LONDON, England – One of the reasons Tonique Williams-Darling was here in London was to be the official flag bearer for Team Bahamas for these 30th Olympic Games.
Well, unfortunately the former World and Olympic Champion will not have that honor, and probably never will, as a ruling was handed down late yesterday evening by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) that only current team members will be allowed to carry their country’s flag into the Olympic Stadium for the opening ceremony.
The opening ceremony will get underway here tonight at 9 o’clock, 4 p.m. back in The Bahamas.
As for who will carry the flag, that honor will now go to Bahamian quarter-miler Chris ‘The Fireman’ Brown. He said that he is ecstatic to have been given the opportunity, and will certainly carry the flag with honor and pride.
As for Williams-Darling, the only Bahamian to win individual World and Olympic titles, she was obviously disappointed, but is prepared to move on and perform other duties that she is assigned to here in London.
Neither Williams-Darling nor Brown have had the honor bestowed upon them in the past. Williams- Darling is a two-time Olympian, representing the country in 2000 in Sydney, Australia, and in 2004, in Athens, Greece. Brown has never missed an Olympic Games as a senior athlete. He has been to four successive Olympics, dating back to 2000. At the last Olympic Games in 2008, Debbie-Ferguson- McKenzie was the flag bearer for The Bahamas. She also carried the flag for the country at the 2004 games.
“In 2008, I think that the majority of the teams, or quite a few of the teams, had persons carry the flag who were past Olympians, so I don’t know why the adjustment is being made now, but it will be interesting to see if that is just something that is just being said to the Bahamian team and delegation, or is that something that is being expressed to all of the countries.”
