Beijing (dpa) – A quarter of the German athletes will carry the German flag at the opening or closing ceremonies of the Winter Paralympics in Beijing starting on Friday.
After Clara Klug’s cancellation due to injury, only 17 German athletes are at the start in China. And since both celebrations will feature a man and a woman carrying the flag, four members of the German team will be honored. Ski racer Andrea Rothfuss should also be out, as she carried the flag at the opening in Sochi in 2014.
The German Disabled Sports Association will announce the two flag bearers for the opening ceremony in Beijing on Thursday at 11:00 a.m. German time. Probably one each from the Nordic and Alpine athletes. The two-time Paralympic champion Anna-Lena Forster from Radolfzell is the favorite for the women in the Alpine category and Anja Wicker from Stuttgart for the Nordic category, who has already won gold once in Sochi. But like Martin Fleig from Freiburg, who was successful in Pyeongchang in 2018, they both have to start on Saturday at 10 a.m. for the first time. This speaks for Alexander Ehler from Kirchzarten, the oldest German competitor in Beijing at 52 years old.
Since all women apart from the Nordic participants have to start early on Saturday, it is also possible that the DBS chooses the flag bearer from the Nordic athletes – then Linn Kazmeier (Römerstein), at 15 the youngest in the squad, and Johanna Recktenwald stayed (St. Wendel), also only 20. Both are newcomers to the Paralympics, as are the two Alpine men who would still be eligible: Christoph Glötzner (18/Neumarkt) and Leander Kress (21/Friedberg).