmeister and ski jumper Katharina Schmid were nominated. Ice hockey top star Leon Draisaitl, Nordic combined athlete Johannes Rydzek and luger Tobias Wendl entered the race as men’s candidates. Olympic participants were also allowed to vote. When pre-selecting, the DOSB said it valued the successes and role model function of the athletes. In addition, the athletes should represent different sports and disciplines.
In addition to the fans, the athletes of the German team were also allowed to choose their favorites. Half of the results of both votes are taken into account in the decision.
