Germany has decided: ski jumper Katharina Schmid and ice hockey star Leon Draisaitl will lead the German team at the opening ceremony of the 2026 Winter Olympics.
Schmid will carry the German flag at the Nations Parade in Predazzo and Draisaitl will receive this honor at the central celebration in Milan. This is the result of a survey conducted by the German Olympic Sports Confederation among fans and the German team. The duo follows Claudia Pechstein and Francesco Friedrich, who carried the flag into the stadium at the 2022 Games in Beijing.
In addition to Schmid and Draisaitl, Ramona Hofmeister (snowboard), Laura Nolte (bobsleigh), Johannes Rydzek (Nordic combination) and Tobias Wendl (tobogganing) were also up for election.
Central celebration and Nation parades
The opening of the games in Italy this year is taking an unusual approach. In addition to the central opening ceremony in Milan’s Guiseppe Meazza Stadium, there will be three other parallel celebrations including a nation’s parade in Cortina d’Ampezzo, Livigno and Predazzo. The individual nations should then arrive at the four locations at the same time. The aim is to create a communal experience despite the spatial separation.
This is how the voting went for that Flag bearer duo
Since Rio 2016, fans and Team D athletes have been voting together on the flag-bearer duo. Both blocks of votes – those of the public and those of the team – each count for 50 percent of the result. Whoever achieves the highest score among women and men carries the flag.
